Sonny Dykes Agrees to Terms on Deal to Become Next SMU Head Coach

Dykes spent 2017 on Gary Patterson's staff at TCU; now he'll stay in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Former Cal and Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Dykes has agreed to become the new head coach at SMU, a source has told SI. The 48-year-old Texan spent the 2017 season at TCU on Gary Patterson’s staff as an offensive analyst. Dykes is 41–45 in seven seasons as a head coach. He was let go by Cal following the 2016 season after a 19–30 record over four years in Berkeley.

Word is SMU wanted someone with strong ties in the state of Texas, and you won’t find someone with much stronger roots than Dykes, the son of the late Spike Dykes, a legendary Texas football coach. In addition, sources say the school liked Dyke’s strong offensive pedigree—similar to Chad Morris, who left last week to become the new head coach at Arkansas—as well as how he had developed and showcased talents such as tight end Rob Gronkowski when he was Arizona’s offensive coordinator, running back Kenneth Dixon as head coach at Louisiana Tech and quarterback Jared Goff while at Cal.