After Two Misses, Coach Announces Kicker Tryouts

Arizona State's kicker missed two field goal attempts on Saturday in the Sun Devils' 24-14 loss to Cincinnati. He might well have expected to hear about it from his coach, but Kenny Dillingham went further in his post-game press conference, announcing that the Ian Hershey's job is vacant. "If you can kick and you're at Arizona State, email me," Dillingham said, per USA Today. "We're going to have kicking tryouts on Monday, so bring it on." Asked if he was serious about the offer, the coach said he was "dead serious," saying, "We got to find somebody who can make a field goal."

Dillingham later thought better of the idea and posted an apology on X. He acknowledged that, unlike criticism of his team's offense or defense, "the kicking game is always directed at one player." He also said in the press conference that he and other coaches need to do better at preparing him for big kicks, per CBS Sports. The failed attempts were from 48 and 41 yards. No one actually said the Monday tryouts are canceled. "The team's losses will always fall 100% on myself," Dillingham's post says. (More Arizona State Sun Devils stories.)