Rhetoric can be dangerous. Oversized expectations almost always dissolve into disappointment. Arizona State’s Ray Anderson was smart enough to recognize the pitfalls, telling Todd Graham to turn down his trademark bluster before the 2016 season.
Too bad Anderson ignored his own advice, doubling down on every reckless promise made by the man he just fired.
The termination of Graham’s contract has had a strange effect on the Valley. The firing is backfiring. Graham came to ASU with a vagabond reputation and leaves as a martyr. Football fans in Pittsburgh seem to be the only ones cheering loudly, still jilted six years after he left that program without saying goodbye.