Former Arizona State Head Coach Among Worst NFL Hires

Arizona State football is moving into a future that looks to be rooted in stability and consistent competition under third-year head man Kenny Dillingham.

It hasn't always been that way - every coach that has resided in Tempe since Bruce Snyder has only experienced temporary success.

Among those coaches that struggled with the Sun Devils is former national championship winner Dennis Erickson.

Erickson took over the Arizona State program in 2007 and experienced immediate success - winning 10 games in his debut season before bottoming out.

Erickson finished his tenure in Tempe with a perfectly average 31-31 record - other teams have also arguably regretted his hiring outside of ASU.

CBS Sports analyst Cody Benjamin named the San Francisco 49ers' hiring of Erickson as the 13th worst hire in this century - more on the rationale to follow:

"It was always going to be tough to replace Steve Mariucci, who helped cultivate Hall of Fame talent and led four playoff runs in six seasons atop the 49ers. Choosing Erickson, who had managed a 31-33 mark in four years with the rival Seahawks, ended up setting the stage for a total teardown in San Francisco, with successor Mike Nolan infamously opting for Alex Smith over future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the 2005 NFL Draft."

Erickson's time in Tempe was marred with a lack of genuine control over his locker rooms, a series of recruiting failures, and a general tendency to fall apart over the second half of seasons.

This was despite holding elite talents such as Gerell Robinson, Brock Osweiler, and Vontaze Burfict - his time in Tempe ended in 2011 after one final meltdown.

The Sun Devils experienced more brief success under his replacement in Todd Graham before stagnation resulted in a controversial hiring of Herm Edwards that eventually snowballed into an NCAA investigation that lead to Dillingham.

While it can be argued that Erickson was simply a symptom of what was wrong with the program, he certainly did not contribute to improving the culture.

Read more on what coach Dillingham had to say during his time with media on Tuesday here, and on how senior linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu can be a key contributor to the Sun Devil defense here.

Please let us know your thoughts on the past wrong hires that were made by the Sun Devils and how far the program has come under Dillingham when you like our Facebook page when you click right here.