Kenny Dillingham, ASU Reportedly 'Close' on New Contract amid Michigan Rumors

Arizona State University and head football coach Kenny Dillingham are reportedly nearing an agreement on a new contract.

According to Chris Karpman of 247Sports' Sun Devil Source, ASU and Dillingham are "close" to contract amendments that will "increase his annual base compensation."

In the wake of Michigan firing head coach Sherrone Moore this week, Dillingham emerged as the betting favorite on some platforms to become the Wolverines' next head coach, per Dylan Svoboda of the New York Post.

However, Arizona State can ensure that Dillingham is completely out of the running for that position by locking him into a revised deal.

The University of Michigan announced that Moore had been fired for cause due to "credible evidence" that he had an inappropriate relationship with a team staffer.

That ended Moore's tenure as the Wolverines' head coach after just two seasons, and Biff Poggi will coach 9-3 Michigan in an interim capacity in the Citrus Bowl against Texas on Dec. 31.

Dillingham's name first became attached to the Michigan job on Friday when author, former Detroit News writer and University of Michigan alum John U. Bacon called Dillingham the "early favorite" to replace Moore.

However, Dillingham is an ASU alum, and he has openly called being the Sun Devils' head coach his "dream job."

After stints as the offensive coordinator at Memphis, Auburn, Florida State and Oregon, Dillingham was hired as the head coach at Arizona State in 2023.

ASU went 3-9 in 2022 and 3-9 in Dillingham's first year on the job in 2023, but it didn't take him long to turn things around in Tempe.

In 2024, Dillingham led the Sun Devils to an 11-3 record, marking their first win in a single season 1996.

Arizona State also won its first Big 12 title and its first conference title of any kind since 2007, and it reached the College Football Playoff for the first time ever as well.

While the Sun Devils dropped to 8-4 this season, they still proved to be a formidable team, handing the No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders their first and only loss of the year thus far.

The eight wins ensured Dillingham a $200,000 raise for next season and the extension of his contract through 2030, per Karpman, but it sounds like he may be rewarded with more than that to incentivize him to stay.

Dillingham seems to be building something special, and it would be a huge blow to the program to lose the 35-year-old coach at this juncture.

If Dillingham does remain at ASU, Michigan will have to further navigate a coaching landscape complicated by the fact that most of the major candidates have already taken a new job or committed to their current schools.