Sonny Dykes
Sonny Dykes went 110–83 as a head coach, 2010–2026, at Louisiana Tech, California, SMU and TCU. Wikipedia’s season articles record one season differently (2026, 2–3); by them his record is 109–83. Share
- Record
- 110–83 career
- Seasons
- 17
- Schools
- 4
- Final AP top 10
- 1 season
- Born
- Nov 9, 1969
- Alma mater
- Texas Tech 1993
- Best season
- 2022 13–2, No. 2
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Louisiana Tech | 5–7 | 5th | |||
| 2011 | Louisiana Tech | 8–5 | 1st | Poinsettia Bowl L | ||
| 2012 | Louisiana Tech | 9–3 | 3rd | |||
| 2013 | California | 1–11 | 6th (North) | |||
| 2014 | California | 5–7 | 4th (North) | |||
| 2015 | California | 8–5 | T–4th (North) | Armed Forces Bowl W | ||
| 2016 | California | 5–7 | T–4th (North) | |||
| 2017 | SMU bowl game | 0–1 | Frisco Bowl L | |||
| 2018 | SMU | 5–7 | 4th (West) | |||
| 2019 | SMU | 10–3 | 3rd (West) | Boca Raton Bowl L | ||
| 2020 | SMU | 7–3 | 5th | Frisco (not played) | ||
| 2021 | SMU | 8–4 | 6th | Fenway (not played) | ||
| 2022 | TCU | 13–2 | 1st | Fiesta Bowl, CFP Semifinal W; CFP National Championship L | 2 | |
| 2023 | TCU | 5–7 | T–9th | |||
| 2024 | TCU | 9–4 | T–5th | New Mexico Bowl W | ||
| 2025 | TCU | 9–4 | T–7th | Alamo Bowl W | 25 | |
| 2026 | TCU | 3–3 (Wikipedia: 2–3) |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson2022 Jim Thorpe Award
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 39 | 13–26 | 33% |
| Against top-10 teams | 14 | 2–12 | 14% |
| Against rivals | 38 | 21–17 | 55% |
| Conference games | 127 | 66–61 | 52% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 8 | 4–4 | 50% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 82 | 45–37 | 55% |
| At home | 93 | 59–34 | 63% |
| On the road | 88 | 44–44 | 50% |
| At neutral sites | 12 | 7–5 | 58% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 106 | 81–25 | 76% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 87 | 29–58 | 33% |
His own 193 games on file, 2010–2026, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Fritz 2018–2025 | 5–1 | Tulane, Houston | 6 | |
| Dave Aranda 2022–2026 | 4–1 | Baylor | 5 | |
| Gary Andersen 2010–2016 | 3–2 | Utah State, Oregon State | 5 | |
| Ken Niumatalolo 2010–2021 | 3–2 | Navy | 5 | |
| Mike MacIntyre 2010–2014 | 3–2 | San José State, Colorado | 5 | |
| Seth Littrell 2018–2021 | 3–1 | North Texas | 4 | |
| Rhett Lashlee 2022–2025 | 3–1 | SMU | 4 | |
| Gary Patterson 2011–2021 | 2–2 | TCU | 4 | |
| Mike Leach 2013–2016 | 2–2 | Washington State | 4 | |
| Chris Petersen 2010–2016 | 1–3 | Boise State, Washington | 4 |
Sonny Dykes’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Houstonseries | 8 | 5–3 |
| Baylorseries | 5 | 4–1 |
| Coloradoseries | 5 | 3–2 |
| Navyseries | 5 | 3–2 |
| Cincinnatiseries | 5 | 2–3 |
| Stanfordseries | 5 | 1–4 |
| USCseries | 5 | 1–4 |
| Tulaneseries | 4 | 4–0 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 2022 TCU: Bear Bryant Award, Eddie Robinson and Walter Camp Coach
How he was hired
- Hired by SMU for the 2017 season from TCU, where he was an analyst.
- Hired by TCU for the 2022 season from SMU, where he was head coach.
