Kenny Dillingham is Right Where he Belongs

There are not to many coaches who fit with their surroundings better than Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham right now.

Once Arizona State purged the Herm Edwards regime it opened the door to start fresh and bring in a coach that could possibly revive what many people believe is a “sleeping giant” in Arizona State. Sun Devil fans have heard this year after year, but it just hasn’t happened. The football product just hasn’t lived up to expectations and the fan base has failed in turning Mountain America Stadium into a true home-field advantage.

Tempe just might be waking up.

This sleeping giant of a program is now rustling around a bit in their new conference of the Big 12. One of the reasons for this revival is Sun Devil Head Coach Kenny Dillingham. Coach Dillingham is a Arizona native, an ASU alum, and someone who is uniquely qualified to bring this Arizona State program to national prominence.

Dillingham is young, speaks his mind, is almost honest to a fault, and is not your typical first time college football coach. He is the youngest Power 4 coach and often shares the same personality traits as his players. Which could be a hinderance for him and the program, but it’s not at the moment. The players often feed off of his enthusiasm and his fiery coaching style. As someone who has seen Dillingham at practice, games, press conferences it is obvious that Coach Dillingham is exactly where he should be. I’ve walked out of press conferences whether its after a practice or a game and said to myself, “I’m ready to run through the wall for him.”

People may talk about his youth as something that could work against him or that he shows his youth at different points during a game, but you could say that with a coach who is older and has been around the block a little more than Dillingham. Older coaches are set in their ways, will do what has worked for them in the past, or are more resistant to changing how they run their program.

Not Coach Dillingham.

Coach Kenny, as I like to call him, is building a culture at Arizona State since the day he took over the program. Players are held to account, coaches are held to account, Dillingham holds himself to account, and if something isn’t working either on the field or in the locker room he isn’t afraid to change his train of thought.

Coach Dillingham told everybody that this is who he is to his core at his introductory press conference.

“I’m the same person every single day I show up to work. I’m fired up to be here. Fired up to be a Sun Devil.” Coach Dillingham said.

Even in his first year where his Sun Devils were 3-9 in the Pac-12 he had a quiet confidence about him. It was like he knew something that the public and even the powers that be at ASU didn’t have a clue to.

Dillingham just might be right about his vision for his Sun Devil program.

Arizona State is currently sitting at 5-1 overall this season. The Sun Devils are coming off an upset of pre-season Big 12 Conference favorite Utah on October 12.

The Sun Devils were picked to finish dead last in the Big 12 Conference this season, but that didn’t distract Coach Dillingham from trying to block out all the white noise. He didn’t let that prediction settle into his program or let his players believe for one second that they were going to finish in last place in 2024.

The good vibes coming out of Tempe may be real. Dillingham’s belief in himself comes from somewhere deep inside of him. He knew that this reclamation project at ASU was going to take a deep seeded belief in himself.

Kenny Dillingham grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona. Dillingham went to Chaparral High School in Scottsdale. He went to Sun Devil games as a youngster. Coach Dillingham graduated from ASU while coaching at his high school ala mater. His first college coaching spot was at Arizona State as a graduate assistant. His coaching journey has made him a Tiger, a Duck, a Seminole, but at Dillingham’s core he was and has always been a Sun Devil.

After his Sun Devils dispatched of the Utah Utes 27-19 you saw what his infectious enthusiasm for his school and program was all about. Coach Kenny was being interviewed by ESPN on the field. The students had stormed the field in a massive celebration. The students had surrounded the interview going on and Dillingham ended up bouncing around with the students, yelling, screaming, and just enjoying the moment.

Seeing him give the fans high fives, hugs, and celebrating in a way that you only see out of a coach who is truly all in with his school is something to behold.

Sun Devil fans, you have a coach that is one of your own. Enjoy the ride. He has your back, so it’s up to you to have his back. Forks Up!

Michael J. Wilson-The Daily Waiver