Kenny Dillingham addresses reports that he has pledged to remain at Arizona State

Per reporting on Thursday, Kenny Dillingham told those within the program that he is remaining at Arizona State. He has since addressed his stance again regarding his future in Tempe.

Dillingham, during the second bye week for his team, was asked about that reporting from yesterday afternoon while on the ‘Bickley & Marotta Show’ on Arizona Sports 98.7 on Friday. He noted the importance of the off-field things that come with this job, specifically, with all of their family so close, at ASU. However, Briana Dillingham, his wife, also sounds as though she has her say in what his coaching career continues to look like.

“I mean, this is – like I said, I’ve said this from the beginning. My next-door neighbor is my sister. My parents live three doors down. You know, my wife’s parents like five doors down,” Dillingham said. “My wife is as competitive a person as you’ll ever see. She’s a person who wants to, you know, win national championships. She’s a person who wants to, you know, win. Like, she’s competitive and she loves ball.

“I mean, we flew and just watched late last night and just watched, you know, Bo Nix play in Denver, and then flew back so I could get back on the road recruiting. And so, she’s a person who she’s super competitive, and she wants to be able to compete and win national championships, win conference championships – just be in a position to win. So, you know, but, having the family support here, it’s a really cool thing.”

This comes after reporting yesterday by Chris Karpman at SunDevilsSource. He shared that, last week, Dillingham went into multiple position rooms around their building to state that he’d be back at Arizona State in 2026.

Dillingham, a Scottsdale native, is in his third season as a head coach, all at Arizona State. He is 20-15 (.571) overall with the Sun Devils, but is 17-6 (.739) since the start of his second season with, last season, a win in the Big 12 Championship and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. ASU is 6-3 (.667) to this point this fall in Dillingham’s third season.

With that, Dillingham has clearly become a candidate around the current coaching carousel. It’s just a matter of how viable it is that he’d actually consider leaving his current job at this point, despite being one of the hotter young options.

“I mean, to be honest, I don’t worry about it at all,” Dillingham said of how he handles his name coming up in coaching searches. “I know the things that I want. I know my goals. I know what’s needed to achieve those things – personally, professionally. So, I don’t really worry about anything but our players…The things that matter to me are the relationships you build along the way. And so, I think, for me, I just kind of keep my head down, try to do the best job I can for our players because that’s what this is all about.”

All accounts currently suggest that Dillingham is remaining at Arizona State. Family, though, will continue to be a big part of any of those decisions, whether this year or moving forward.