Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham Says If You Can't Keep Up In Coaching, 'Then Quit'

The recent moves around college football that have seen coaches either move to the NFL or accept lower-tier jobs has caused a fascinating conversation around the sport. For Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham, he's tired of hearing his colleagues complain about their lives inside the boundaries of college athletics. 

It's been an off-season filled with guys leaving higher positions in the sport to relieve some of the stress that comes with running an organization on a daily basis. There are arguments to be made about work-life balance. The narrative around college athletics has changed in recent years, thanks to the recruiting calendar, transfer portal and NIL. 

We have now gotten to a point where some coaches are leaving their head coaching jobs to take position jobs or coordinator roles. Either it's to reset their clock or find some type of balance outside the facility, whatever the case, there have been a few interesting moves. 

The most recent was Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott stepping down to become the tight ends coach at South Carolina, where he previously worked. Even though he had family in Columbia, the move to resign three-days into spring practice had folks scratching their heads. Even Kane Wommack leaving South Alabama for the DC spot at Alabama had folks wondering what was going on in college athletics, though he will potentially get further opportunities after a stint in Tuscaloosa. 

Putting the number of moves aside, Chip Kelly flirting with NFL and college teams for the past year was a sign of things to come. Having retained his job at UCLA following the 2023 season, Kelly decided it was time to get out of Westwood before his bosses would send him packing, potentially after the 2024 season. 

But there was still, and will continue to be, a narrative about how college athletics are forcing coaches to make tough decisions on whether it's worth it. The daily grind, not having much of a family life outside two weeks in July, or being able to put their competitive nature to the side, just to find some peace of mind. 

Kenny Dillingham Is Tired Of Hearing Folks Complain

Though this is a problem that many have spoken about, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham is tired of hearing excuses. Even though i might not agree with the overall mindset of Dillingham, i do agree that you have to hire the right people who know what goes into the profession. 

"I think you have to hire people that love coaching," Dillingham told Arizona Sports. "I joke around, but do you know how many people want my job? Like, you know how many people want my assistant coach’s job and my analyst jobs and the QB and GA jobs. So don’t complain about what we do, you’re blessed. There’s a lot of negative negative to it, yes. But do you know how many people want to be a college football coach? 

"I literally spent nine years of my life doing anything to become a coffee boy. So don’t give the ‘Oh it’s hard to be a coach right now.’ Yeah, it’s hard. Then quit. Like that’s how I look at it."

But in a world where you are constantly recruiting, talking to players till 2am in the morning, dealing with NIL and having to navigate the grind while still having a life to enjoy, it's a difficult task. There are GA's that are currently making under $20,000 a year just to move up the ladder in the profession, while some are doing it for free. 

Even with all of this, you still have to find a way to turn off the switch in your brain if this is the life you want to achieve in, according to Dillingham. 

"You adapt, you adjust, and is it hard? Yes, but if you love it, you’re gonna do it. Is it going to pull away from other things? Yes. Find a way to have a life balance. Recruit the kids that understand I’m not gonna call you every day because I’m gonna go home to my kids and my wife. Like, find the balance that works for you. It’s very, very difficult because you never have to turn the switch off."

The Game Has Changed, And It's A Mental Challenge To Succeed 

One of the bigger issues for a head coach is the competitive nature that you're entering when you take an assistant job at the college ranks. Always trying to out-work your opponents, it can become more of a mental hurdle than it is actual stress. 

If one coach is on the phone with a kid until three in the morning, that entices his competitor to do just as much to land a kid, or build a relationship. In the eyes of Kenny Dillingham, non-stop communication with recruits and having to put down the phone to enjoy a few hours of time for yourself is one of the aspects of the job that's hurting coaches. 

"Like back in the day, you just had one phone call a week," Kenny Dillingham noted. "Now you have unlimited texting. Every single day of the year, every minute, you can be working. And if you're not, you feel like you’re being out-worked and that’s the hardest thing on college athletics right now. There’s never a spot that says ‘oh, we can’t text a kid’, which means you’re constantly working and if not, you’re being out-worked in your head. I think for competitions, that’s the hardest thing about college athletics. You always wanna be the best, but in order to be the best, you cannot do anything else, because somebody is out-working you."

Everyone will have their own opinion about the current state of college athletics and working in the business. But what Dillingham is pointing out is fair, especially in a business where jobs at a school like Arizona State are hard to come by. 

Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with Dillingham, as we've seen over the past few months. But, there's always another guy waiting to take the job of a coach who doesn't feel like dealing with the grind.