ASU coach Kenny Dillingham breaks down the state of college football
Arizona State football head coach Kenny Dillingham dives deep into the wildly changing college football scene in 2025.
- ASU coach Kenny Dillingham addressed speculation about him leaving for other programs like Michigan.
- While expressing his love for ASU, Dillingham is publicly advocating for more financial investment in the program.
Kenny Dillingham doesn’t want to go to Michigan … just like he didn’t want to go to Penn State or Auburn or LSU.
But the reality is, he might not have a choice.
“Well, I mean, this profession is absolutely wild,” Dillingham said after practice on Tuesday, Dec. 16, in Tempe. “It’s just a wild profession. It’s a wild industry, right now. It’s just nuts.”
Dillingham is a master at building culture, an expert at X’s and O’s, a recruiting rock star, but there’s one area where he’s sorely lacking: subtlety.
Dillingham was as elegant as a brick through a window as he discussed the latest speculation that he might leave his office above Mountain America Stadium to break into the Big House of Ann Arbor.
“I just think you (have to) treat people right,” Dillingham said, speaking about how he navigates the volatility, rumors and speculation in college football.
“There’s so much chaos right now. It’s like the tech boom. There’s money being poured into it from all these places, and it’s a battle to grow the fastest. And some people, you could be up here today, and you could be at the bottom tomorrow.”
He snapped his fingers for emphasis, adding, “Overnight.”
As if that weren’t a clear enough request for a raise for himself and for his staff and for his players and for his dog, probably, he went on.
“You’ve got to be able to protect yourself from that. … Otherwise, just like the tech boom, a website you go to every day, you go to it the next day, and it’s like that 401 error code. It’s not even a website anymore.
“It got bought out and closed by the bigger company, right? Because they don’t want the competition. That’s kinda the world we’re in a little bit, right now. It’s the tech boom of college football. You’ve just got to be ready to change and hope you treat people right along the way.”
Geez, Coach, tell us how you really feel.
I reached out to athletic director Graham Rossini and ASU President Michael Crow for comment on whether they’re working on a contract extension and whether they’re willing to pour in big money to play big-boy football, but they didn’t immediately return messages.
Let’s hope they’re going over the budget to find a few million dollars, otherwise we’re going to be back to a half-empty stadium, a three-win team and yet another coaching search.
If you’re getting emotional whiplash, it’s only because you’ve been paying attention.
Dillingham cried when he was hired. He said, “I was never leaving” after the Auburn rumors. He cried when a reporter asked him how much the school meant to him.
He’s said that he lives next door to his sister and that his parents are just a few houses down the street and that his son and his niece are best friends.
He’s talked about growing up in Scottsdale, attending ASU and meeting his wife on campus.
He’s said that coaching this program was his dream job.
And he knows that ASU gave him the keys when he was barely old enough to drive, taking a chance on him when few others would.
Kenny Dillingham has not changed his view on his job with ASU football
Arizona State football head coach Kenny Dillingham explains how he feels about the Michigan head coaching job compared to his job with the Sun Devils.
Dillingham earns between $6 million and $8 million, which isn’t too far off from the top tier of Big Ten coaches.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: It would be a betrayal if Dillingham leaves.
But I would understand.
If Michigan has better facilities, a bigger budget for assistant coaches and players, and can bump him up to $10 million to match what Ryan Day makes at Ohio State, Dillingham might need to go, just to see how good he can really be if all the obstacles are removed.
ASU would betray Dillingham if they don’t break out the checkbook, quickly.
If I’m Rossini and Crow, I’m making my offer before Big Blue (Michigan’s nickname and IBM’s nickname, keeping with the “tech boom” theme) can make their best and final.
Dillingham wasn’t subtle in letting everyone know what he wants: money. And he was very specific regarding how much he needs.
“I don’t want to get into numbers,” he said, “But a crap-ton.”
For his assistants, his players, and his dog, probably.
“I think my job is to try to do whatever I can for the people that are in the foxhole, the coaches that are in the foxhole with me. I’ve got to do whatever I can to fight for those people. … I love it here. I’ve said that from Day 1. That’s absolutely never changing. Absolutely never changing.”
Now, ASU has to show him some of the money … errr, love … back.
Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore, Instagram, @SayingMoore, and TikTok, @SayingMoore.
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