ASU football co-defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator Antonio Pierce has been elevated to sole defensive coordinator, according to an announcement made Wednesday by head coach Herm Edwards.
Pierce partnered with former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis to run ASU's defense this past season. Pierce will remain the recruiting coordinator and keep his title of associate head coach, while Lewis will remain as a special assistant to the head coach.
"I've said it before and it is worth saying again that Antonio Pierce has proven his worth as a person, as a football coach and as a leader of young men while on our staff at ASU," Edwards said in the announcement. "His pedigree and wealth of experience fits perfectly within our Pro Model and with how we do things in our program. I'm so proud of him and I think he is set up to be a Sun Devil for a long while."
Edwards brought in Pierce as his linebackers coach after Edwards was hired to replace former head coach Todd Graham following the 2017 season.
Linebackers Merlin Robertson and Darien Butler led ASU in tackles in Pierce's first year as linebackers coach in 2018. Both linebackers were freshmen at the time and were recruited by Pierce.
Pierce has helped improve ASU's defense since arriving at the school. After surrendering 32.8 points per game the season before Pierce's arrival, ASU has since allowed 25.5 points per game in 2018, 22.4 in 2019 and 23.2 in four games in 2020.
As recruiting coordinator, Pierce has helped ASU recruit the 36th-ranked class nationally in 2018, the 28th-ranked class in 2019 and the 23rd-ranked class in 2020, according to 247Sports.
The former football head coach at Long Beach Polytechnic High School has recruited heavily in the Southern California area. Several of ASU's top contributors on defense — like Robertson, Butler and junior defensive lineman Jermayne Lole — were recruited from the area by Pierce.
According to a report from SunDevilSource last December, Pierce was "interested" in UA's recent head coaching opening after the school fired former head coach Kevin Sumlin. UA eventually hired Jedd Fisch as head coach, who previously served as the New England Patriots' quarterbacks coach in 2020.
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