The Kenny Dillingham era has the Arizona State Sun Devils on the right track. After a controversy-laden period in the university’s history, the Tempe program is now back on the national stage, and the change of regime is credited with producing amazing results.
The 2024 Arizona State staff has a theme. Young and local. The entire coaching staff list is brimming with exciting developmental coaching talent from Arizona. From the head coach to position coaches, here’s the 2024 Sun Devils staff.
Arizona State Sun Devils Coaching Staff
Head Coach, Kenny Dillingham
Dillingham has strong ties to his alma mater and a deep connection to Scottsdale, where he was born and raised. He began his coaching career at Chaparral High School and was promoted to offensive coordinator by age 21. Under his leadership, the program’s offense was ranked No. 1 in Arizona in 2013.
Dillingham quickly established himself as an innovative offensive mind, developing a robust recruiting pipeline between Scottsdale and surrounding communities at every college football stop.
After serving as an offensive assistant with the Arizona State Sun Devils from 2014 to 2015, he became a graduate assistant with the Memphis Tigers in 2016. He was promoted to quarterbacks and tight ends coach in 2017 and then to offensive coordinator in 2018.
During his time at Memphis, Dillingham’s offenses ranked in the top five nationally in both 2017 and 2018. In 2019, he joined the Auburn Tigers, where his offense averaged 33.2 points per game. He then spent 2020 and 2021 with the Florida State Seminoles, reuniting with his coaching mentor, Mike Norvell.
In 2022, Dillingham ran the offense and coached the quarterbacks at Oregon, leading the Ducks to a fourth-place ranking in total offense, averaging 38.8 points per game.
In November 2022, the Arizona native received his first head coaching opportunity at ASU, replacing Herm Edwards. He recognized the challenge of turning around a program in decline with a struggling reputation.
In 2023, ASU finished with a record of 3-9 in the Pac-12 and was projected to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 in 2024. However, Dillingham successfully revitalized the Sun Devils, leading them to victory in the 2024 Big 12 Championship Game, ending the season with an impressive 11-2 record.
In addition to enhancing the performance of the Sun Devils, Dillingham is focused on improving Arizona State’s local recruitment efforts. He is not alone in this, as the new coaching staff is well aware of the local recruiting territories.
Assistant Head Coach & Special Teams Coordinator, Charlie Ragle
Charlie Ragle is a well-known coach in Arizona, and he is recognized for his success in high school football. He won a state championship at Moon Valley High School in 2004 and led Chaparral High School to three consecutive state titles from 2009 to 2011.
In 2012, after a decade of coaching at the high school level, Ragle moved to the college ranks with the Arizona Wildcats, where he spent five years in Tucson. He then spent another five years with the California Golden Bears before being appointed as head coach of the Idaho State Bengals in 2022.
Unfortunately, Ragle had a tough season at Idaho State, finishing with a record of 1-10 in his first year as a college head coach. He resigned after just one year to join the Arizona State coaching staff. Dillingham had played quarterback at Chaparral High School from 2007 to 2011 under Ragle’s guidance.
Now, with a decade of experience as a special teams coordinator at three different college programs, Ragle has built a reputation for developing players and recruiting local talent.
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks, Marcus Arroyo
Marcus Arroyo was appointed the offensive coordinator for the Sun Devils in December 2023, taking over for Beau Baldwin. He moved to Tempe after spending three seasons as the head coach of the UNLV Rebels from 2020 to 2023. Although he was relieved of his duties with a record of 7-23, the Rebels showed signs of improvement during his time there.
Despite his UNLV form, Arroyo boasts a strong offensive coaching background. He served as the offensive coordinator at Oregon from 2017 to 2019, during which time he developed Justin Herbert into a top draft selection. Before he left, the Oregon offense ranked 16th in the nation for points per game.
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Arroyo has also held coaching positions with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Southern Miss Golden Eagles, Cal, the Wyoming Cowboys, and San Jose State Spartans.
His influence on the Arizona State offense is already evident, and his role as quarterbacks coach has significantly impacted freshman Sam Leavitt in his first season.
Defensive Coordinator, Brian Ward
Brian Ward joined the Arizona State coaching staff in 2023 alongside Coach Dillingham, who recruited him from the Washington State Cougars to serve as the program’s inaugural defensive coordinator.
A native of Glendale, Ward came to Tempe with an impressive track record, having led Washington State’s defense to a third-place ranking in the Pac-12 in 2022.
