TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State has reportedly found its new wide receivers coach, according to multiple reports, and he brings a championship pedigree.
Hines Ward has agreed to join Kenny Dillingham's staff, according to ESPN and The Athletic.
This move comes just days after former wide receivers coach Ra'Shaad Samples left to take a job at Oregon.
Dillingham confirmed the news after ASU's practice on Saturday night.
"Hines Ward is our wide receivers coach," Dillingham said. "The agreement's done, so he's going to be here, he was out here today, he drove out here with his wife. We're excited to have him, to have him part of the brotherhood."
Ward, who was born in South Korea, played college football at Georgia before playing his entire 14-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Dillingham said Ward's NFL career had nothing to do with why he was hired.
"The thing that really stood out to me most was anytime you hire somebody who's been successful, you say, okay, do they want this? Do they want the grind? Why do you want to work 100-hour weeks when you don't have to? And when I asked him that question, he said, 'I love it and I want to prove to people I can do it,'" Dillingham said.
"And then when he's in your office and he says, 'I want to prove (to) people that I can be the best at this,' you can feel it," Dillingham added. "And when you can feel the energy and you can feel the passion, any room he steps into, any family that feels that passion that I felt in that room, right, they're going to want to play for him."
Ward released a statement on social media after his hire was announced, which read, "I am truly honored and excited to join Arizona State University Football as the Wide Receivers Coach. It's an incredible opportunity to share my passion for the game with a talented group of young men and help them reach their full potential. The culture and energy here in the Valley is special, and I can't wait to be a part of it."
The four-time Pro Bowler caught 1,000 passes for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns in his career. He won both Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII — over the Arizona Cardinals — with Pittsburgh and was named the MVP of Super Bowl XL.
Dillingham joked that the controversial ending of Super Bowl XLIII caused a hang-up when trying to get Ward under contract.
"I told him that he had to admit that there was only one toe inbounds," Dillingham said. "And he wouldn't do it. So we had to take that language out and once we took that language out, you know, he signed and he's here."
Ward jumped into coaching in 2017 as an offensive intern with the Steelers. He was hired as an offensive assistant by the New York Jets in 2019 and spent two seasons in that role.
In 2021, Ward took a job in college as the wide receivers coach at Florida Atlantic and then in 2023 was named the head coach of the XFL's San Antonio Brahmas.
Dillingham said he was impressed by Ward's journey through the coaching ranks.
"Yeah, so, I always study people, you know, it's just what I do," Dillingham said. "And he started coaching about six years ago with the Jets. And I thought it was interesting. Okay, this is a tenacious player, he's starting to coach at really the bottom floor of coaching. So obviously, he wants to do it."
ASU is heading into its second season in the Dillingham Era and is coming off of a 3-9 season that saw the Sun Devils finish in 10th place in the final season of the Pac-12.
Ward will look to help ASU's passing game improve after finishing 86th in the nation in 2023 with 210.3 yards per game. He'll coach wide receivers Jordyn Tyson, Xavier Guillory, Elijhah Badger, Jake Smith, Melquan Stovall, Troy Omeire, Kaleb Black, Patrick Williams II, Jamaal Young II, Derek Eusebio, Korbin Hendrix, Max Ware, Coben Bourguet and Zechariah Sample.
Dillingham said when he told the players that Ward was joining the staff, they all got big, excited smiles.
"They were like, holy cow. I was talking to (Guillory), and he was like, 'Yeah, I had, like, nine of my family members call me about it,'" Dillingham said.
The Sun Devils wrap up spring football practices on Friday, April 26 with their annual Maroon & Gold game at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe. Admission to the game is free. Pregame activities, including a fan zone and food trucks will begin at 5 p.m. The game will begin at 6 p.m. There will be fireworks after the game. You can find out more by clicking here.
ASU opens the 2024 season on Saturday, Aug. 31 when they take on the Wyoming Cowboys at Mountain America Stadium.
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Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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