Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham has agreed to a five-year contract extension on the eve of the Sun Devils’ College Football Playoff quarterfinal game, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
Dillingham will receive a pay increase and substantial bonus increases, the person said Tuesday night on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced.
The contract extension was first reported by ESPN.
The 34-year-old Dillingham orchestrated one of the biggest turnarounds in recent college football history, taking the No. 10 Sun Devils from three wins a year ago to the New Year’s Day Peach Bowl against No. 4 Texas.
Dillingham has already picked up significant bonuses during Arizona State’s run, which included a Big 12 championship in the Sun Devils’ first year in the league after being picked to finish last in the preseason poll.
The former Oregon offensive coordinator was the youngest head coach in the FBS when he took over a struggling Arizona State program at 33 last year. The Sun Devils were hit hard by injuries during his first season while playing with the cloud of an NCAA investigation into recruiting practices by former coach Herm Edwards.
The uber-enthusiastic Dillingham pushed all the right buttons this season, leading a team that won six straight games into the CFP for the first time. Dillingham made a shrewd move by landing quarterback Sam Leavitt out of the transfer portal — among others — and has fully utilized running back Cam Skattebo, who finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy vote.
