Herman “Herm” Edwards Jr. is an American Football analyst and former NFL player and coach. He has been a Professional football analyst for ESPN since 2009. Prior to his career as an analyst, Edwards played cornerback for 10 seasons (1977-1986) with the Philadelphia Eagles, LA Rams and the Atlanta Falcons, making an appearance in Super Bowl XV. Edwards 33 career interceptions is one short of the franchise record. He never missed a game in his nine season with the Eagles, remaining active with the team for 135 consecutive days until being cut by incoming coach Buddy Ryan.
The highlight of Edwards playing career occurred on November 19, 1978, in the final second os a game against the New York Giants. The Giants led 17-12 and the Eagles had no time-outs remaining, but instead of simply taking the snap from the center and taking a knee, giants quarterback, Joe Pisarcik, attempted to hand the ball off to running back Larry Csonka. The ball came loose, and Edwards picked it up and returned it for a touchdown enabling the Eagles to win 19-17. This play became known as the “Miracle at the Meadowlands”. Edwards played college football at the University of California but transferred to San Diego State for his senior year, graduating with a degree in criminal justice.
Following his playing career, Edwards became a defensive assistant at San Jose State University (1987-1989) and then became an NFL scout and defensive backs coach with the Kansas City Cheifs. Edwards was hired as the 10th head coach in Kansas City Chiefs history in 2006, previously, he was the coach of the New York Jets from 2001-2005. Edwards is known for his gameday terminology, dubbed “Hermisms” by fans. In an attempt to rebuild the Kansas City Cheifs one year, a handful of aging veterans were cut, as a result, Edwards fielded one of the youngest teams in the NFL, however, Edwards streak of opening day defeats continued with a loss to the Patriots. Edwards time with the Chiefs was up and down and he was relieved of his coaching duties on January 23, 2009. Edwards had stints for Tampa Bay and the New York Jets between his time at Kansas City.
Edwards appeared in the 20120 episode “Broke” about high rates of bankruptcy and poor financial decisions amongst professional athletes, part of ESPN’s 30 fo 30 series of sports documentaries. In 2013, Edwards served as a head coach in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
At ESPN Edwards appears primarilt on NFL Live and SportsCenter, while also contributing to ESPN Radio and the company’s annual Super Bowl coverage. Among Edwards’ other responsibilities, he called weekly SEC prime time college football games alongside Clay Matvick on ESPNU in 2010, and he worked alongside Rece Davis and Chris Spielman in August 2009 to call the Dike-New Hartford at Aplington-Parkersburg (Iowa) high school football game on ESPN.
Edwards has been recognized by multiple organizations for his work in the community. He received the 2012 Walter Camp Foundation Man of the Year Award for his longtime contributions to the game of football; he was honored with Team ESPN’s Commentator of the Year Award in 2013; and in 2015 he received the prestigious Shell Legacy Award from the Shell Oil Company. Known for his dynamic motivational speaking, Edwards regularly addresses football players of all ages, as well as corporate groups. He spoke to incoming players at the NFL Players Association’s Rookie Premier in 2011, and he has coached teams at both the Under Armour All-America High School Football game and the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl college all-star game.
Edwards co-authored the book You Play to Win the Game – Leadership Lessons for Success On and Off the Field with ESPN’s Shelley Smith, and he was involved in longtime NFL referee Jim Tunney’s book, It’s the Will, Not the Skill – Principles and Philosophies of Success as Seen Through the Eyes, Mind and Heart of Herm Edwards. He also worked local broadcasts of Eagles preseason games in 2009.
