Arizona State’s Dillingham Soars in Big 12 Coach Rankings; Arizona’s Brennan Lags
TEMPE, AZ – A remarkable turnaround has propelled Arizona State Sun Devils football coach Kenny Dillingham to the top of some 2025 Big 12 coach rankings, a stark contrast to his position just a year ago. This dramatic shift reflects Dillingham’s impressive success in leading ASU to an unexpected 11-3 record, a Big 12 Championship, a Peach Bowl appearance, and a berth in the College Football Playoff during the 2024 season.
Before the 2024 season, Dillingham was ranked near the bottom of most Big 12 coach rankings, frequently placing him near or at the bottom. However, his masterful coaching during the past season has redefined perceptions, as demonstrated by a number of 2025 pre-season rankings, including one from USA TODAY Sports placing him at the coveted number one spot.
USA TODAY Sports’ Jordan Mendoza cited Dillingham’s “great turnaround” as the driving force behind his elevated ranking. “This may be a case of recency bias,” Mendoza wrote, “but Dillingham has orchestrated one of the great turnarounds in college football. Returning to his alma mater, he inherited a team reeling from the Herm Edwards era, and it showed with a 3-9 debut season. But after Arizona State was picked to finish last in the Big 12 in 2024, it won the conference and made the College Football Playoff. Dillingham has brought fire back to the Sun Devils and at just 34-years-old, he’s setting the path for a long, successful career.”
Dillingham’s rapid ascent highlights his coaching expertise and ability to transform a struggling team into a championship contender. His success is further amplified by the fact that ASU was widely predicted to finish last in the Big 12 prior to the 2024 season. The monumental shift in the team’s performance represents a remarkable achievement, solidifying Dillingham’s reputation as a rising star in college football.
In stark contrast to Dillingham’s success, Arizona’s head coach [Coach’s Name] has not seen a similar rise in the rankings. [Insert a sentence or two discussing the Arizona coach’s ranking and performance. For example: “While the Wildcats showed improvement in certain areas, they failed to match the Sun Devils’ dramatic rise and Kenny Dillingham remains firmly mid-pack in most pre-season rankings.” The differing fortunes of the two Arizona-based programs underscore the unpredictable nature of college football and the significant impact a single successful season can have on a coach’s reputation and standing within the industry. Dillingham’s feat serves as a testament to his ability and provides a sharp contrast to the comparatively less successful season of his counterpart in Tucson.
