Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham Has Great Job Security

One of the best decisions that Arizona State has ever made as an athletic program is the hiring of Kenny Dillingham as head coach of the football program in November 2022.

Dillingham has gone 14-12 in two seasons as head coach, but the record is largely misleading - it's obvious that something special is being built in Tempe long term.

CBS Sports released their yearly head coach hot seat rankings earlier in the week - and the Sun Devil's head man received requisite respect.

Dillingham was given a job security rating of '0.22' - which is considered 'untouchable' in this exercise.

The third-year head coach joins 27 other FBS coaches in that category - and for great reason.

The reasoning behind Dillingham holding virtually unlimited job security is quite simple - the 35 year old head coach has revitalized a program that was in deep trouble prior to his hiring into something that very few envisioned.

As mentioned below, the 14-12 mark two seasons in is misleading - the 2023 team faced scholarship reductions, a postseason ban, and a horrible string of injuries.

The 2024 season came out of nowhere to many, but the infrastructure that had been built by Dillingham prior made the jump to Big 12 champions completely attainable.

It started with the coaching staff - in-state coaching legends such as tight ends coach Jason Mohns were brought in, while recruiting guru Bryan Carrington was given his first major opportunity as a position coach. Marcus Arroyo was brought in as offensive coordinator after Beau Baldwin didn't work out

Secondly, Dillingham found great talents that also doubled as impeccable fits in the program through both the transfer portal and freshman recruiting classes. Sam Leavitt, Jordyn Tyson, and Xavion Alford are just a small handful of the impact players that came through as transfers, while C.J. Fite is the top example of unheralded freshmen that have developed into key contributors.

Lastly, Dillingham has re-engaged the fanbase in a way that few thought possible even two years ago - the student body, alumni, and casual fans alike have become captivated by what's being built in Tempe. It doesn't appear to be slowing down, either.

Dillingham is well on his way to not only becoming the most consequential coach in the history of Arizona State football - he is setting himself up to be immortalized as a coaching legend in the sport at-large.

Read more on Leavitt being named the preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year here, as well as Leavitt, Tyson, Fite, Alford, and Ben Coleman being named to preseason All-Big 12 honors here.

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