After Arizona State beat Utah on Friday night to improve to 5-1, there’s plenty to speculate about regarding the future of Kenny Dillingham. As coaches in the Big Ten and SEC inevitably get fired, I promise you will see Dillingham’s name pop up.
He’s 34 years old and perceived to be a a mid-tier Power 4 program that hasn’t ever had sustained success. So why would a guy like Kenny Dillingham stay if he gets a big offer from a “Power 2” program?
Well, as Chris Karpman from SunDevilSource.com noted on X on Saturday, Dillingham isn’t just from the area, and an alum of Arizona State, he has his family is right in his back yard, literally.
Now this doesn’t mean Dillingham will never leave. We’ve seen coaches leave places where their roots run deep. But, this is definitely not your run-of-the-mill young coach turning around a program until he can hop to his next spot for some more money and potential prestige.
Hot Seat College Football Coaches
When you look to premier programs that may be moving on from head coaches, if the year ends up in a free fall, Auburn, Florida and Florida State stand out.
Of those, Dillingham did spend one season at Auburn under Gus Malzahn, where he was the offensive coordinator in 2019. However, the Tigers program has been one where coaches go to die. They pull a quick trigger. Why leave your hometown for that chaos? Also, you’re always playing second fiddle to Alabama.
Same thing in Florida, where they haven’t felt great about a head coach since the Urban Meyer tenure. Dan Mullen got a surprisingly quick firing, and Billy Napier might soon have the same outcome.
Florida State was knocking on the door of the College Football Playoff last season, so it seems unlikely Mike Norvell will go anywhere, but in today’s era of college football, you never know.
Kenny Dillingham’s Contract
Kenny Dillingham’s contract is paying him $3.95 million for 2023, and is set to increase by $100,000 each November, meaning he will be bumped to $4.05 million later this fall.
Dillingham initially signed a five-year contract in November of 2022 that runs through November of 2027.
As AZ Central notes, he also received a nearly $200,000 bonus this year for his team’s academic achievement.
Arizona State’s athletic department as a whole recorded a multiyear Academic Progress Rate (APR) average of 994 over a four-year period from 2019-2023, making it tops in the Pac-12 for a third straight school year.
ASU’s average for all sports has improved from its first multiyear score of 937 in 2003 to its current mark of 994. The national multiyear APR score for all NCAA Division I programs is 984. The football program was at 973, a best for the program and a significant accomplishment given the number of athletes factoring into it.
But for Dillingham, expect this contract to be ripped up, if Arizona State football keeps in this trajectory in 2024. And the notion that ASU is a stepping stone is a total misconception for those who are not aware of his background.
