Arizona State defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce no longer employed by football program

Arizona State defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce is no longer employed by the school, a spokesman confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.

Sources told ESPN that Pierce was resigning and is expected to pursue NFL coaching opportunities.

Pierce's departure marks the fifth assistant to leave the Sun Devils football program's coaching staff in the wake of an NCAA investigation into alleged illicit recruiting practices. Those include allegations of violating NCAA dead period recruiting restrictions prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the investigation is still open, as sources told ESPN that multiple coaches implicated have yet to speak to the NCAA.

Pierce, 43, is named in the dossier of documents forwarded to Arizona State and NCAA officials on May 31, 2021, that detail widespread allegations of recruiting violations in the Arizona State program.

Pierce is singled out in the dossier for meeting in-person with two high-profile Arizona State recruits on campus on Feb. 7 and March 27, both of which were during NCAA dead periods. Pierce not returning to the school appeared an inevitability, as he'd removed ASU from his social media accounts in December, and the school had barred him from recruiting off campus.

Pierce, who was also the school's recruiting coordinator, stepped down on national signing day. Arizona State is widely viewed as having the worst recruiting class in the Pac-12, and a primary factor is the uncertainty of potential sanctions hanging over the school.

Of the six full-time coaching staff members in the dossier of documents forwarded to the NCAA that the author requests be investigated, only head coach Herm Edwards remains employed by the university. Offensive coordinator Zak Hill and tight ends coach Adam