Arizona State head coach Herm Edwards officially announced on Sunday the hiring of San Diego State defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales as the new Sun Devils defensive coordinator.
"Danny Gonzales has cut his teeth working with one of the top defensive schemes in the past decade of college football," Edwards said in a statement on the school’s website. "In his first season as defensive coordinator, there was no drop-off in the production on the defensive end and he helped guide the Aztecs to a 10-win season. Danny is one of the top young coaching talents in the game today and we are happy to bring him on board at ASU."
The hiring had been in the works for more than a week, although Gonzales did not want an announcement to be made before SDSU played Army in the Armed Forces Bowl in an effort to avoid a distraction. Word still got out early Friday, a day before the SDSU-Army game.
"I am honored and humbled to be a part of the Arizona State University football program,” Gonzales said in a statement. “It is a privilege to represent such a prestigious institution, and to be a part of this program's rich tradition of athletic excellence. .... I am excited to get to work building relationships with our student-athletes and do my part in helping Coach (Herm) Edwards execute his vision for our program."
Gonzales spent seven years coaching at SDSU, coming to the school in 2011 as safeties coach. In March, he was promoted to defensive coordinator by head coach Rocky Long, who had mentored Gonzales first as a player and then an assistant coach at New Mexico.
Long has been his own defensive coordinator in the past and still called the plays for the Aztecs this season, so he may only need a safeties coach to replace Gonzales. SDSU also is looking for a special teams coordinator with the departure of Bobby Hauck, who was hired Dec. 1 as head coach at Montana.
The Aztecs could lose additional assistants, Long said, as both Gonzales and Hauck fill openings on their respective staffs. SDSU linebackers coach Josh Arnett’s name is among those rumored as a possibility.