Who may be the next UCLA Football coach as Chip Kelly departs
By Ryan Kay
He led his team to a national championship game last season and is it possible he could come and be the new coach at UCLA?
. Sonny Dykes. . player. 872. .
Career overview for coaching
Dykes began his career as a collegiate football coach by working as an assistant at Texas Tech, Arizona, and Kentucky. He was appointed the head coach of Louisiana Tech in 2010.
In his third season, Dykes guided the Bulldogs to their best record in fifteen years, a 9-3 record. In 2013, he departed from Louisiana Tech to take a position as head coach at California.
Dykes’ term as head coach of Louisiana Tech was deemed more successful than his stay at California. After four seasons with a record below 500, he was removed from his head coaching responsibilities in 2016.
Dykes was appointed head coach of SMU in 2017. The Mustangs had three winning seasons in a row under his leadership as he swiftly turned the program around. SMU concluded 2019 with a 10-3 record, which is their best result since 1989 for the program.
In 2022, Dykes was appointed head coach at TCU after his success at SMU. He guided the Horned Frogs to a 12-1 record and the team’s first-ever College Football Playoff berth in his debut season.
This season he and TCU are having a down year with only five wins on the season and not being bowl eligible but that may be a good thing for UCLA fans who want him to be their coach as Dykes may be more inclined to leave TCU to become the coach at UCLA.
Do UCLA supporters want Dykes? Yes, in a straightforward manner, and there are good reasons for the Bruin community as a whole to support Dykes as their next coach in this alternative universe. His experience as a head coach at the FBS level at four different colleges would be highly valued. In the College Football Playoffs, he and his TCU team upset a more skilled team in Michigan, demonstrating his ability to win big games.
As seen by his starting of Jared Goff as a true freshman at Cal, which helped Goff become the top selection in the NFL draft and is currently the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions, he is also an adept quarterback developer.
Odds of landing Dykes that are realistic? After serving as head coach in the south and the west for his previous four head coaching stints, Dykes may be more open to taking on a fifth position as the coach of UCLA. He appears to like leading the Horned Frogs. Additionally, he inked a contract extension that will last until 2028, although UCLA may be able to provide him with a higher salary than TCU does.