Herm Edwards wasn't joking about the train.
When he was introduced as Arizona State's new football coach Dec. 4, Edwards compared the future of Sun Devil football to a locomotive in constant motion.
"I'm on the train. I will ride this train until it stops (but) it's not gonna stop," he said. "If you wanna board on a little bit later, we got a seat for you."
At age 63, Edwards simply does not stop -- and just looking at his daily schedule would be enough to make most younger folks tired.
"I like organization. I like (having a) task in front of you. Every time you check one off, you feel like, I’ve accomplished something today," he said.
In terms of getting the most out of every single day, Edwards leads by example. He rises well before the sun does, and it's not uncommon for him to tweet words of wisdom to his players shortly after 4 a.m.
ASU Players,
He who thinks twice before saying something is wise. #ForksUp
— Herm Edwards (@HermEdwards) January 29, 2018
Edwards will move into a home in the Valley with his family soon. For now, he makes the daily walk to ASU's football complex from his Tempe hotel, arriving at work by 4:30 a.m. on weekdays and 5 a.m. on weekends. (Edwards didn't reveal this information, but he takes time to meet with and buy coffee for homeless individuals he encounters on his way.)
His career as an NFL player ended 32 years ago, but Edwards still exercises six days a week. He begins his routine as soon as he arrives at work.
"Some of the coaches come in right around 5:30, quarter to six," he said. "I’m done (working out) around 6:30. I get in my office by 7 so I can plan the day."
At that point, Edwards begins the job of communicating with his players and coaches to make sure they're getting as much out of their days as he is.
"I’m all over the place. I’m in the locker room, dealing with the players... we're making phone calls, overseeing workouts," he said.
When he's not in the office, Edwards is working tirelessly on the recruiting trail. He and every member of his coaching staff recently visited five high schools apiece in Arizona -- a total of 60 high schools in a single day. As of this writing, Edwards and his assistants are trekking through California, making stops at one high school after another.
Coach Herm Edwards and Staff searching for the Next Great Cavalier! #HomeofChampions #BeTheStandard #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/0ukRd1cOIl
— Serra Football (@Serra__Football) January 29, 2018
"Our players are doing a great job of hosting some of these players that we’re recruiting," he said. "I can’t say enough about our players, how they’re involved in the recruiting process, as well."
Perhaps the only thing that has rivaled Edwards' exhausting schedule since landing in Tempe is the amount of skepticism about his ability to succeed there. A number of national football experts have called Edwards' hiring the worst any school has made heading into the 2018 season -- and many Sun Devil fans seem to feel the same way.
It's easy to understand why. Edwards' last coaching job came nearly a decade ago. He has a career 54-74 record as a head coach, and all of that experience came at the NFL level. He has never been a college head coach, and he only has three years of experience in the college ranks: as defensive backs coach at San Jose State three decades ago. He had spent the last nine years as an NFL analyst for ESPN.
The doubters don't bother Herm, though, simply because he's too busy to listen to them.
"When I came back, I anticipated this. I don’t pay attention to all that stuff," he said. "The thing I deal with is, I know that when I stand before the players. They’re excited about what we’re trying to do and where we’re headed."
Edwards, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1977-85, doesn't believe the game has passed him by any more than it did for Dick Vermeil, his former Eagles coach. Vermeil spent nearly 15 years out of football before returning as the head coach of the St. Louis Rams in 1997. He won a Super Bowl in his third season at the helm.
"(New Raiders coach) Jon Gruden’s been out as long as I’ve been out. It’s not going to pass him by either," Edwards said. "We’ll be fine."
But why did Edwards return to coaching after all these years? After all, he doesn't need the money -- and from a time commitment perspective, it would have been easier to remain at ESPN.
But time and money weren't Edwards' primary reasons for taking on a brand-new challenge in the desert.
"When I came back, there were numerous reasons, but here’s the reason that really stuck with me: I wanted to honor the game, in how I was going to coach it and how the players were going to play it," he said.
"That was always my mindset as a coach, and even a player. You want to honor the game, you really do, because of so much that is given to all of us, whether you’re a fan, coach or a player. For me, that was very, very important."
Edwards knows the skeptics aren't going anywhere. Until fans and experts see results on the field, the decision to bring him to the Valley will continue to be questioned.
That's just fine with Herm, whose train moves too fast to allow the skeptics to climb aboard. But if and when they change their tune, he'll have a seat waiting for them.
"It's not gonna stop," he said. "We’ll let people jump on, but it’s not gonna stop."
