Sonny Dykes

Daniel "Sonny" Dykes (born November 9, 1969) is an American football coach, and a former college baseball player. He is currently the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU), and previously served in the same role at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 2018 to 2021, the University of California, Berkeley from 2013 to 2016, and Louisiana Tech University from 2010 to 2012. In his first season at TCU, he led the Horned Frogs to a win in the semifinal and an appearance in the National Championship game. Dykes, the youngest son of former Texas Tech head coach Spike Dykes, began his career as a high school baseball and football coach in Texas. He then moved to the junior college level as an assistant football coach, including stints with Kentucky, Texas Tech, and Arizona. In 2010, Dykes became a head college football coach for the first time at Louisiana Tech. After a 5–7 record in his first season, Dykes led Louisiana Tech to an 8–5 record in 2011 with a Western Athletic Conference title and followed that with a 9–3 record in 2012. As of 2022, this remains the only conference championship Dykes has won across four head coach jobs. Dykes then became head coach at California in 2013. After coaching Cal football to its worst season (1–11) in program history in 2013, Dykes improved the team's record to 5–7 in 2014, and then to 8–5 and an Armed Forces Bowl victory in 2015. He finished the 2016 season with 5–7 record, his third losing season in four years at California, and was fired after the season. In 2017, Dykes was hired as head coach at Southern Methodist University. Dykes coached the Mustangs to three winning seasons, including a 10–3 record in 2019 which was the program's best record in more than thirty years. Following his success at Southern Methodist, Dykes was hired as the head coach at Texas Christian University prior to the 2022 season. In his first season at TCU, Dykes led the Horned Frogs to a 12–1 record and the team's first ever College Football Playoff appearance, and on December 31, 2022, he led the Horned Frogs to their first-ever CFP win in program history. Early years Sonny Dykes graduated from Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas, where he played both football and baseball. He lettered for three years as a first baseman for the Texas Tech baseball team. Dykes earned a bachelor's degree in history from Texas Tech University in 1993 and a master's degree from the University of Kentucky in 1999.