Herm Edwards: I'm 'Well-Equipped' to Coach Arizona St. Amid Criticism of Hiring

New Arizona State head football coach Herm Edwards said Friday he is the right man for the job.

According to ESPN.com's Edward Aschoff, Edwards believes he has the ability to succeed at ASU despite whispers that he was a poor hiring: "I love the game of football too much, and I owe the game of football too much for me to take a job that I thought I was ill-equipped to handle. I'm well-equipped to handle this by all stretches of the imagination."

Edwards was hired in December after Arizona State fired previous head coach Todd Graham.

Edwards has never previously been a head coach at the collegiate level, but he says he loves the dynamic: "I wake up going, 'I'm in my element.' Every time I come in here, I realize how much I missed it. [College players are] clay. They're hopeful. They have energy, they have aspirations."

The 63-year-old Edwards last coached in 2008 when he was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.

In eight seasons as an NFL head coach with the New York Jets and Chiefs, Edwards went 54-74 with four playoff appearances.

The former NFL defensive back then worked as an NFL analyst before replacing Graham at ASU.

He steps into a difficult situation as the Sun Devils have gone just 18-20 over the past three seasons.

Although they have made a bowl game in six of the past seven campaigns, they have been a middling program since winning 10 games in both 2013 and 2014.

Edwards will look to turn around a team that hasn't won a conference title since winning the Pac-10 in 2007.