Diablos del Sol | Arizona State Sun Devils

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Arizona State Officially Begins Head Coaching Search

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Marcus Arroyo to be interim head coach before leaving to join Dillingham's staff

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The Devil's Due Mailbag — Coaching Search Update By Diego Alfaro

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Published: December 16th, 2026

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While Marcus Arroyo takes the reins of the Sun Devils on the field in the interim, with multiple reports indicating that Arroyo intends to join Dillingham in Los Angeles after the Liberty Bowl, athletic director Graham Rossini begins the exhaustive off-the-field search for the 27th head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils. And he isn't handling the task alone.

According to those close to the situation, Rossini and the Arizona State leadership group have hired Parker Executive Search to spearhead the coaching search, with a final determination expected within the next '10-14' days. The group assisting Rossini is headlined by Vice President and Managing Director Daniel Parker, who has promised a swift and impactful resolution for Arizona State.

"Parker Executive Search maintains an exclusive 10-14 day window to produce results, and ASU leadership has been assured this case will be no different," confirmed one source close to Rossini, who requested anonymity.

"They don't want this to drag out past the Liberty Bowl. By the time the transfer portal window opens, they want to hit the ground running," added the source.

The Sun Devils and PES wasted no time extending formal requests to interview several candidates. According to varying reports, the Sun Devils have already requested to interview Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson, LSU offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr, Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, Oregon assistant head coach Rashad Samples, and Auburn co-defensive coordinator Tim Banks.

A source close to former USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley confirmed the University reached out to him for an interview as well, but sources say Riley has little interest in the position at this time, with Clemson believed to be his preferred destination.

Arizona State has already secured permission to interview Danielson, Schumann, and Weis Jr., with university officials expected to travel to Boise as early as Thursday morning. From there, the search committee is expected to head to Baton Rouge before making stops in Athens and other locations to meet with the remaining candidates.

"They're casting a wide net because they know they have to get this right. The tricky thing is, they have to do it quickly too. They can't afford to let this drag on too long and start losing recruiting momentum as a result."

According to multiple sources, Arizona State's search is centered on finding a coach capable of sustaining Dillingham's offensive identity while maintaining the recruiting momentum that pushed the Sun Devils into College Football Playoff contention.

All eyes will continue to rest on Clemson and Arizona State, the highest regarded jobs still available.

In other coaching news, several head coaches who lost their jobs over Black Sunday have found soft landing spots.

Scott Satterfield has been hired to replace Dave Aranda at Baylor, while Bill Belichick continues his collegiate career at Cincinnati. Elijah Drinkwitz made the surprising decision to leave Missouri for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Greg Schiano left Rutgers to replace Jeff Lebby at Mississippi State.

[YaBoyRobRoy]

Love the candidates but my guess is you go with Boises coach

[Soapy]

it's Riley

[Count]

Belichick going to Cincy

[Captain Canada]

Glenn Schumann aint a bad pick

[redsox907]

Love the candidates but my guess is you go with Boises coach

it's Riley

Cannot hire a coach or coordinator with an offer from a higher prestige school.

He's got an offer from Clemson and a few other P4 schools

Belichick going to Cincy

just hang it old man!

Glenn Schumann aint a bad pick

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Arizona State Interviews Spencer Danielson, More Interviews To Come

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ASU leadership left 'impressed,' still conducting further interviews

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The Devil's Due Mailbag — Coaching Search Update By Diego Alfaro

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Published: December 17th, 2026

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The Arizona State Sun Devils leadership, spearheaded by Graham Rossini, and Parker Executive Search met with Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson on Thursday morning. The Sun Devils and PSE alike left the interview 'very impressed' according to a source with direct knowledge of the ongoing head coaching search.

"Obviously, Coach Danielson's record speaks for itself. The young man is 27-5 since becoming a head coach and once again has his team in the College Football Playoff with a 12-1 record. What Rossini and his contingent were most concerned about was how he intended to maintain his physical defensive identity in the offense-heavy Big XII."

The source indicated that Danielson and Rossini spoke at length about strategies and player evaluation he felt would help the Sun Devils, who ranked 108th in overall defense this past season, rise to the top of the Big XII.

"Boise State didn't have a robust non-conference schedule this year, but one thing he did do? Hold the Oregon Ducks to 28 points in a 31-28 Week One victory to kickstart their nearly-perfect season."

After discussing his plan for the defense, the ASU search committee wanted to ensure Danielson had a plan to continue the tradition of offensive success they sustained under Dillingham.

