Arizona State football head coach candidates: Who could replace Herm Edwards at ASU?

The Arizona State football team fired Herm Edwards as its coach on Sunday and named running backs coach Shaun Aguano as the interim coach.

Speculation immediately swirled about who could potentially be the next coach of the Sun Devils.

Take a look at some possible candidates to be the next ASU football coach, according to lists from college football writers (and there are evidently a lot of them).

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The Arizona Republic: Tom Herman, Vance Joseph, Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops, Dan Mullen should be candidates for ASU job

Columnist Greg Moore wrote of Herman, the former Texas coach: "He was 32-18 in four seasons with the Longhorns, including 4-0 in bowl games. Before that, Herman found success at Houston, including a 13-1 season with a win in the Peach Bowl. In six seasons, Herman has never had a losing record, he’s finished in the AP top 25 four times, including two times in the top 10."

CBS Sports: Matt Rhule, Byron Leftwich, Dan Mullen, Todd Monken, Hugh Freeze, Bryan Harsin, Deion Sanders, Tom Herman, Mike Norvell, Justin Wilcox, Rick Neuheisel options at ASU

Dennis Dodd wrote of Rhule, the current Carolina Panthers coach: "The leader in the clubhouse if he's interested. Anderson loves NFL guys (obviously). If Rhule leaves the Panthers and isn't snatched up by Nebraska, it shouldn't be a tough decision for Arizona State. Dave Aranda at Baylor is still using players Rhule left behind who helped him win the Big 12 last season. The consummate program builder would be at home in the desert."

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ESPN: Bryan Harsin, Kalani Sitake, Jonathan Smith, Tom Herman among candidates to replace Herm Edwards

Pete Thamel also listed Troy Calhoun, Charles Huff, Matt Entz, Sean Lewis, Bill O’Brien, Todd Monken, Derek Mason and Alex Grinch as possibilities in Tempe. Harsin is believed to be on the hot seat as the coach at Auburn.

Athlon Sports: Blake Anderson, Brent Brennan, Troy Calhoun, Jamey Chadwell, Kenny Dillingham, Josh Gattis, Alex Grinch, Bryan Harsin potential ASU candidates

The site also included Jay Hill, Jeff Lebby, Sean Lewis, Brian Lindgren, Todd Monken,  Bill O'Brien, Matt Rhule, Troy Taylor, Jeff Traylor, Bronco Mendenhall, Tom Herman and Dan Mullen on its list.

Of Anderson, Utah State's coach, Steven Lassan wrote: "Anderson was a consistent winner at Arkansas State, going 51-37 (2014-20) and helped Utah State engineer a massive turnaround last fall. The Aggies went 1-5 in '20 but improved to 11-3 and won the Mountain West in Anderson's debut. He also has experience working at a Power 5 program after a stint as offensive coordinator at North Carolina (2012-13)."

More: Arizona State football fans call for Ray Anderson to be fired after Herm Edwards firing

Draft Kings: Urban Meyer, Kenny Dillingham, Matt Campbell, Bryan Harsin, Marcus Arroyo, Dan Mullen, Kliff Kingsbury on list

It wrote of Meyer, the former Ohio State and Florida coach: "This is a coaching search in 2022, and despite the airport terminal levels of baggage Meyer would bring, his name has to be added by law. Nebraska certainly seems a better cultural fit, and there are plenty of university presidents and boards that will (rightly) tell one of the most successful college football coaches in history to go away. But if he was wanted by AD Ray Anderson or the administration, his term at Utah proved he can win out west."

Fansided: Chris Petersen, Tosh Lupoi, Jay Norvell options to replace Herm Edwards at Arizona State

Connor Muldowney wrote of Petersen, the former Washington coach: "This might be more of a best-case scenario candidate for Arizona State. Actually, it definitely is. Chris Petersen dominated as the head coach of Boise State before getting hired in at Washington and leading the program to three straight New Year’s Six bowls, including a playoff berth. He led the Huskies to three division titles in the Pac-12 North as well as two conference championships in a three-year stretch. He went 55-26 at Washington and 34-20 in Pac-12 play. That sounds like something that Arizona State would kill for."

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Yahoo Sports: Deion Sanders should be the No. 1 college coaching candidate in the country ... starting with Arizona State

Dan Wetzel wrote of the Jackson State coach: "Maybe the most perplexing riddle in major college football is how Arizona State — with its resources, location, weather and so on — is rarely any good. The Sun Devils have posted one top 10 finish in 35 years (back in 1996). It fired Herm Edwards on Sunday after getting beat by Eastern Michigan. So here we have a potential situation — the program that seems capable of everything but inexplicably can never get out of its own way and the man and coach who has spent his life redefining what's possible. Deion Sanders to Arizona State? Now that would be something."

ESPN: Kalani Sitake would be an absolute steal as Arizona State's coach

Adam Rittenberg wrote of the BYU coach: “Before the Big 12 added BYU, Sitake certainly would look at a job like Arizona State as an obvious upgrade. Now it’s not as clear-cut. BYU has rewarded Sitake with more salary and security, and the Cougars’ program is rolling as it nears entry into the Big 12 in 2023. Sitake, 46, would be an absolute steal for ASU. He’s 23-5 since the start of the 2020 season and would bring a tough-minded identity and stability to the program that fans would appreciate. Sitake also has recruited the region for his entire career.”

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Trojans Wire: Alex Grinch, Kalani Sitake, Kenny Dillingham, Luke Fickell, Chris Ball potential candidates at Arizona State

Matt Zemek wrote of Grinch, the USC defensive coordinator: "It’s very unlikely that Grinch would take the Arizona State job. Why? His coaching stock depends on succeeding with Lincoln Riley. His chances of taking the ASU job would go up if he failed at USC this year, not if he succeeded … but the main point is that he’s not likely to take this job, period."

The Arizona Republic: Can ASU interim football coach Shaun Aguano get 1 word deleted from his title?

Kent Somers wrote: It will be hard for Aguano to win enough games to keep the big office permanently. His best hope might be for the Sun Devils to pull a couple of upsets, and for Crow and Anderson to find out that the ASU job isn’t as coveted by outsiders as they imagine"

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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU football coach candidates: List of options to replace Herm Edwards