Kenny Dillingham leaving for Arizona State is a big blow to Oregon
On Sunday, it was announced that Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham was named the next head coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils. This was expected by some as it has been in the works for several weeks.
However, waking up the day following a tough loss to Oregon State and an Oregon football team that had a lot on the line on Saturday makes the gut-punch loss hurt just a little bit more. Dillingham joined the Ducks this year along with head coach Dan Lanning. He has been instrumental in creating and building an offense in Eugene that has not been seen in several years.
In announcing the move, Arizona State will now have the youngest coach in the Power 5. The Sun Devils will have a coming-home party for Dillingham. He is from the state, coached there, and was an assistant with ASU in 2014. You could say this is a dream for him to return home. Lanning will now have to replace a key coach that took Oregon near a College Football Playoff appearance in 2022.
On Saturday following the loss, Quarterback Bo Nix was mum on his future saying he would not make a decision until after the bowl game. As Nix and Dillingham had a track record going back to Auburn several years ago, it has been clear all season that the coach and player have found trust and success with one another.
Now with Kenny Dillingham departing, I am not sure Nix will stay with Oregon for another season. While I would like him to, time will tell on this one.
Dillingham does not step into an easy situation at Arizona State. They let go of Herm Edwards before the end of the season. The team is being investigated by the NCAA for several infractions along with a roster that pretty much needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.
At this time, it is not known if Dillingham will coach in the Ducks bowl game.
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