Herm Edwards, the newly named head coach of ASU football, has decided to retain Billy Napier as the team's associate head coach and offensive coordinator for the 2018 season, according to an ASU official with knowledge of the decision.
Sun Devil Athletics is expected to formally announce his hiring Tuesday morning, according to the official.
Napier will serve under Edwards, an ESPN analyst and former NFL coach, who was hired this week to replace Todd Graham as the Sun Devils' head coach.
The University is expected to make announcements regarding other coaching staff — including defensive coordinator Phil Bennett — within the coming weeks, according to the ASU official.
Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson said that throughout the head coach hiring process, he would like to retain the program's assistant coaches.
"Edwards will take a proactive approach to developing coordinators and assistant coaches, drawing on his nearly three decades of NFL experience in a variety of capacities and wide range of leadership positions within both the sport of football and in other endeavors," Anderson said in a press release at the time of Edwards' announcement.
Napier was hired by Graham as offensive coordinator in January 2017. He lead the Sun Devil offense to a 6-3 conference record.
He previously spent five seasons as the wide receivers coach at the University of Alabama.
Editor's note: This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Reach the reporter at rkneedle@asu.edu or follow @reillykneedler on Twitter.
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