"They don't want just one or the other anymore. They had that with Dilly. Explosive offense, somewhat porous defense. They want to have the cake and eat it too," laughed the same source.

According to the source, Danielson had already identified several potential assistant coaches should he ultimately be offered the position, a level of preparation that reportedly impressed Rossini and the search committee.

One topic that came up late in the interview centered on Danielson's motivation for leaving Boise State.

Why Arizona State?

He wasn't trying to sell Arizona State on why Boise wasn't good enough. Quite the opposite. He spoke glowingly about Boise. But he also acknowledged there are realities about competing nationally from that conference.

"The expectation was that the rebuilt Pac-12 would elevate Boise State nationally. Instead, many still view it as an enhanced Mountain West rather than a true power conference. Fair or not, Danielson understands that perception."

One thing becomes clear when speaking with current and former Boise State players: Danielson has built a defined culture.

Despite the positive interview, some within the search remain curious whether Danielson's success at Boise State would translate immediately to the recruiting demands and week-to-week competition of the Big XII and whether his defined culture can withstand the boiling heat in Tempe.

According to the source, Arizona State is going to interview their full slate of candidates, having received permission to interview Tim Banks and Rashad Samples as well, before trimming their list down to a final three.

Arizona State's search committee is already en route to Baton Rouge, where Charlie Weis Jr. is scheduled to interview later this evening.

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Charle Weis Jr. 'Wows' Sun Devils In Interview

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Offensive coordinator the dark-horse favorite after interview, ASU brass heading to Athens next

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The Devil's Due Mailbag — Coaching Search Update By Diego Alfaro

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Published: December 17th, 2026

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Earlier today the Sun Devils contingent featuring Graham Rossini and Parker Executive Search interviewed Spencer Danielson. All indications are that the group left the interview 'very impressed' with the current Boise State head coach.

This evening the contingent met with current LSU offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. Throughout the two-hour interview, multiple members of the search committee reportedly remarked on Weis Jr.'s preparation and command of the discussion.

"You knew going in that Weis Jr. was well-regarded as a football savant of sorts. I'm told he blows that perception out of the water in person," discussed a source close to the contingent.

In the interview, Weis Jr. laid out a clear and cohesive plan to not only maintain the Sun Devils current offensive success, but to improve it.

"He came into the interview with play calls and situations from this season and explained how he would improve them," repeated the source, "You hear that and think 'yeah, it's easy to turn dud plays into big plays in retrospect.' Except, he didn't choose the plays. Weis Jr. had over 50 plays from this previous season loaded and let Rossini pick them.

Before the film rolled, Weis Jr. dissected them and outlined what he would do differently."

"Either he memorized 50 different sequences in two days' time so he was prepared no matter what Rossini pulled, or he made those adjustments on the fly in a conference room."

"No matter the answer, it is impressive," finished the source.

Weis then flipped the script, using the same process to discuss how he would proactively improve the Sun Devils defense with an aggressive man-coverage scheme, highlighting that it is the exact type of defense that gives him the biggest trouble as a coordinator.

The part of the interview that divided the room was reportedly his insistence that even if he was offered the job at Arizona State, he was going to remain on the LSU staff until their College Football Playoff run had reached it's conclusion.

"It's consistent with who he is and they knew that," said the source, referencing Weis Jr.'s decision to coach Ole Miss despite agreeing to join Kiffin's staff, then his decision to turn down more money from both the Rebels and the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles simply because he gave Kiffin his word he'd be at LSU.

"Rossini and the ASU leadership group loved it, especially after watching Dillingham walk out the door. The PES guys were less than enthused about it, highlighting that could directly conflict with the timeline Rossini had established should LSU make a National Championship run. They were adamant that it would negatively impact recruiting if their newly selected head coach was still tied to LSU in January of the New Year.

Throughout the two-hour interview, the source kept coming back to the word 'wow' and how many times Rossini and other associates reportedly said it, or wrote it down, during the process.

If my completely uneducated two cents are worth anything, here's my quick take on the search so far. Danielson sold physicality and culture. Weis Jr sold preparation and outscheming your opponent. The caveat is, Danielson brings head coaching experience. Not only is Weis Jr. young, but he's never been a head coach at any level previously.

Thankfully for the Arizona State committee, an answer is not immediately due. The group will overnight in Baton Rouge before heading to Athens, Georgia tomorrow to speak with Glenn Schumann. They are then expected to finish out the interview circuit with trips to Auburn and finally Eugene before trimming their list down to the final three.