Sonny Dykes shares unique story from past after winning Bear Bryant Award

There were several coaches who earned consideration for the Bear Bryant Award, which designates the coach of the year in college football. However, to nobody’s surprise, it ended up being TCU head coach Sonny Dykes who won the award.

In his first season with TCU, Dykes turned around a team that went 5-7 in 2021 and led them to a 12-0 regular season. Despite losing the Big 12 Championship Game, TCU made the College Football Playoff, winning in the semifinal round.

While receiving his Bear Bryant Award, Sonny Dykes told a story from his past about the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant.

“It’s a very prestigious award, first of all,” Dykes said. “I mean anything named after Coach Bryant is a big deal. I mean, he was, you know, probably the biggest name in college football history from a coaching perspective. And you know, my father had tremendous respect for Coach Bryant.”

Sonny Dykes’ father, Spike Dykes, was a high school football coach in Texas for decades before making the jump to college where he ultimately would become the head coach at Texas Tech. His 150 games coached there are still the most of any Red Raiders coach.

“I told the story earlier; 1969, my dad loaded up he and three other coaches. He was coaching a Big Spring High School and they drove to Tuscaloosa. Coach Bryant spent a bunch of time with them and they learned some really important things that were really important to my dad. His legacy has been such that — same thing I told the story earlier — that my 12th birthday, I got a signed autograph from Bear Bryant. Not usually what most 12-year-olds get on their 12th birthday but obviously, that means a lot and anything that represents what Coach Bryant stands for and is a pretty awesome award.”

Sonny Dykes is going to look to build on his success this season in 2023. However, now he’s going to have to do it with the target on his back instead, a unique challenge in its own right.

Sonny Dykes to look in the mirror

Nobody expected TCU to be playing for a national championship this season. However, once there, the Horned Frogs were dominated by Georgia. Now, as Sonny Dykes explained, he needs to look in the mirror.

“That’s the good thing, I think, about our program and, really, our coaching staff. We’ll look in the mirror. That’s kind of what I told the players afterward. We’ve got to look in the mirror. And it all starts with me. Then it works down from there,” Dykes said.