Oct 5, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham against the Kansas Jayhawks at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Former FSU Offensive Coordinator Makes Generous Gesture During Thanksgiving Week

Originally posted on Florida State Seminoles on SI
By Dustin Lewis | Last updated Nov 29, 2024 8:00 AM ET

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham probably deserves to be in the running for College Football Head Coach of the Year and it's not just because of his success on the field. Yes, the Sun Devils are 9-2, ranked No. 16 in the country, and contending for a playoff spot late in November in Dillingham's second year on the job.

But the 34-year-old has also already displayed that he's aware of what it takes to build a program relatively early in his coaching career. It's about the people and Dillingham has made sure to highlight others when he could make the trending Sun Devils all about himself.

In fact, Dillingham made an extremely generous gesture on the week of Thanksgiving that shows what he's all about. According to SunDevilSource's Chris Karpman, Dillingham is distributing a $200K bonus to 20 members of his off-field staff at Arizona State. The staffers will be getting $5K-$10K each. He earned the figure over the weekend by leading the Sun Devils to their ninth win of the season, a 28-23 upset victory against BYU.

It takes a truly special person to go to such great lengths to reward those around him. Dillingham's selflessness is part of the reason why he's quickly turning Arizona State back in the right direction.

Sources: Amazing, 100% true Thanksgiving story about Kenny Dillingham.

Saturday: Dillingham earns $200k bonus for 9 wins.

Monday: Dillingham tells 20 off-the-field ASU staffers they’ll all get a 5–10k bonus.

What Dillingham didn’t tell them (or me): He’s giving them his bonus. pic.twitter.com/KgNx6B57kQ
— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) November 28, 2024

Dillingham spent two years as the offensive coordinator at Florida State from 2020-21, re-uniting with Mike Norvell after a brief stint at Auburn. He played a role in the development of former star quarterback Jordan Travis, who went on to set multiple program records in Tallahassee. Dillingham ultimately left to work for Dan Lanning at Oregon as the offensive coordinator/primary play-caller for a year before landing his current job with the Sun Devils.

The Arizona native graduated from Arizona State before beginning his coaching career. He spent two years as an offensive analyst at the university in 2014-15. Dillingham followed Norvell to Memphis in 2016 and the rest is history.

Dillingham signed a five-year contract in 2022 that began at $3.85 million but also includes annual extensions. He holds a 12-11 record as a head coach.