Kenny Dillingham’s Second Big 12 Act at Arizona State Centers on Staying the Course Amid Turnover

Arizona State’s 2026 football outlook is being sold internally as a program “rolling forward” with Kenny Dillingham still at the helm, even as the roster and support staff environment suggests substantial turnover. The basic premise is familiar in college football. When a coaching hire is also a homecoming story, it can galvanize a fan base. It can also create pressure to deliver quickly, especially once the on-field product becomes tightly linked to the Big 12’s weekly competitiveness.

What makes the 2026 framing notable is the emphasis on continuity. Dillingham is depicted as the constant while personnel changes swirl around him, a distinction that matters in the college football calendar. Even when a team doesn’t have the same personnel from one season to the next, retaining the same offensive identity, standards in practice, and leadership structure can compress the adjustment period. In the Big 12, where schemes and recruiting pipelines evolve quickly, those months can determine whether improvement looks real or merely hopeful.

Arizona State’s challenge is that “continuity” does not eliminate the realities of roster change. In coverage leading into the season cycle, analysts have pointed to the importance of having a run-first identity that can stabilize games, particularly when turnover hits positions that require timing and repetition. Sports Illustrated’s Sun Devils preview work highlighted the rushing game as a potential X-factor heading toward 2026, centering discussion on Jason Brown Jr. and Demarius Robinson as two backs who could give ASU a durable ground threat.

The Big 12 context amplifies the stakes of that identity. Arizona State is trying to rebuild credibility as a conference-level factor, not just a program with flashes. Spring evaluations and early previews across the league tend to spotlight how each team’s quarterback development, line play, and run efficiency could shape its calendar. ESPN’s Big 12 spring preview coverage, for example, treats spring ball as the moment when storylines harden into position-by-position readiness, not a vague reset.

There is also an institutional reality that comes with coaching continuity. Programs are often measured not only by what happens on the field, but by how secure the coaching seat looks during a cycle. Separate reporting in the coaching-search orbit has noted contact involving Dillingham’s name by a Michigan search firm in the prior year’s search chatter, underscoring that his profile remains relevant beyond Tempe. For ASU, that kind of external attention can be either a distraction or a validation, depending on how the program responds.

The more immediate question for 2026 is how the Sun Devils translate offseason themes into repeatable execution. If the running game remains a central anchor, it could reduce pressure on the passing attack and keep pace with the league’s physicality. If ASU’s front and second level can create consistent rushing lanes, the rest of the roster changes may feel more survivable, even to fans who remember the program’s recent ups and downs.

What to watch next is straightforward: how quickly new starters learn the scheme, whether ASU can keep the ground game functional against conference fronts, and whether Dillingham’s coaching continuity shows up in fewer late-game collapses or coverage breakdowns. The early narrative suggests the Sun Devils want to be competitive again in the Big 12, and Dillingham is positioned as the bridge between prior expectations and whatever personnel 2026 ultimately brings.