Is Kenny Dillingham Underrated?

One of the recurring themes in the offseason of the Arizona State football programs is the discourse surrounding head coach Kenny Dillingham.

Dillingham is hailed by some as one of the brightest coaches in all of college football regardless of experience, while others aren't completely sold on what he has accomplished thus far in just two seasons.

In a more mixed reception scenario, Dillingham was ranked as the 10th best head coach in the Big 12 by Pete Mundo of Heartland College Sports.

More on that ranking below:

"Kenny Dillingham did as good a job in 2024 as any coach in the country, but he’s only two years into his coaching career. My guess is he will skyrocket up this list over time, but his youth is a factor here that holds him back."

The coaches Dillingham was ranked below:

• Deion Sanders, Colorado

• Kalani Sitake, Brigham Young

• Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia

• Willie Fritz, Houston

• Chris Klieman, Kansas State

• Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

• Kyle Whittingham, Utah

• Lance Leipold, Kansas

• Matt Campbell, Iowa State

Lack of experience is one thing, but it is certainly not a consistent application of the criteria, as Dillingham has the same amount or more Big 12 title appearances than any coach ranked ahead outside of Campbell, Gundy, and Klieman.

Dillingham also has more conference victories than Sanders, Whittingham, and Fritz despite being in the conference the same amount of time.

Most importantly, there are very few holes that can be poked in the 35 year old's record - as he has already proven to be a top-shelf program builder. A coach such as Rodriguez hasn't proven to build a program up from a poor situation to a consistently great one in nearly 20 years.

While arguments can be had that Dillingham isn't quite the best coach in a Big 12 conference that is loaded with elite coaching talent - it could be very difficult to find another individual that will rank the defending conference Coach of the Year as low as number 10.

Read more on projecting the 10 best players on Arizona State's roster going into the new season here, and on Leavitt being selected as the Big-12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year here.

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