Welp, so much for that idea. Following Alabama's win over Oklahoma on Friday night, the belief is that Kalen DeBoer will be off the board for Michigan and Warde Manuel. All eyes on Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham to take over in Ann Arbor, right?
Michigan convinced it can poach Kalen DeBoer, but the timing is critical
Not anymore. While the hope and expectation was that the Wolverines would go all-in to poach Dillingham from the Big 12, it's not going to happen. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Dillingham has signed a new, monster deal with the Sun Devils, keeping him in Tempe for the long haul. Now what for Michigan and its coaching search?
Sources: Kenny Dillingham has signed a new contract at Arizona State, which will average $7.5 million over the course of the deal. The staff salary pool is up to $11 million, which puts it near the top of the Big 12. pic.twitter.com/Z94dFG9thG
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 20, 2025
Kenny Dillingham has signed a new deal with Arizona State and won't take the Michigan job
This is not the news that the Michigan faithful wanted to wake up to on Saturday morning. Throughout the past week or so, there's been serious buzz about Dillingham taking over at Michigan, as Sherrone Moore was fired with cause by the university.
While Dillingham said he loved Arizona State and the community, there were several times where he appeared to leave the door open a bit to potentially leave town. We now know that's not going to happen, as the Sun Devils have put some serious coin in front of him to make sure he stays.
Per Thamel, Dillingham's new deal with Arizona State is going to pay him about $7.5 million per season. Not only that, but he now has $11 million to spend each year for his staff. With all the Michigan rumors flying, ASU did what it had to do to keep its beloved coach.
While that's great for Dillingham, Michigan has now seen what many believed to be the school's top target no longer being available. With DeBoer likely staying in Tuscaloosa as well, it's going to be back to the drawing board for Manuel. Maybe just give Biff Poggi the job for 2026 and then conduct another search next fall? That'd be our call at this point, but there's a reason Manuel is paid the big bucks. Time to pivot for him and Michigan.