Was Todd Graham the Right Choice for the Arizona State Sun Devils?

According to ESPN, the Arizona State Sun Devils have chosen Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Todd Graham to replace Dennis Erickson for the 2012 season. Graham's name comes as a surprise to many, as he just recently signed on with Pitt, and his name really hadn't surfaced in previous talks.

At Pitt, Graham led the Panthers to an overall record of 6-6 in his first and only year as the head coach of that program. Graham does bring six years of head coaching experience with him to the job after much success with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2007-10.

At Tulsa, Graham had an overall record of 36-17, claiming the top spot in Conference USA's West division in three of his four seasons. He also has an overall record of 3-1 in bowl games, but he has never made a BCS bowl game due to his particular circumstances.

No doubt was his last stop perhaps his worst overall, but you have to consider that he hadn't yet implemented his system.

Graham is 47 years old. With him, he brings some of that youthful desire while also bringing some valuable head coaching experience. The other plus is that Graham brings in a new defensive mind and could perhaps help increase the Sun Devils' consistency on defense.

They have plenty of great assets returning for 2012, so there is no doubt that Graham could help turn things around quicker than expected.

Graham will also likely be able to increase Arizona State's recruiting efforts out east. Currently, the Sun Devils compete with fellow Pac-12 teams for talent in California and Texas. However, Graham could perhaps give them a bigger presence outside of their comfort zone.

The Sun Devils were going through quite a mess following the dismissal of Erickson and the quick change of heart on the deal they had with Southern Methodist's June Jones. Many had speculated that this mess would go on for much longer, so it is nice to see that Arizona State was able to settle on a credible coach and make that move before the Sun Devils' bowl game against the Boise State Broncos.

It remains to be seen how this hire will affect the team's current coaching staff. There have been rumblings that both Noel Mazzone and Craig Bray could be departing, with both being linked with UCLA. With Graham coming in, he may ultimately decide to implement his own staff.

For now, the Graham signing seems like the right move considering what the Sun Devils were looking for. He doesn't carry the appeal of a Jim Tressel or the potential of a Justin Wilcox, but he does bring in a winning mentality.

This will be Graham's fourth job in six years, so perhaps he will finally find himself comfortable in Tempe with the Sun Devils.

For both Arizona State and Graham, hopefully this one will be the right match.

Jeff Chase is a Featured Columnist for the Chicago Cubs and Arizona State Football.