Kenny Dillingham has taken the Arizona State Sun Devils from last-place projections to College Football Playoff glory, all before turning 35.
Kenny Dillingham’s Meteoric Rise Could Power Arizona State’s Stunning Playoff Push
Dillingham and the Sun Devils burst back onto the national college football scene last season, earning a Big 12 crown and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. They’ll try to make it back this upcoming season, albeit without star running back Cam Skattebo, drafted by the New York Giants this past weekend.
If Dillingham’s approach to leading the Sun Devils resembles his coaching trials, Arizona State will soon be well-acquainted with success on a large stage. Dillingham detailed his early days of trying to break into coaching college football.
“My first year at Arizona State, I got on, I was the coffee boy, whatever it was. I just did everything,” Dillingham said in February on “Next Up with Adam Breneman.”
“But, no, very little football, I was in the building. Second year, I get put on as a graduate assistant. … I got promoted, I’m fired up. I’m like, ‘People didn’t think I’d ever be a GA because I didn’t play, I didn’t coach, I didn’t know anybody.'”
Right before fall camp began, Dillingham was demoted to his previous position. Not being able to coach ate away at him. He doubted whether coaching was for him, and took a week to mull it over. He soon snapped out of his uncertainty.
“I think that was the moment that I was like, ‘Alright, well, watch this,'” Dillingham said. “Like, that was like, ‘Okay.’ I, like, doubled down and I’m like, ‘I’m just gonna do everything.
“Like, I’m gonna make myself so valuable in recruiting, in getting the coffee ready, in getting the paper off the printer, in making the books and breaking down the games and having future scouting reports ready before they ever dreamed and sign kids. … I’m gonna make myself so valuable that you’re not gonna have a choice.'”
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When the Sun Devils hired Dillingham, now 35, he was the youngest head coach in the Power 5. He’d previously worked under Mike Norvell and Gus Malzahn and was the offensive coordinator at Memphis, Auburn, Florida State, and Oregon.
Arizona State went 3-9 during his first season in charge, then his team posted an 11-3 record last go-round, finishing No. 7 in the Associated Press poll.
Dillingham was awarded as the 2024 Big 12 Coach of the Year for the resurgence.
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