Todd Graham Leaving Pitt to Become Head Coach at Arizona State

Todd Graham is leaving the Pittsburgh Panthers to become the new head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Pat Forde.

The hire was abrupt, but it’s not a shock considering that this will be Graham's fourth stop as a head coach in the past six years.

Arizona State Athletic Director Lisa Love was tasked with finding a new coach after ASU dismissed Dennis Erickson following a disappointing season that capped an up-and-down tenure from 2007 through 2011.

ASU was previously linked to Southern Methodist’s June Jones before negotiations reached an impasse and broke down. They also targeted Houston’s Kevin Sumlin, who eventually took the Texas A&M job.

Love ended up choosing Graham, and she can only hope he sticks around longer than one season.

The 47-year-old head coach has a record of 49-29.

In 2006, Graham's first as a head coach, he led the Rice Owls to a 7-6 record and a bowl game before departing to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

He found the most success of his short career in Tulsa, going 36-17 with a 3-0 bowl game record.

Pitt hired Graham in 2011. He led them to a 6-6 season and a selection to the BBVA Compass Bowl against SMU.

The Sun Devils are looking for stability and a young coach to land top recruits that enable them to compete with USC for the Pac-12 South title.

Graham was once one of the most coveted coaches on the college football market. It was commonly believed he could help any team win. However, he's seen his stock fall lately due to his inability to stay loyal to a program and his disappointing 2011 season in the weak Big East.

ASU is taking a gamble on him, and they will soon find out if it pays out.

If Graham decides to settle in the Valley of the Sun for the long haul and proves to be a winner, it will certainly be worth it.