Arizona State "close" to extension for Kenny Dillingham after Michigan tries poaching coach

After speculation intensified on Friday regarding Michigan's interest in Kenny Dillingham for their newly-vacant head coaching job, Saturday morning brought news that Arizona State is "close" to an extension, which the coach himself confirmed.

Dillingham was previously on the radar for other high profile coaching vacancies this season - notably Auburn, Florida, LSU, and Penn State - but declared earlier in the year that he was "never leaving" Arizona State and felt that his administration was "doubling down" on their support for the football program.

While nothing is official or has been announced yet, it sounds as if Dillingham - who received a contract extension this time last year following a Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff berth - will be getting a meaningful increase in pay and resources.

Dillingham already was due for a raise based on the current terms of his contract. He's set to see his base pay automatically increase to $6 million in 2026 with a one-year rollover extension on top of it based on the results of this season. Still, that figure would keep Dillingham on the lower end of the totem pole among Power 4 coach salaries.

Fellow Big 12 coach Kalani Sitake, head coach at BYU, famously came within striking distance of taking the Penn State job before agreeing to a massive deal to stay in Provo. Sitake will reportedly make just over $9 million a year now, putting him among the 15 highest paid coaches in the nation.

It seems unlikely that Arizona State would match that figure for Dillingham, though any pay raise would likely come close. Dillingham has been candid in the past about the lack of resources at Arizona State, though the university has taken meaningful steps in the last year to make strides in that regard.

It seems the next such step is the new contract for their star coach, spurning yet another blue blood program to stick with his alma mater.