TCU hires SMU head coach Sonny Dykes as Gary Patterson’s successor

The TCU Horned Frogs are hiring SMU head coach Sonny Dykes to replace long-time head coach Gary Patterson, On3’s Matt Zenitz confirmed on Friday.

Less than 30 days removed from the split with Patterson, Horned Frogs athletics director Jeremiah Donati went just 35 miles down the road to Dallas to pick up his new head coach.

Dykes has led SMU to a 30-16 record in his four seasons at the helm on the Hilltop. The Mustangs achieved rankings in the AP top 25 in each of his last three seasons since taking over for former Arkansas head coach Chad Morris. They ascended as high as No. 15 in 2019 before finishing the season unranked with a loss in the Boca Raton Bowl.

This year, SMU is 8-3 on the year, a record that includes a win over Gary Patterson’s TCU squad in Week 4. Since losing their undefeated record to Houston four weeks ago, the Mustangs have lost three of four games. The No. 2-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats held Sonny Dykes’ high-powered offense to 14 points this past weekend.

Despite the recent losses, SMU’s offense ranks in the top-10 in points per game, thanks to junior quarterback Tanner Mordecai. The offense has finished in the top 15 in scoring in each of the last three years under Dykes.

To try to hold on to Sonny Dykes, earlier this month, the Mustangs reportedly offered the fourth-year head coach a $4 million salary with a five-year extension. Also allegedly on the table: a larger pool of money for assistant coaches and plans to build a new football-only facility.

Now that the TCU job is filled, SMU joins the list of programs looking for a new skipper. Florida, LSU, USC, Washington, Washington State, Virginia Tech and more are still on the hunt.

Dykes before SMU

Prior to SMU, Sonny Dykes spent a season as an offensive analyst for Gary Patterson’s TCU squad after getting the axed at Cal.

Dykes started his college football coaching career in the late 1990s, following in the footsteps of his father, former Texas Tech head coach Spike Dykes. He graduated from Texas Tech himself before getting his master’s at Kentucky. In Lexington, Dykes was a graduate assistant and later an assistant coach at wide receiver. After stints at Texas Tech and Arizona as offensive coordinator, Louisiana Tech gave him his first head coaching job in 2010.

At Louisiana Tech, Dykes went 22-15 and achieved a No. 19 ranking before departing for Cal. In four years under Dykes, the Golden Bears went 19-30 and earned bowl eligibility once.

Patterson era done in Fort Worth

The Horned Frogs and head coach Gary Patterson agreed to part ways three weeks ago after a three-game skid. TCU went 3-5 overall, including a 1-4 record in the Big 12 this season under Patterson. Since his departure, the Frogs have gone 2-1, including an upset win over Baylor.

Gary Patterson was one of college football’s longest-tenured head coaches, ranking behind only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz. The 61-year-old head coach joined the program as a defensive coordinator in 1998 and took over head coaching duties in 2000. Patterson accumulated a 181-79 record over 21 seasons with TCU.

TCU has switched conference membership twice during the Patterson era, going from Conference USA to the Mountain West before landing in the Big 12. He is a two-time AP Coach of the Year and won 11 bowl games over his career.