The Arizona State Sun Devils looked over to the Oregon Ducks to hire their head coach to replace Herm Edwards.
Back in mid-September, the Arizona State Sun Devils fired head coach Herm Edwards after a loss to the Eastern Michigan Eagles. The Sun Devils struggled this season, and they were in the midst of a recruiting violations investigation. Running backs coach Shaun Aguano filled in for Edwards on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.
Now, it appears that the Sun Devils have found their next head coach, and they weren’t from inside the Pac-12.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, Arizona State listed Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham as their next head coach, and that a deal is being finalized.
Oregon OC Kenny Dillingham has emerged as the leading candidate to be Arizona State's next head coach, sources tell @SINow. Deal being finalized.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 27, 2022
Dillingham, a 32-year-old who is an alum of ASU, was long-expected to be the Sun Devils’ top choice.
The college football world shared their thoughts on the 32-year-old coordinator receiving his first head coaching gig.
Arizona State finalizing deal with Oregon OC Kenny Dillingham to be next head coach: Best reactions
Sources: Arizona State working to finalize an deal to make Oregon OC Kenny Dillingham the next coach. He’s a graduate with strong ties to the state.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 27, 2022
Kenny Dillingham will be the first FBS head coach born in the 1990s.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) November 27, 2022
He'll go from working for the youngest P5 head coach (Dan Lanning, 36) to being the youngest FBS head coach himself (32).
Kenny Dillingham is three years older than me and about to be a Power 5 head coach
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) November 27, 2022
what am I doing with my life https://t.co/bYS9VhmHQ1
Nine years ago, Kenny Dillingham was a high school offensive coordinator.
— Curt Weiler (@CurtMWeiler) November 27, 2022
Six years ago, he was a graduate assistant at Memphis.
He's now an FBS head coach at 32 years old.
Quite a meteoric rise.
Kenny Dillingham is a good hire for Arizona State. I have no idea if it'll work out.
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) November 27, 2022
Kenny Dillingham once told me his goal was to be a head coach by 30. Appears he’s going to get a Pac 12 job at 32 https://t.co/Jr4B3Z3S9P
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) November 27, 2022
This is full circle for Dillingham, an Arizona State graduate who began his collegiate coaching career as an offensive assistant with the program from 2014-15. He then went over to Memphis to work with head Mike Norvell, eventually working his way up to become the Tigers’ offensive coordinator in 2018. After a one-year stint with Auburn as offensive coordinator in 2019, Dillingham followed Norvell to Florida State for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
This season, Dillingham joined Oregon’s program to be the offensive coordinator under head coach and former Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Dan Lanning.
Oregon’s offense is one of the best in the nation. They averaged 511.2 yards (third-most) and 40.2 yards (fourth-most) per game entering Saturday. Quarterback Bo Nix has succeeded in Dillingham’s offense, and became a legitimate Heisman contender for most of the season after accounting for 3,575 yards and 39 touchdowns from scrimmage.
Dillingham will become the youngest head coach in Power Five football once the deal becomes official. Once it does, he’ll have the responsibility to turn the Sun Devils program into a winner.
For more College Football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.