Arizona State Officially Begins Head Coaching Search
Marcus Arroyo to be interim head coach before leaving to join Dillingham's staff
The Devil's Due Mailbag — Coaching Search Update
By Diego Alfaro
Published: December 16th, 2026
While Marcus Arroyo takes the reins of the Sun Devils on the field in the interim, with multiple reports indicating that Arroyo intends to join Dillingham in Los Angeles after the Liberty Bowl, athletic director Graham Rossini begins the exhaustive off-the-field search for the 27th head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils. And he isn't handling the task alone.
According to those close to the situation, Rossini and the Arizona State leadership group have hired Parker Executive Search to spearhead the coaching search, with a final determination expected within the next '10-14' days. The group assisting Rossini is headlined by Vice President and Managing Director Daniel Parker, who has promised a swift and impactful resolution for Arizona State.
"Parker Executive Search maintains an exclusive 10-14 day window to produce results, and ASU leadership has been assured this case will be no different," confirmed one source close to Rossini, who requested anonymity.
"They don't want this to drag out past the Liberty Bowl. By the time the transfer portal window opens, they want to hit the ground running," added the source.
The Sun Devils and PES wasted no time extending formal requests to interview several candidates. According to varying reports, the Sun Devils have already requested to interview Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson, LSU offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr, Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann, Oregon assistant head coach Rashad Samples, and Auburn co-defensive coordinator Tim Banks.
A source close to former USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley confirmed the University reached out to him for an interview as well, but sources say Riley has little interest in the position at this time, with Clemson believed to be his preferred destination.
Arizona State has already secured permission to interview Danielson, Schumann, and Weis Jr., with university officials expected to travel to Boise as early as Thursday morning. From there, the search committee is expected to head to Baton Rouge before making stops in Athens and other locations to meet with the remaining candidates.
"They're casting a wide net because they know they have to get this right. The tricky thing is, they have to do it quickly too. They can't afford to let this drag on too long and start losing recruiting momentum as a result."
According to multiple sources, Arizona State's search is centered on finding a coach capable of sustaining Dillingham's offensive identity while maintaining the recruiting momentum that pushed the Sun Devils into College Football Playoff contention.
All eyes will continue to rest on Clemson and Arizona State, the highest regarded jobs still available.
In other coaching news, several head coaches who lost their jobs over Black Sunday have found soft landing spots.
Scott Satterfield has been hired to replace Dave Aranda at Baylor, while Bill Belichick continues his collegiate career at Cincinnati. Elijah Drinkwitz made the surprising decision to leave Missouri for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Greg Schiano left Rutgers to replace Jeff Lebby at Mississippi State.
