Cal and Sonny Dykes

[Dwan]

An informative and accurate summary of what happened.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sbnati ... tin-wilcox

[BRStang]

Thanks for posting that, Dwan.

[Boston Pony]

Living out here his first year team at Cal was the worst team ever, including the SMU teams of the late 80’s. His Bear Raid was a spread similar to UH under Briles. If it’s him the qb’s will be happy

[SoCal_Pony]

I found this comment interesting :

“he pulled Cal out of the late-Tedford dumpster fire and turned the APR around. he deserves credit for that. But he was a bottom third of the conference football coach / recruiter and was never going to have Cal competing for championships. Ever.”

He seems to universally get high marks for improving the teams APR, which new AD demanded.

[SMU_Alum11]

Used that for Twitter, thanks So_Cal

[Black Horseshoe]

I found this comment interesting :

“he pulled Cal out of the late-Tedford dumpster fire and turned the APR around. he deserves credit for that. But he was a bottom third of the conference football coach / recruiter and was never going to have Cal competing for championships. Ever.”

He seems to universally get high marks for improving the teams APR, which new AD demanded.

But he didn’t win. Anti-Dykes Twitter is working

[SMUGradCox]

Coaching is as much about the cultural fit of the coach, his personality, recruiting, and offensive style. I get the sense that Cal and Dykes didn't mesh. Berkeley is a different place.

[Julian Grendel]

It definitely ain't Lubbock or Ruston

[jimhagle]

I thought that Dykes and Cal made no sense at all at that time since Dykes is not a Cali type of guy and I think he did ok there and that place is no picnic for football coaches.

[Rebel10]

I think he will do fine here. CM left him some good players to work with and if TTech does not want him he will probably be here for a while.

[sbsmith]

I think he will do fine here. CM left him some good players to work with and if TTech does not want him he will probably be here for a while.

Awhile meaning until the first P5 offer comes along. If he doesn't do well enough here to get one, we could have another June Jones situation on our hands.

[redpony]

cm left him some good players??? not if the swine coaches are here coaching our players and poaching them at the same time. guess they weren't satisfied with stealing the top recruits and now must try and get players to transfer. interesting to see what kind of people cm and his staff actually are.

[Rebel10]

I think he will do fine here. CM left him some good players to work with and if TTech does not want him he will probably be here for a while.

Awhile meaning until the first P5 offer comes along. If he doesn't do well enough here to get one, we could have another June Jones situation on our hands.

If he left I don’t think he would leave us in shambles like Jones did. But other than TTech I just don’t see other schools wanting him. And any up and comer would be gone quicker imo.

[Boston Pony]

If he succeeds and a P5 came up, great that means we succeed. The Cal situation was a bad fit from the beginning. His recruiting was middle of the Pac 12 without the connections that he has in Texas. After the first year at Cal, his teams were competitive against top teams with Pye like restrictions on academics (more than SMU) and probably the oldest facilities in the conference. A year learning the TCU system will be helpful, plus he is hungry (and younger than Morris). He may be a bit 'folksy' for some but seems to be more sincere than previous administration.

[Insane_Pony_Posse]

Dykes has only one win against any of Cal's in-state Pac-12 rivals. His teams have lost to UCLA, USC, and Stanford 11 times in the four years that he has coached the Golden Bears. Dykes' teams lost to division rival Oregon in his first three outings before beating the Ducks in 2016.

At the conclusion of the 2015 regular season, Dykes was reported to have interviewed for college football coaching positions at Missouri, Virginia, and South Carolina. None of these schools made Dykes an offer to hire him as head coach.Dykes was nevertheless able to negotiate an extension with the University of California.

Less than a year after receiving this extension, Dykes interviewed for the head coaching vacancy at Baylor University, but Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades instead decided to hire Matt Rhule.

On January 8, 2017, California fired Dykes. Under contract through the 2019 season, Dykes was owed $5.88 million, 70 percent of his remaining base salary and talent fee. Besides his losing record, California Athletic Director Mike Williams has stated that Dykes had never "settled into California, the Bay Area or the Cal experience" as reasons for the firing.