Kenny Dillingham Reportedly Signs New ASU Contract With $7.5M AAV Amid Michigan Rumors

One prominent Michigan candidate is off the board, as Kenny Dillingham has reportedly signed a new contract that will keep him at Arizona State.

Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, Dillingham will be making $7.5 million per season on his new deal with the Sun Devils.

Arizona State is also increasing the salary pool for the entire coaching staff up to $11 million, according to Thamel.

A $7.5 million average annual salary would put Dillingham between Oklahoma's Brent Venables ($7.6 million) and Florida's Billy Napier ($7.47 million). He's the second-highest paid head coach in the Big 12, behind Colorado's Deion Sanders ($8.98 million).

The Associated Press reported on Dec. 14 that the firm hired by Michigan to lead its search for a new head coach contacted representatives for Dillingham, as well as Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz.

"I never got offered a job," Dillingham said Saturday. "None of that ever, ever happened, and it never got to that point. Michigan's an unbelievable job with unlimited resources, with people who will do whatever they can to make it successful, who want to see it succeed. Somebody's going to get an unbelievable opportunity … to take over one of the best programs in the country, who are resourced as one of the best programs in the country with one of the best rosters in the country."

Alabama's Kalen DeBoer has also been a very popular name connected to the Wolverines. Thamel said on Friday that Michigan officials "remain convicted that they want to attempt to hire" DeBoer.

That report came out before the Crimson Tide defeated Oklahoma in the first round the College Football Playoff, so any concerns about DeBoer's long-term future in Tuscaloosa may have been quieted down.

The connection between Dillingham and Arizona State seemed strong enough that it would have taken a lot to persuade him to leave for Michigan. He was born in Phoenix, graduated from Arizona State in 2013 and got his first college coaching job with the Sun Devils the following year as an offensive assistant on head coach Todd Graham's staff.

Dillingham is 22-16 in three seasons as the head coach at Arizona State. He led the program to a Big 12 title and a berth in the College Football Playoff in 2024.