Arizona State University's head football coach Kenny Dillingham has secured a new five-year contract extension with a raise and increased bonuses on the brink of their College Football Playoff quarterfinal face-off, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix. The 34-year-old Dillingham has been credited for one of college football's most remarkable comebacks – taking the once struggling No. 10 ranked Sun Devils to the Peach Bowl to play No. 4 Texas, transforming a team that won a mere three games last season into a formidable contender.
Details on the contract were leaked by an anonymous source since Arizona State has yet to make a formal announcement, yet ESPN was the first to report the deal's existence, Dillingham's success includes guiding the team to a Big 12 championship in their inaugural season in the league, a season after prognostications had seen them finishing at the bottom. Breaking through the NCAA investigation cloud that lingered from former coach Herm Edwards' era, Dillingham, who was the youngest head coach in the FBS when he started at 33, has already raked in significant bonuses during Arizona State’s notable season.
According to information obtained from The Associated Press, Dillingham's savvy moves extended beyond the field, having recruited quarterback Sam Leavitt through the transfer portal and maximized the talent of running back Cam Skattebo, whose performance merited a fifth-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting. Such strategies have been a cornerstone to his successful tenure, playing a pivotal role in catapulting a team that had suffered from injuries and controversies into their first-ever CFP.
