ASU Football: Pierce, Lewis named CO-Defensive Coordinators, DC Tony White leaves for Syracuse

It bit of shocking news on Tuesday, the Arizona State Sun Devils will be switching defensive coordinators again. As reported by Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, recently named defensive coordinator Tony White will leave for Syracuse in the same position.

White was promoted in December from defensive backs coach to the position after former Danny Gonzales left to be the head coach at New Mexico. At that same time, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator Antonio Pierce was named associate head coach.

Pierce along with advisor Marvin Lewis were announced to be the new co-defensive coordinators for Arizona State. It’s been known that Pierce has had a bit of a tougher time adapting to the 3-3-5 system, and with Lewis having a background away from that scheme, there’s a good assumption the Sun Devils will use less of it moving forward.

Head coach Herm Edwards had this to say in a statement from the school about the pair.

“Marvin Lewis is someone that I have come to trust wholeheartedly during my career and his coaching acumen will prove to be invaluable as we continue to push this program forward,” Edwards said. “He has coached at the highest level of football and spearheaded some elite defenses in the process. That kind of experience cannot be measured and his passion for teaching will extend beyond the student-athletes, but also to our coaching staff itself.

“Antonio Pierce has established himself as one of the elite recruiters in the nation and is one of the brightest up-and-coming coaches around. His impact with the linebackers and with the Sun Devil program in just two seasons has been tangible and he has been a pivotal part in our defensive success since his arrival in Tempe.”