Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham Claps Back at College Football Coach Complaints on NIL Era

The Sun Devils football coach isn’t interested in hearing complaints about how much more difficult coaching at the college level has gotten.

College football certainly has entered a very different era from where the sport was just a few years ago, and the changes have been uncomfortable for a number of coaches. However, Kenny Dillingham, the fiery 33-year-old coach of Arizona State, doesn’t want to hear complaints from those lucky enough to be in his position.

During a radio appearance on the Bickley & Marotta show Wednesday, Dillingham was asked about the trend of head coaches leaving those jobs, perhaps prematurely, due to the issues created by things such as NIL and the transfer portal. His response was incredibly sharp.

“At the end of the day, I joke around, but you know how many people want my job?” Dillingham said. “You know how many people want my assistant coaches’ jobs, and my analysts’ jobs, and the [quality control] and the [graduate assistant] jobs? So don’t complaint about what we do. We’re blessed!

“There’s a lot of negative of it, yes, but do you know how many people want to be a college football coach? I literally spent nine years of my life doing anything to become a coffee boy. So don’t give me the, ‘Oh, it’s hard to be a college coach right now.’ Then quit. That’s how I look at it.”

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham offered a sharp reaction to the notion that coaching college football has become too difficult :: Alex Gallardo/USA TODAY Sports

Dillingham began working his way through the coaching ranks in 2007 at age 17 after a knee injury derailed his high school playing career. He didn’t land his first job as a full-time position coach for another decade, when he became the quarterbacks/tight ends coach at Memphis in ’17, so he certainly knows what it’s like to grind through the professional ranks.

Dillingham acknowledged that the current recruiting rules, which do little to limit contact between recruit and coach, do make it difficult to step away from work, but he believes maintaining that balance is crucial.

“You adapt. You adjust. And is it hard? Yes. But if you love it, you’re going to do it,” Dillingham continued. “Does it pull away from other things? Yes. Find a way to have life balance. Recruit the kids who understand that I’m not going to call you every single day because I’m going to go home to my kids and my wife. Find the balance that works for you. It’s very, very difficult because you never have to turn the switch off.”

The question comes on the heels of a few notable coaching moves, as Chip Kelly left his job leading the UCLA program to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, and Jeff Hafley left Boston College to take over as the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator. 

Based on Dillingham’s comments Wednesday, don’t expect the Sun Devils coach to make such a move anytime soon.