Arizona State University’s football program was thrown into a mess in 2022 as NCAA sanctions hung over the program due to the actions of Herm Edwards and his coaching staff. The roster was in shambles, and eyebrows were raised when 32-year-old Kenny Dillingham was appointed head coach.
How many teams has Kenny Dillingham coached?
Two years down the line, Dillingham has changed the program’s fortune. Arizona State is now a totally different team from the 2022 team and is a force to reckon with in college football.
Dillingham has been part of a coaching staff for 15 years across various colleges, but he’s only been head coach at one team, Arizona State University. He tore his ACL as a 17-year-old senior, so he took up coaching.
At 21 years old, he was promoted to offensive coordinator of Chaparral High School. He attended ASU while working at Chaparral High School and graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary studies. He met Mike Norvell at Chaparral and became his offensive assistant at Arizona State in 2014.
In 2016, Norvell was appointed head coach at Memphis University, and he took Dillingham along to serve as a graduate assistant. The Tigers didn’t have a quarterback coach, so Dillingham served in this capacity.
He became the offensive coordinator in 2018, and Memphis had a top-five offense in college football that year. While at Memphis, 247 recruiters ranked Dillingham as the number one recruiter in the conference.
In 2019, Dillingham replaced Chip Lindsey as Auburn’s quarterback coach and offensive coordinator. Auburn’s offense was the most improved in the SEC, and Bo Nix became the SEC Rookie of the Year under his tutelage. 247 Recruiter also ranked Auburn as the highest recruiter in the conference during Dillingham’s stint there.
In 2021, Dillingham became the quarterback coach and offensive coordinator under Dan Laning at the University of Oregon.
In 2022, Arizona State University hired Dillingham as head coach to replace Herm Edwards.
Dillingham’s career at Arizona State
Tasked with the responsibility of picking the pieces and rebuilding the team after Edwards, Dillingham turned to the transfer portal and recruited players putting “culture over talent in mind”.
“Everybody says you can’t build culture anymore. You’re building teams, even though I’m young, I still believe that culture is important … I still believe in all those old-school principles.” Dillingham said.
In Dillingham’s first season, Arizona finished with 3 wins and was predicted to finish last in 2024, but Dillingham had other plans. Arizona shocked everyone and finished as the best team in the Big 12.
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He also had some players play their best football under him. Players such as running back Cam Skattebo, who finished 5th in the Heisman Trophy voting and was a first-team All-American; wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, who had 75 receptions for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns; defensive back Xavion Alford; and Center Leif Fautanu both made All-Big 12 First Team selections.
The Sun Devils are now considered favorites to win the Big 12 in 2025.
In January 2025, Dillingham signed a new contract which put him as one of the highest-paid coaches in the Big 12. It is safe to say Arizona State is in good hands for the foreseeable future.
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