Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham is headed to his alma mater.
Dillingham, 32, is the new head coach at Arizona State.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be named the head coach at Arizona State University,” Dillingham said in a statement. This is a special place to myself and my wife who is also a graduate. I truly believe the team we will build here is one that the state of Arizona and all Sun Devils can rally behind and be proud of as it will take everyone in the valley to help this program achieve the level of success it is due. I am excited to get to work and promise no one will work harder than the staff we will put together.”
The first-year Ducks offensive play-caller is earning $1 million in the first of a three-year contract. His buyout of 25% of his salary is waived if he becomes an FBS head coach.
A semifinalist for the Broyles Award, Dillingham had No. 9 Oregon (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12) ranked in the top 20 nationally in total offense (511.2 yards per game, 3rd), scoring (40.2 points, 4th), rushing (222.9 ypg., 12th) and passing (288.3 ypg., 18th) entering Saturday’s regular season finale against No. 21 Oregon State. The Ducks gained 470 yards in the 38-34 loss to the Beavers at Reser Stadium.
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, one of the most accurate and efficient quarterbacks in the country this season, said the reports linking Dillingham to ASU ahead of Saturday’s game had no impact on the lead up to the game with OSU.
“I thought he called a really good game,” Nix said. “I thought we did enough out there to execute. We just got to score in the red zone.”
A graduate of Arizona State who is from Phoenix, Dillingham was offensive coordinator at Chaparral High School (Arizona) in 2013 and coached quarterbacks there from 2007-12. He began coaching in college as an offensive assistant at ASU in 2014-15 for then-offensive coordinator Mike Norvell, who he served as offensive coordinator for at Memphis and Florida State.
“We are proud to announce Kenny Dillingham as our new head football coach,” ASU athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement. “He brings the energy, knowledge and appreciation of our state and university that is valued by all of us. His knowledge of the current college football landscape, learned by coaching across the nation, is needed and wanted at ASU. He will care at the highest level about our state, our alumni, our former players and every single group that is important to help us win. We look forward to working with him and all Sun Devils in making his staff successful and helping our program reach our goals.”
Sports Illustrated first reported ASU’s impending hire of Dillingham, who will be the youngest Power Five head coach. He was considered a lead candidate for the job since Herm Edwards was fired three games into the season.
It’s not immediately clear whether Dillingham will still coach at Oregon in the postseason.
“Sauphia and I couldn’t be happier for Kenny and his wife, Bri, and their son, Kent, as he embarks on a new journey as head coach at Arizona State,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said in a statement. “Kenny did a phenomenal job this year for our program and we are excited to see him chase his dream in his hometown. We are grateful for his efforts here and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”
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