"This place is special": When 32 Y/O Kenny Dillingham broke down at his first ever ASU press conference as youngest coach

Arizona State introduced Kenny Dillingham as its football coach on Nov. 27, 2022, at Sun Devil Stadium. At 32, Dillingham became the youngest Power Five coach and the first Arizona native and ASU alumnus to lead the program.

He was joined at the press conference by ASU vice-president for athletics Ray Anderson, deputy athletic director Jean Boyd, and university president Michael Crow. With tears in his eyes, Dillingham got choked up with emotion when introduced to the media in November 2022:

“I’m home. … This is literally home. Home. This place is special. This state is special. The people in this room are special.”

Dillingham took over following a 3-9 season and said that he planned to bring energy to the program:

“I am who I am. … I’ll be the same person every single day I show up to work. I’ll be fired up to be here, fired up to be a Sun Devil.

“We need the Valley behind us. We need the state behind us. We need butts in seats,” he said. “We need everything that this Valley has all in, because I am all in.”

Dillingham was hired after Arizona State dismissed Herm Edwards amid NCAA sanctions tied to recruiting violations and back-to-back 3-9 seasons.

In Dillingham's second season, ASU went 11-2 and won the Big 12 championship, following a 3-9 finish in his first year. He had previously served as offensive coordinator at Memphis, Auburn, Florida State, and Oregon.

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Kenny Dillingham became the youngest Power 5 coach in the country

Arizona native and ASU alumnus, Dillingham - Source: Imagn

A Scottsdale native and Arizona State graduate, Kenny Dillingham became the first alumnus and Arizona native to lead the Sun Devils. Dillingham started coaching at age 17 in the Phoenix area and later worked as a graduate assistant at ASU under coach Todd Graham.

At his introductory press conference, Dillingham called the position his “dream job." ASU president Michael Crow said in a statement:

"Kenny Dillingham knows what it takes to be an elite program, and he has enjoyed success each time he joined a program. His offenses are dynamic, and he understands recruiting, the importance of NIL and the need to connect with Sun Devils past and present," Crow said.

Given the Sun Devils' improvement in 2024, it will be interesting to see if Dillingham's Arizona can push on next season.

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