A few months ago, from when we reported that Herm Edwards may be the next head coach at Arizona State to the date he was officially named the new leaders of the Sun Devils, I'm confident in saying that more than a few coaches out there would have loved to be in the room during that first staff meeting - myself included.
There, you'd have found a former NFL head coach, a decade removed from his last coaching job, addressing his new staff full of holdovers from the previous staff wondering what kind of ego this new guy was going to come in with.
As offensive coordinator Rob Likens explains, it was Edwards' honest and humble approach in that moment that won the staff over.
"The first thing he did, I thought was awesome," Likens starts by saying.
"He came to us as coaches, and everyone in the world knows him, and he's been a head coach in the NFL, and he could have come in - especially with someone like myself that was kept from the previous staff - and come in and say 'This is how we do it.'"
"But he came in and he was so genuine and honest, and he came in and said 'Guys, you know more about college football than I do. I've been in the NFL. So I'm going to lean on you, and I need your help."
"That, instantly, everyone in the room was like, 'LET'S GO!'"
In his first three games leading the program, Edwards and his staff have collected a convincing win over UTSA, knocked off a top-10 program in Michigan State, and lost on the road to a tough San Diego State squad. The Sun Devils open up Pac-12 play this weekend with a big road trip to Washington.
See coach Likens reflect back on that first meeting, and witness his approach at practice working under Edwards, in the clip.
https://youtu.be/tGH9pisG3M4?t=183