Arizona State completed a deal Saturday night to make Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham the youngest head football coach in a Power Five conference.
A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that the 32-year-old Phoenix native was on the verge of becoming the head coach at the school he graduated from after 10 years of playing.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the details of the contract have yet to be finalized.
Sports Illustrated first reported that Arizona State was targeting Dillingham.
Arizona State fired Herman Edwards in September after a 1-2 start. The football program also faces an NCAA investigation into alleged recruiting violations under Edwards.
Dillingham began his coaching career at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona before being hired in 2014 by then-Arizona coach Todd Graham as an offensive analyst.
He served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Memphis, Auburn, Florida and Oregon this season.
Arizona athletic director Ray Anderson took a gamble in 2018 by hiring Edwards, a former NFL coach and television analyst.
The talkative coach won over Arizona State’s fan base in his first couple of seasons, proving to be a skilled recruiter while leading the Sun Devils to back-to-back bowl appearances.
Arizona State has been unable to maintain success on the field, and the program has come under the NCAA’s crosshairs for hosting on-campus recruits during the NCAA-mandated 2020 COVID-19 layoff.
Edwards was fired a day after the Sun Devils lost to Eastern Michigan in the Mid-American Conference as heavy home favorites. He went 46-26 in five seasons at Arizona State, including 17-14 in the Pac-12.
Running backs coach Sean Aguano served as interim coach and finished the season 2-7, including a loss to rival Arizona in the final.
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