Two years ago, on Nov. 27, 2022, Kenny Dillingham was introduced as the new Arizona State head football coach. It was a job not many wanted. The cloud of an NCAA investigation was still hovering and penalties had not been doled out yet. The fan base was frustrated at the direction of the program under the previous leadership.

In a college football season filled with superb coaching jobs, few have been better than Kenny Dillingham's work at Arizona State. On the heels of back-to-back 3-9 seasons, Dillingham has led the Sun Devils to nine wins in their first 11 games.

Arizona State has turned around under Kenny Dillingham, and the head coach of the Sun Devils reportedly rewarded his staff out of his own pocket.

The turnaround for the Arizona State football team hasn't just generated buzz throughout the Big 12 or on the West Coast. The job Kenny Dillingham has done in Tempe has resonated nationwide, with the Sun Devils registering wins over nationally ranked foes in back-to-back weeks that have put them in the College Football Playoff picture.

Arizona State got embarrassed against rival Arizona last season. In Kenny Dillingham's first season as head coach, the Sun Devils lost to the Wildcats 59-23 at

The Sun Devils' strong culture turned a 3-9 team into one on track for a Big 12 title game appearance in just a year.