Arizona State is expected to hire Kenny Dillingham as its next head coach, sources confirmed to FootballScoop on Saturday night. ESPN and Sports Illustrated were first to report the news.
Dillingham will become the youngest active head coach in the FBS at 32 years old.
A 2012 Arizona State graduate, Dillingham began coaching while still enrolled at Scottsdale's Chaparral High School and coached there while pursuing his undergraduate degree at Arizona State.
He became an unpaid understudy of offensive coordinator Mike Norvell, then joined the staff as an offensive assistant in 2014. Dillingham followed Norvell to Memphis and to Florida State, with a 2019 stint at Auburn.
He completed his first and only season as offensive coordinator at Oregon on Saturday evening, one that earned him plaudits for his work with transfer quarterback Bo Nix. The Ducks completed their regular season with a 38-34 Civil War loss to Oregon State. At one point Oregon scored 41 points or more for eight consecutive games.
Arizona State completed its season Friday with a 38-35 loss to Arizona in the Territorial Cup rivalry, dropping the Sun Devils to 3-9 on the season.
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.
Arizona State is expected to hire Oregon OC Kenny Dillingham as its next head coach, per source.
— Doug Haller (@DougHaller) November 27, 2022
Dillingham is an ASU grad who worked in support roles under previous ASU OC Mike Norvell.
He also has coached QBs and offense at Memphis, Auburn and Florida State.
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
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.