In 2024, Ward’s leadership has propelled the Arizona State defense to 21st in the nation, allowing just 21.3 points per game. This marks a significant improvement for the Sun Devils, who averaged 31.8 points per game in 2023.
Ward’s impact is not unexpected. He is a veteran college coach who began coaching college football in 1997. He has previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Nevada Wolfpack (2020-2021), Syracuse Orange (2016-2019), Bowling Green Falcons (2015), Western Illinois Leathernecks, Drake Bulldogs, and North Dakota State Bison.
Wide Receivers Coach, Hines Ward
Hines Ward, hailing from Seoul, South Korea, is a well-known name among football fans. After playing for the Georgia Bulldogs, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1998, where he played until his retirement in 2011.
Since retiring, Ward has taken on various coaching roles. He served as an intern with the Steelers and as an assistant with the New York Jets. In 2021, he joined the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Owls and was promoted to wide receivers coach.
Ward also coached in the XFL, where he was the head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas. He finished the season with a 3-7 record and resigned at the end of the 2023 season.
Running Backs Coach, Shaun Aguano
Shaun Aguano shares a common background with his colleagues Dillingham and Ragle, as he was a state championship-winning head coach at the high school level, building up Chandler High into a national power.
The Arizona State running backs coach was retained, having been on staff since 2019. We only have to look at the development of Cam Skattebo to understand why.
Under Aguano’s tutelage, Skattebo has over 2,000 all-purpose yards and 22 touchdowns and finished fifth in the 2024 Heisman Trophy voting.
Offensive Line Coach, Saga Tuitele
Saga Tuitele joined the Arizona State coaching staff in 2023 after a season at Fresno State, where he helped secure the Mountain West Conference title alongside former Pac-10 head coach Jeff Tedford from Cal.
He is recognized for his strong run-blocking skills throughout his coaching career, including stops at Cal Poly, New Mexico, and Army, where he worked with Triple Option schemes. ASU marks Tuitele’s first opportunity in a Power 5 conference.
Tight Ends Coach, Jason Mohns
Continuing the tradition of bringing in legendary coaches from the Arizona Valley, Jason Mohns joined the Arizona State coaching staff from Saguaro High, a state and national powerhouse. The ASU alum achieved an extraordinary feat by winning six consecutive state titles from 2013 to 2018 and boasts an impressive coaching record of 123 wins and 19 losses.
Defensive Line Coach, Diron Reynolds
Diron Reynolds joined ASU on Dillingham’s inaugural staff in 2023 and brings extensive experience across the high school, college, and NFL levels. With a reputation for developing defensive line talent, Reynolds began his coaching career in 1995 and spent time with the Wake Forest Demon Deacon and Indiana Hoosiers before heading to the NFL.
After coaching the defensive line for three different NFL teams between 2002 and 2013, Reynolds returned to the college ranks and has since been a defensive line coach with the Oklahoma Sooners, Stanford Cardinal, and Michigan State Spartans.
Linebackers Coach & Run Game Coordinator, A.J. Cooper
A.J. Cooper, another native of Arizona, joined the Sun Devils’ coaching staff in 2023 after serving at Washington State, where he held the positions of run game coordinator and defensive ends coach.
Before his time at Washington State, he was a coach at Wyoming, where the Cowboys achieved three consecutive bowl appearances and ranked sixth in the nation for red zone defense in 2019. Originally from Phoenix, Cooper excelled as a tight end during his junior college football career at Glendale.
Cornerbacks Coach, Bryan Carrington
Bryan Carrington brings his connections from Texas to Tempe. Before joining ASU, he played a significant role in assembling a top-20 recruiting class for the TCU Horned Frogs in 2023.
From 2017 to 2020, he was part of the Texas Longhorns’ coaching staff, where he was instrumental in recruiting Bijan Robinson, who later became a first-round pick as a running back in the 2023 NFL Draft. Carrington is recognized not only as a premier recruiter but also as a talented young coach.
Assistant Special Teams Coordinator, Matt Butterfield
Matt Butterfield joined the Arizona State coaching staff in 2022 after coaching tight ends and serving as the special teams coordinator for the New Orleans Breakers in the USFL. This isn’t Butterfield’s first time with the Sun Devils; he previously worked with the wide receivers from 2010 to 2012 under then-head coach Dennis Erickson.
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