'You Can't Live In A Place You Suck At': Kenny Dillingham's Unique Job Situation And The Art Of The "Dream Job"

ASU Football HC Kenny Dillingham was honest about his unique job situation on Monday, following the Sun Devils' blowout loss to Baylor.

ASU HC Kenny Dillingham was honest about his unique job situation, following the Sun Devils' blowout loss to Baylor. | Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

"I have never worked a day in my life. What I have done, I have done because it has been play." - Mark Twain.

Mark Twain never had to be a college football coach.

Arizona State head football coach Kenny Dillingham has quite the setup. He drives to work, pulling out of the neighborhood where his next-door neighbor is his sister, while his parents and his wife's parents live a couple of doors down.

He then drives past Chaparral High School, where he graduated and where his coaching journey began, making his way down to Arizona State University in Tempe, where he graduated in 2013 and was hired 10 years later.

That is, if Dillingham left the ASU facility at all this weekend.

A 55-19 loss to conference foe Baylor at home has sent the Sun Devil Football community into a tailspin. It was arguably Dillingham's worst loss of his ASU tenure, and it even sent some people towards the conclusion that the fourth-year head coach is not the right guy for the job.

Dillingham didn't avoid the topic in Monday's press conference.

"I want to live here for a long, long, long, long time. Who wants to lose? Most coaches get fired. It's what you do. You get hired to get fired," Dilllingham said. "I chose a route in which if I want to live somewhere for the rest of my life, I can't get fired. Very challenging. So there is extra pressure cause you want to live here. You can't live in a place you suck at. So you've got to figure it out."

Dissecting The Extra Pressure

It is not an uncommon sight to see alumni return "home" to coach their alma mater. Kirby Smart at Georgia, Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State and BYU's Kalani Sitake, to name a few.

From a bird's-eye view, it feels like a slam dunk. You are one of us. You know what goes on here. You know what chants the fans say. You know your way around campus and you know where to get a good bite to eat.

However, on the same note, you are one of us. Everything you do reflects that. At some point, being an alum only carries so much weight.

Enter: Scott Frost. The former Nebraska star quarterback returned to Nebraska to become the head coach in 2018.

The "Frost Warning" was back in town, and the Big Red nation was thrilled. Until a couple of losing seasons ended the honeymoon phase, going from "we got our guy" to "you are not the guy", as Frost eventually left town with his tail tucked between his legs.

After a conference championship in 2024 and a winning season in '25, the thought of Dillingham being in the same conversation as Husker-era Scott Frost is a bit ridiculous. However, the blueprint in Lincoln may not be far off from what would happen in Tempe if losing hits the program hard.

Does Dillingham Have Too Much On His Plate?

If you hear any Kenny Dillingham press conference, win or loss, you will certainly hear one thing: accountability.

"It's funny, I got texts from people this weekend: 'Hey, don't always take the blame. Push the blame other places.' Bull crap," Dillingham said. "I am the head coach of this program, and the person who sent that is one of the people I consider my biggest mentors, and I have so much respect for the guy, you have no clue. But it is my responsibility to get our guys to play good football."

But at what point is it too much responsibility for Dillingham?

Trying to juggle offensive concerns and play-calling, the ASU defense then went on to give up 55 points. But when the microphone turns on and the press starts to fire questions, the criticism usually never falls on OC Marcus Arroyo or DC Brian Ward. It falls on Dillingham.

As a program, it is a tough but good sign for your coordinators to be swept up by other programs. Such as Dan Lanning at Oregon, who was hired away after being the defensive coordinator at Georgia.

Lanning is only four years older than Dillingham, coaching Oregon for five years compared to Dillingham's four. However, Lanning has had multiple coordinators leave for head coaching positions. This includes when Dillingham left Oregon's OC gig to coach ASU in 2022, along with 2025 Oregon OC Will Stein leaving to coach Kentucky and 2025 Oregon DC Tosh Lupoi leaving to coach California.

Dillingham's staff? Not one coordinator has been hired away, and if you ask people in the ASU space, it is more likely that receivers coach Hines Ward or running backs coach Shaun Aguano will be considered for other roles than Arroyo or Ward.

Of course, Arizona State is not Oregon. The Ducks will always draw in some more attention and intrigue in terms of finding coaching talent. But it still is a telling sign that perhaps Dillingham's staff is not the type of quality he should be surrounding himself with.

Dillingham and the Devils changed offensive coordinators after a 3-9 2023 season. Could a losing season in 2026 result in the same outcome?

From Dream To Nightmare

"I love this place," Dillingham said to the media in December 2025, getting emotional on the topic of ASU as rumors of him taking the open Michigan job were at an all-time high.

A week later, Dillingham signed a five-year contract extension with Arizona State.

The new contract silenced a sea of ASU fans that would have quickly turned into an angry mob (Ex: the response for former QB Sam Leavitt transferring to LSU) if Dillingham would have ditched Tempe.

Now, almost 10 months later, some overactive fans think he may not even be good enough for the ASU job.

In another 10 months, or even before the end of this season, this conversation could be worth nothing. Dillingham could be back in the good graces of the Sun Devil faithful (probably fending off power program poaching once again).

It is the harsh reality for college coaches, and with Dillingham's situation, a reality that could hit even harder.

"This is what I wanted, from when I was 18," Dillingham said about the ASU job.

Whatever happens as the rest of the season unfolds for the 36-year-old head coach, it's a friendly reminder: you can love your job, you can love your school, you can love your team and you can love your city, but there is no guarantee that it will love you back.