Power-conference head-coaching hires since 2010, with each coach’s previous job and ties to the school as collected by hand from Wikipedia: Hiring facts: M. Schuckers, cfb_coach_analytics.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | J. J. Pearce HS (TX) high school | Running backs coach | |
| 1995 | Navarro | Running backs coach | |
| 1996 | Navarro | Passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1997 | Kentucky | Graduate assistant and tight ends coach | |
| 1998 | Northeast Louisiana | Wide receivers coach | |
| 1999 | Kentucky | Special teams and wide receivers coach | |
| 2000–04 | Texas Tech | Wide receivers coach | |
| 2005–06 | Texas Tech | Co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| 2007–09 | Arizona | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 2010–12 | Louisiana Tech | Head coach | |
| 2013–16 | California | Head coach | |
| 2017 | TCU | Offensive analyst | |
| 2017 | SMU | Head coach | |
| 2018–21 | SMU | Head coach | |
| 2022–present | TCU | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included. Head-coaching seasons the infobox leaves out come from our records.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Hal MummeKentucky
- Ed ZaunbrecherUL Monroe
- Mike LeachTexas Tech
- Mike StoopsArizona
- Gary PattersonTCU
Assistants who became head coaches
- Tommy SpanglerPresbyterian
- Jake SpavitalTexas State
- G.J. KinneTexas State, Incarnate Word
- Jeff TraylorUTSA
- Van MaloneHampton
- Rhett LashleeSMU
- A. J. RickerSaint Joseph’s (IN)
- Jim LeavittSouth Florida
- Doug MeachamOklahoma State
- Andy AvalosBoise State
- Dana HolgorsenWest Virginia, Houston
- Ken WilsonNevada
- and 2 more
Worked under (5)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hal Mumme | Kentucky | 1997–99 | 1997: graduate assistant and tight ends coach; 1999: special teams and wide receivers coach | |
| Ed Zaunbrecher | UL Monroe | 1998 | Wide receivers coach | |
| Mike Leach | Texas Tech | 2000–06 | 2000–04: wide receivers coach; 2005–06: co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Mike Stoops | Arizona | 2007–09 | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Gary Patterson | TCU | 2017 | Offensive analyst |
Coached under him, later head coaches (14)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Spangler | Louisiana Tech, 2010–12: defensive coordinator | Presbyterian | |
| Jake Spavital | California, 2016: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Texas State | |
| G.J. Kinne | SMU, 2017: graduate assistant | Texas State, Incarnate Word | |
| Jeff Traylor | SMU, 2017: assistant head coach and running backs coach | UTSA | |
| Van Malone | SMU, 2017: defensive coordinator | Hampton | |
| Rhett Lashlee | SMU, 2018–19: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | SMU | |
| A. J. Ricker | SMU, 2019: offensive line coach; 2020: co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; 2021: co-offensive coordinator; TCU, 2022–26: co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Saint Joseph’s (IN) | |
| Jim Leavitt | SMU, 2021: defensive coordinator | South Florida | |
| Doug Meacham | TCU, 2022–24: inside receivers coach | Oklahoma State | |
| Andy Avalos | TCU, 2024–26: defensive coordinator | Boise State | |
| Dana Holgorsen | TCU, 2024: defensive assistant | West Virginia, Houston | |
| Ken Wilson | TCU, 2024–26: linebackers coach | Nevada | |
| Todd Graham | TCU, 2024–26: offensive assistant | Rice, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, Arizona State, Hawai’i | |
| Gordon Sammis | TCU, 2026: offensive coordinator | UConn |
Other assistants under him (17)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Rob Likens | Louisiana Tech, 2010–12: assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach; California, 2013: assistant head coach and outside receivers coach; 2014: assistant head coach, passing game coordinator and outside receivers coach | |
| Tony Franklin | Louisiana Tech, 2010–12: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; California, 2013–14: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; 2015: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and running backs coach | |
| Andy Buh | California, 2013: defensive coordinator | |
| Jim Michalczik | California, 2013: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | |
| Terrance Jamison | California, 2013: defensive quality control coach | |
| Art Kaufman | California, 2014–16: defensive coordinator | |
| John Lovett | California, 2015–16: cornerbacks coach | |
| Joe Craddock | SMU, 2017: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Jonathan Brewer | SMU, 2018–19: offensive quality control coach and offensive assistant | |
| Kevin Kane | SMU, 2018–20: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Trey Haverty | SMU, 2018–21: safeties coach | |
| Garrett Riley | SMU, 2020–21: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; TCU, 2022: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Kenny Perry | SMU, 2021: special teams and defensive backs coach | |
| Joe Gillespie | TCU, 2022–23: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Kendal Briles | TCU, 2023–25: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Mark Cala | TCU, 2023–24: quarterbacks coach | |
| Brian Norwood | TCU, 2025: safeties coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | California | head coachbonuses up to $800,000; $50,000 in bonuses paid | $2,908,000 USA Today | |
| 2015 | California | head coachbonuses up to $304,000 | $2,008,000 USA Today | |
| 2014 | California | head coachbonuses up to $304,000 | $1,808,000 USA Today | |
| 2013 | California | head coachbonuses up to $304,000 | $2,394,000 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Dykes’s teams went for it on 27% of fourth downs and on 42% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 55% of plays and took 22.0 seconds a play, 2010–2026.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 12 g | Louisiana Tech | 26 of 104 25% | 43% | 49% | 19.5 | −0.07 | |
| 2011 12 g | Louisiana Tech | 17 of 117 15% | 25% | 51% | 20.0 | −0.09 | |
| 2012 12 g | Louisiana Tech | 28 of 88 32% | 48% | 51% | 17.1 | +0.18 | |
| 2013 12 g | California | 38 of 135 28% | 38% | 61% | 19.4 | −0.01 | |
| 2014 12 g | California | 29 of 100 29% | 45% | 58% | 21.9 | +0.14 | |
| 2015 13 g | California | 25 of 92 27% | 29% | 58% | 22.3 | +0.17 | |
| 2016 12 g | California | 31 of 112 28% | 40% | 62% | 19.5 | +0.14 | |
| 2018 12 g | SMU | 34 of 116 29% | 45% | 58% | 22.2 | −0.03 | |
| 2019 13 g | SMU | 29 of 109 27% | 48% | 50% | 21.4 | +0.13 | |
| 2020 10 g | SMU | 18 of 71 25% | 54% | 53% | 23.0 | +0.13 | |
| 2021 12 g | SMU | 23 of 85 27% | 48% | 54% | 23.2 | +0.15 | |
| 2022 15 g | TCU | 27 of 111 24% | 39% | 48% | 26.4 | +0.15 | |
| 2023 12 g | TCU | 30 of 86 35% | 46% | 58% | 20.6 | +0.13 | |
| 2024 13 g | TCU | 23 of 88 26% | 46% | 58% | 24.3 | +0.13 | |
| 2025 13 g | TCU | 25 of 86 29% | 50% | 54% | 24.6 | +0.09 | |
| 2026 6 g | TCU | 13 of 46 28% | 56% | 54% | 27.9 | +0.01 | |
| All 191 g | 416 of 1546 27% | 42% | 55% | 22.0 | +0.09 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.