Yahoo Finance TCU plans to introduce Sonny Dykes as school’s next football coach on Tuesday: sources
TCU plans to formally introduce SMU coach Sonny Dykes as its next football coach on Tuesday, sources told the Star-Telegram.
Dykes emerged as the top target for the Frogs following a national search as the Star-Telegram reported last week. The sides didn’t want to make it “official” until after the regular season but news leaked Friday that Dykes would be leaving SMU for rival TCU.
Dykes and TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati have yet to publicly confirm the move. Dykes declined to answer a question on the subject from The Dallas Morning News following SMU’s regular-season finale on Saturday. Donati declined comment when asked by the Star-Telegram during TCU’s season finale at Iowa State on Friday.
But neither denied the numerous reports that came out Friday and Dykes is expected to have an introductory news conference Tuesday in Fort Worth.
Dykes coached SMU’s regular-season finale against Tulsa on Saturday, and was heckled by Mustangs faithful as he entered the stadium. The Dallas Morning News reported one fan yelled, “Put your purple on, Dykes.” A couple of fans wore “TCU Sucks” shirts as he walked by.
The Mustangs fell 34-31 to the Golden Hurricane on Saturday. SMU lost four of its last five games under Dykes.
Dykes did not answer a question when asked if he’d be heading to TCU in his postgame news conference.
“I hate the way this thing ended,” Dykes said, according to The Dallas Morning News. “I hate the way this whole season ended.”
Regardless of SMU’s late season struggles, Dykes has long been considered a front-runner for TCU after the school parted ways with longtime coach Gary Patterson on Oct. 31.
Dykes emerged as the top choice out of a group of finalists that included Louisiana’s Billy Napier, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, Jackson State’s Deion Sanders and Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott. TCU also had interest in NFL-level coaches, including Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and Denver Broncos running backs coach Curtis Modkins.
Donati is the man who will be credited for making the hire, sources said, but he received input from a five-person selection committee featuring Donati, deputy athletics director Mike Sinquefield and board of trustees members LaDainian Tomlinson, Eddie Clark and Hunter Enis. TCU also retained a coaching search firm.
Terms of Dykes’ contract are unknown. SMU reportedly offered a package of up to $4 million annually.
Patterson ranked among the top 10 highest-paid coaches in the country with an annual salary nearing $6 million a year. Dykes won’t make $6 million but his pay will be well above the $4 million SMU reportedly offered, a source confirmed.
Dykes is expected to interview TCU assistants Sunday as he puts together his staff.
TCU wide receivers coach Malcolm Kelly and safeties coach Paul Gonzales are among the front-runners to stay with the program, sources said. Dykes is expected to bring current SMU assistants Ra’Shaad Samples (running backs), David Gru (wide receivers), Chidera Uzo-Diribe (defensive line) and Kaz Kazadi (strength and conditioning) with him.
SMU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley is also a possibility to join Dykes at TCU.
The defensive coordinator position will be an outside hire. Dykes is not expected to bring Jim Leavitt with him.
The DC position is arguably the most important hire that Dykes faces. Patterson is regarded as one of the top defensive minds of this generation even though TCU struggled defensively this season.
Dykes will likely target DCs who run a scheme similar to Patterson’s 4-2-5 defense to make the transition as seamless as possible.
Dykes, 52, is the son of longtime Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes. TCU will be the fourth program he oversees.
Having head coach experience is something that Donati and TCU officials desired in its next coach. Donati also wanted a coach with an offensive background who has a familiarity with today’s age of college athletics with players being able to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL) as well as how to navigate the ever-growing NCAA transfer portal.
Dykes meets all of those requirements.
Dykes’ first head coaching stint was at Louisiana Tech from 2010-12, a stretch that included a WAC championship in 2011. He then moved to Cal from 2013-16 where his highlights included defeating Texas twice and developing current Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who became the top overall pick of the Los Angeles Rams in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Dykes spent the 2017 season as an offensive analyst under Patterson at TCU before he took over at SMU in 2018. The Mustangs had a 30-18 record under Dykes and have been ranked in the Top 25 a total of 19 weeks. TCU, meanwhile, is 23-24 over that same span and has been ranked for only five weeks and has failed to appear in the Top 25 the past two seasons.
Dykes is just 3-7 against Top 25 opponents and has drawn the ire of some fans for his 6-9 record in November during his time at SMU. TCU, meanwhile, went 3-6 against ranked teams under Patterson since 2018.
TCU isn’t deterred by those numbers. Instead, the Frogs see what Dykes has done in turning SMU around and putting together one of the top offenses in the country.
SMU went into Saturday’s game ranked 13th in total offense. It had the 12th-best offense in 2020 and the ninth-best in 2019.
TCU hopes it becomes known for its offense under Dykes like it became known for defense under Patterson.
Patterson leaves a lasting legacy at the school. He already has a statue on campus and finished his career as the all-time winningest coach with a 181-79 record over 21 seasons.
Dykes’ career record is 71-62 over 12 seasons.
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