Monterey Peninsula College (1973) Herman Edwards Jr. (born April 27, 1954) is an American football coach and former player.
Edwards was born on an Army base in Eatontown, New Jersey,[2] the son of an American World War II veteran and his German wife.
In the National Football League (NFL), Edwards played nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1977 to 1985, making a championship appearance with the team in Super Bowl XV.
Philadelphia's implementation of the victory formation, which was designed as a result of “The Miracle at the Meadowlands”, was known as the "Herman Edwards play."
In 2002, the Jets squeaked into the playoffs with a 9–7 record, due to winning the tie-breakers in a three-way tie for the AFC East Division lead with the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins.
Following the end of the season, the Jets made the highly unusual move of trading a coach—Edwards—to another team (the Kansas City Chiefs), in exchange for a player to be chosen in round four of the 2006 draft.
[7][8] The Jets replaced Edwards by hiring Eric Mangini, a senior assistant coach with the New England Patriots.
Following the 2005 season, Chiefs president Carl Peterson hinted to the press about interest in hiring Edwards that could have been considered tampering.
[10] Edwards' regular season coaching debut with the Chiefs was a 23–10 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on September 10.
Despite Green's injury, the Chiefs continued to stay in contention, largely thanks to backup quarterback Damon Huard and Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson.
Upon his return, Green struggled and failed to perform at the level of play that he had achieved in previous seasons, throwing seven touchdowns (against nine interceptions) and going 4–4 as a starter.
Green's poor play led to Edwards placing more of the offensive burden on the shoulders of Larry Johnson, who ultimately ended up setting a record for rushing attempts in a season.
[citation needed] In the 2007 season, the Chiefs were plagued with quarterback, running back, kicker and offensive coaching controversies.
He was benched in favor of Edwards' 2006 draft choice Brodie Croyle, who split time with Huard mid-season, was injured, then finished most of the season.
Running back Larry Johnson injured his foot mid-season and was replaced by Priest Holmes who came out of retirement late in the year[15] and was ineffective, averaging just three yards per carry and recording no touchdowns.
[16] Kicker Justin Medlock was Edwards' draft choice but was cut after the first game and replaced by Dave Rayner.
[17] Chiefs owner Clark Hunt set the tone for the 2008 season by expressing his support for Edwards and general manager Carl Peterson and their plan to rebuild the team.
The 2019 season began with Edwards choosing true freshman Jayden Daniels to quarterback the Sun Devils.
On June 16, 2021, ASU confirmed that NCAA is investigating the football program over recruiting high school players during the COVID-19 dead period in 2020.
[21] 17 players including quarterback Jayden Daniels, wide receiver Johnny Wilson, and All-American linebacker Eric Gentry, entered the transfer portal as a result of the investigation and NIL.
The allegations included hosting recruits on campus during a dead period, which was a direct violation of NCAA rules established to ensure fairness and health safety during the pandemic.
Following a detailed investigation, the NCAA found substantial evidence of these violations, leading to significant penalties for Edwards and ASU.
[27] Edwards did not even watch his friends Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith participate in Super Bowl XLI.
[27] Edwards broke that tradition when, to serve in his capacity as an analyst for ESPN, he watched Super Bowl XLIV in 2010.
Known widely for his enthusiasm and faith-based personality, Edwards was born and raised Baptist, but converted with his family and is now a practicing Catholic.
[29][30] Edwards appeared in the 2012 episode Broke, about the high rates of bankruptcy and poor financial decisions amongst professional athletes, part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series of sports documentaries.