Herm Edwards reportedly a ‘strong candidate’ for Arizona State job, and maybe it’s not as wild as it sounds?

Let us explain.

To quote the movie Anchorman — “I have just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story” — Arizona State is reportedly considering Herm Edwards, yes the former NFL head coach and current ESPN broadcaster, as its next head coach. On Tuesday evening, FootballScoop reported the following:

Sources told FootballScoop Herm Edwards is a strong candidate to be the next head coach at Arizona State.

Later, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Edwards will be interviewing for the job this weekend.

A radio station in Arizona also reported that Edwards has emerged as a “serious candidate.”

Here’s where we note Edwards was once a client of ASU athletic director Ray Anderson, back when Anderson was a sports agent.

Edwards, who is 63 years old, hasn’t coached since 2008, when he spent three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs as head coach.

Prior to that, he was the head coach for the New York Jets from 2001-05.

Since then, he has been doing broadcast work with ESPN, which he joined in March 2009. Typically he is seen on various shows such as NFL Live, SportsCenter, and ESPN Radio. Edwards also called the SEC primetime college football games on ESPNU in 2010. He has also worked with high school recruits at the Under Armour All-American game, which used to be televised by ESPN.

The last time Edwards coached at the collegiate level was in 1989, where he spent three seasons as San Jose State’s defensive backs coach for three seasons.

But one of the things Anderson said he was looking for in in his post-Todd Graham press conference on Sunday was a head coach who could keep Graham’s coordinators, Billy Napier and Phil Bennett.

During the press conference, Anderson noted that he hoped the new coach would at least consider retaining offensive coordinator Billy Napier and defensive coordinator Phil Bennett, both of whom just finished their first season at ASU and were hired by... Todd Graham.

“I want someone to come in with an open mind and see what Napier and Bennett have done for us in terms of progress,” Anderson said. “We don't want someone to come in, throw a grenade and say I want all my own guys.”

And it’s thanks to that point that you can find the rationalization for an Edwards hire by ASU even though it is certainly coming out of left field.

If the Sun Devils are hellbent on keeping those assistants, and Anderson truly believes they are good enough coaches to get ASU where it needs to go, then bringing in a guy like Edwards as the personable face of the program might not be the worst idea in the world. Think of it like a Dabo Swinney at Clemson, a program that surrounded a green head coach with talented assistants to help shoulder the burden.

Seeing Edwards’ name as a serious candidate for the ASU job may raise some eyebrows, but it wouldn’t be so bad seeing stuff like this at the collegiate level.

We’ll see what else comes of the latest ASU coaching search rumor.