Moore: Here's what Arizona State football should do if Zak Hill leaves for Auburn

If you love something, let it go.

At least, that’s how Arizona State football fans ought to think about offensive coordinator Zak Hill.

Hill’s name has been increasingly connected to an opening at Auburn, a position that certainly would come with more pay and prestige.

SEC schools, such as Auburn, are known to toss around cash in ways that make other conferences (COUGH! PAC-12!) as jealous as a goldfish during Shark Week.

More: Former ASU coach under fire over alleged mistreatment, abuse of players

Auburn is a good job

Hill earns about $600,000 coaching in Tempe, according to a database compiled by USA TODAY Sports. Mike Bobo, Auburn’s previous offensive coordinator, earned more than double that, $1.3 million, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.

As for prestige, SEC schools have been in the College Football Playoff more than a pig’s snout has been in mud.

In eight years of the playoff format, SEC programs have been involved 10 times. (Alabama has seven appearances, Georgia has two and LSU has one.)

All that winning raises the profile of anyone associated with football on Saturdays Down South.

SEC schools play in more fan-friendly time slots compared to the Pac-12, and the games are easier to find on big-network broadcasts.

Auburn went 6-6 this year, but the Tigers appeared on ABC, CBS and ESPN a combined nine times.

So, if Hill gets the offer, it’s a logical decision for him to leave.

No one in maroon and gold should begrudge him that opportunity, even if he could have been a key part of heating up Sun Devil football to those standards.

If ASU had played a better second half against Utah and a better full game against Washington State, the program would be the darling underdog story of the college football world.

Instead, we’re talking about the fallout from a recruiting investigation and the regression of quarterback Jayden Daniels.

That gives ASU football a massive opportunity to get Daniels ready for the NFL and to give the fanbase a new chance to cheer for an old hero, Mike Bercovici.

More: ASU football's Zak Hill included in Auburn, Nebraska offensive coordinator speculation

Up Hill's struggles

ASU had problems on offense this year that weren’t all Hill’s fault.

The program lost offensive line coach Dave Christensen to retirement and analyst Kevin Mawae to the Indianapolis Colts. There is no coincidence that line play suffered.

Daniels rarely had a clean pocket to operate from. Consequently, his mechanics regressed.

ASU also lost its wide receivers and tight ends coaches to suspension.

As a result, Daniels didn’t have many reliable targets.

All too often, the Sun Devils offense was just Daniels and Rachaad White. (Daniels, obviously, led ASU in passing, and he was second in rushing. White, meanwhile, led the team in rushing and was second in receiving yards.)

Hill was a one-man band, trying to make sure all these units were functioning together. It’s a miracle it worked as well as it did.

There was no time to think creatively.

With a full complement of assistants, he could have figured out a way to get running back DeaMonte "Chip" Trayanum on the field more.

Hill could have put Trayanum in at tailback and White at slot receiver, forcing opposing defenses to leave one of these players in single coverage.

Further, Hill could have used more play-action (run fakes) to give Daniels time and to help struggling receivers get open.

But Hill also needed a good set of eyes and a quarterback coach.

This is where Bercovici comes in.

The return of Bercovici?

Bercovici has been on staff at Arizona State before.

When Daniels was a freshman, Bercovici helped mentor Daniels to more than 2,900 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. Daniels threw just two interceptions that year.

Lately, Bercovici has been working as an offensive assistant with the Arizona Cardinals.

“Berco is a young guy, very bright, great football IQ, works hard … he’s really done a nice job with us,” Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said.

Quarterbacks often make good coaches.

“At that position, you’ve got to learn how to study, and you’ve got to learn how to lead,” Kingsbury said. “Those are obviously qualities that can help you in coaching down the line.”

Bercovici is also a Tempe legend. Sun Devil fans will buy him dinner for the rest of his life for throwing the “Jael Mary” pass to beat USC in 2014.

The guess here is that Bercovici is ready to be an offensive coordinator at his alma mater.

If Hill wants to leave, ASU supporters should wish him well and let him go.

If he comes back, it was meant to be.

Regardless, athletic director Ray Anderson and football coach Herm Edwards should see if Bercovici is ready to come back home.

The best-case scenario for Arizona State would be for Hill to return with Bercovici on his staff as an assistant offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.

Second and short

CHIP OFF THE ASU BLOCK? Doug Haller has reported for The Athletic that Trayanum has put in to transfer to a new school. (They say Chip has “entered the transfer portal” as if he’s going to an alternate dimension in a 1970s sci-fi or something.)

Trayanum ended up on the bench after a few fumbles early in the season, but he was clearly the team’s best offensive threat behind White and Daniels.

Here’s hoping Trayanum doesn’t leave, because he would be one of the best backs in the Pac-12 next season.

A backfield duo of Trayanum and Daniyel Ngata would be a real problem for opposing defensive coordinators.

Third and short

BOWL THE DICE: ASU football players face a tough choice heading into the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. If they play, they risk injury that could harm their pro prospects. (You’ll hear analysts call this their “draft stock,” as if the guys are so much cattle … or soup broth.)

But for me, I hope the guys play.

Old dudes such as myself (I’m 43, and half my beard looks like it belongs to Santa, baby) wish we could still run and jump and scream and hit and fall down without needing a team of medical professionals to peel us off the turf and put us back together again.

We want young guys to live without regrets. And I’ve mostly regretted the things I didn’t do.

That said, I support the players in whatever decision they make. Their bodies, their careers, their choices.

(Maybe somebody smarter than me could figure out how to guarantee a payout for guys who suffer major injuries in bowl games? Seems like there would be enough money to figure it out.)

Fourth and long

GET WILD, CATS: We should all be rooting for Jedd Fisch to get the program down in Tucson back clawing and scratching. The Pac-12 is better with a good Arizona program.

That said, Fisch is going to need to be busier than a three-legged Wildcat in a dry recruiting sandbox to pull it off.

Somebody send that man some coffee.

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @SayingMoore.

There's plenty Moore where this came from. Subscribe for videos, columns, opinions and analysis from The Arizona Republic’s award-winning sports team.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Moore: ASU should go after Mike Bercovici if Zak Hill leaves for SEC