Two years ago, Arizona State named Kenny Dillingham their head coach, making him the youngest head coach in Division I football at only 32 years old.
The move made perfect sense to Sun Devil fans, as the Oregon offensive coordinator grew up in the Valley and attended Arizona State, even starting his college coaching career there. But to the rest of the nation, who had just watched Dillingham complete his first ever season calling plays, they weren't sure what to make of him.
What a difference two years can make.
After going 3-9 in his first year back in Tempe, Dillingham saw the Sun Devils break through in 2024 and win the Big 12 in their first season in the conference. That earned them a spot in the first ever 12-team College Football Playoff, where they took Texas to two overtimes before ultimately losing in what's quickly become an instant classic.
It's no surprise, then, to see Dillingham shoot up the ranks. Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports recently released his annual ranking of all Power 4 head coaches, and Dillingham cracked the Top 25. He came in at 18th, with Fornelli saying this about the coach:
"Dillingham began coaching long after we began ranking coaches here, and his place among the ranks has varied wildly!
That's the kind of thing that happens when you take over an Arizona State program in a bad spot, go 3-9 in your first year, then shock the world by going 11-3 the next season while winning the Big 12 your first year in the league.
When that happens, you climb higher in the rankings than any other coach that year. Dillingham jumps 46 spots! That's 18 more than the next-highest coach (Deion Sanders, +28). "
A year ago, Dillingham was ranked 64th out of 70 total coaches. Not great, but hard to argue with after winning just three games. The general consensus after that first year was that Dillingham did the very best with what he had, but that the accomplished recruiter would need a serious influx of talent to keep his job in the long run.
Dillingham got exactly that: in the transfer portal, he targeted players like Sam Leavitt, Chamon Metayer, Josh Atkins, Jeff Clark, Justin Wodtly, Keyshaun Elliott, Zyrus Fiaseau, Jordan Crook, Javan Robinson, and Myles Rowser, all of whom became impact players. That, combined with huge jumps in production from the likes of Cam Skattebo, Jordyn Tyson, CJ Fite, Keith Abney, and other helped the Sun Devils get off the ground quickly.
As Fornelli pointed out, no coach saw a bigger jump in the rankings than Dillingham. The second-biggest jump was conference foe Deion Sanders, who moved up "just" 28 spots thanks to Colorado improving from 4-8 to 9-4. Still, Dillingham lapped even Sanders with how quickly he's shot up the rankings.
It's a rare moment of national respect for Arizona State, who have also seen both Leavitt and Tyson garner national recognition as some of the best at their position ahead of what's expected to be a big 2025 campaign.