Coveted $29 million college football HC emerges as a favorite to be next Michigan coach

Michigan surprisingly fired Sherrone Moore and is now searching for a new head coach. The Wolverines missed the busy season of the college football coaching carousel.

It will be worth watching who Michigan is able to land during a unique hiring window. Several college football coaches have emerged as favorites to be named the next Michigan coach.

Alabama's Kalen DeBoer has surged to the top of the list of the betting odds with a 29% chance, per Kalshi. Washington's Jedd Fisch is second at 23% and had previously been linked to other openings like Florida before the Gators hired Jon Sumrall.

One of the more intriguing names is Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham, who is third in the odds at 17%. Let's dive into the latest rumors surrounding Michigan's coaching search.

Potential Michigan target Kenny Dillingham signed a $29 million contract extension with Arizona State in Jan. 2025

Dillingham has been a popular name amid a busy coaching carousel, but so far has not shown an eagerness to leave his alma mater. The coach has helped make Arizona State into a perennial Big 12 contender and led the Sun Devils to a College Football Playoff berth in 2024.

"I was never leaving ... I never said I was leaving."

Kenny Dillingham says ASU is "home," but it's his responsibility to push for more for the program otherwise he's "cheating everybody" involved. pic.twitter.com/onpbWRcTLo
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) November 15, 2025

Back in January, Dillingham signed a five-year, $29 million contract extension with Arizona State, per ESPN. It will be worth watching to see if Michigan could entice Dillingham to leave home.

Arizona HC Kenny Dillingham on coaching rumors: 'This is home'

Michigan could offer Dillingham more NIL resources than Arizona State. So far, Dillingham has shown patience despite constant rumors linking him to other jobs.

Kenny Dillingham on whether he took calls about coaching changes on the @travistaketwo podcast:

“My agent did. I made it very clear where I wanted to be to all those people… During our football season, I talked to zero people about any other job.”@DevilsDigest pic.twitter.com/OqM2tTo4lt
— George Lund (@GLundMedia) December 10, 2025

"I never said I was leaving," Dillingham noted back in November, per Newsweek. "This is home. You do have to continue to push. And my job running the program is to push and push and push until you can't push anymore.

"And if I didn't do that, I'd be cheating my players. I'd be cheating my staff. I'd be cheating the fan base. I'd be cheating everybody in the city. I'd be cheating the local businesses that feed off of us winning, and then they sell more beer. I'd be cheating everybody," Dillingham continued.

"My number one goal always is to do whatever I can to push the envelope for Arizona State football."