Sonny Dykes Got His Extension - But Is He Really the Next Gary Patterson?

A new contract, a rebuilt staff, and a resume full of wins, but timing, expectations, and history leave one big question hanging over TCU football.

Dec 30, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Sonny Dykes watches from the sidelines against the Southern California Trojans in the second half during the Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A New Staff and System Signal Change in Fort Worth

TCU football began its Spring practices on Tuesday, March 24, and there were new faces from end zone to end zone and from sideline to sideline. And not just among players. 

The Gordon Sammis Hire Could Shape TCU's Ceiling

Although head coach Sonny Dykes is not new to Horned Frogs Nation, there are many new members of his coaching staff, including, first and foremost, offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis, who assumed his first Power 4 Conference role this past January, following a successful four-year run at UConn. 

Sammis replaced Kendal Briles, who was the Frogs’ offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. Briles was named South Carolina’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach on December 9, 2025. 

UConn, of course, is better-known as a basketball school than a football school. In fact, UConn reportedly is the only Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school in the country that spends more money on its basketball programs than on its football team. In 2025, according to reports, UConn spent more than $34 million on its men’s and women’s basketball teams, compared to $20.5 million on its football team. 

Both of UConn’s basketball teams earned a berth in their respective 2026 NCAA Basketball Championship Tournament. The UConn women, seeking their 13th national title in program history, were defeated by South Carolina in the national championship semifinal. The UConn men, who were gunning for their third national title in four years, were defeated by Michigan in the national championship game. 

Sammis spent his final two seasons on the UConn football staff as the Huskies' offensive coordinator. He spent his final month serving as the program's interim head coach, which included leading the Huskies in the 2025 Wasabi Fenway Bowl. Army defeated UConn, 41-16.

With Sammis running the UConn football team’s offense, the Huskies posted consecutive nine-win seasons (2024 and 2025) for the first time in program history. The 2025 season also was the first time in program history that UConn’s offense had a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard receiver, and a 1,000-yard rusher.

There are many other new faces on the Horned Frogs’ coaching roster, including most notably:

• Brad Robins, quarterbacks coach. He spent the 2025 season as Tulsa’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Robbins was UConn’s quarterbacks coach in 2024, working alongside Sammis.
• Antonio Wilcox, running backs coach. From 2023-25, he was UConn’s running backs coach, working alongside Sammis.
• Benny Boyd, cornerbacks coach. He spent the previous six seasons coaching the cornerbacks and co-coordinating special teams at the University of Wyoming.

Dykes also will have nearly a dozen new assistant coaches on his staff.

In addition, Darl Bauer has been named Assistant Athletics Director for Football Human Performance. In this role, Bauer will lead a team of professionals charged with the development of the Horned Frogs' strength, conditioning, and speed. Kevin McCadam has been named director of football speed and performance; Shaq Lee, an assistant director for football strength and performance; and John Porchivina, an assistant director of football strength and performance. Bella Pitzo has been named director of football nutrition.

The Timing of the Extension Raises Eyebrows

Surprisingly, or not, Dykes is entering his fifth season at TCU, and he figures to be around Cowtown a while longer.

Good Friday, April 3, turned out to indeed be a good Friday for Dykes. He and TCU finalized a contract extension. TCU, which is not known for its transparency, did not disclose contract length or salary information. 

Dykes said that with the contract extension done, it will be easier to navigate the upcoming season. 

“You don’t want to think about those things during the season,” Dykes said. “I’m excited about it (the contract extension). I wake up every day excited to come to work.

“The opportunity to pursue a national championship, the College Football Playoff, and Big 12 championships, exists right here in Fort Worth, and my family and I, as well as our entire staff, are excited to continue that pursuit as Horned Frogs.”

Before the contract extension, Dykes was working under a contract that was set to expire before the contracts of the 15 other head football coaches in the Big 12

“I am appreciative and thankful to (Director of Intercollegiate Athletics) Mike Buddie, Chancellor Daniel Pullin and our administration for their belief and support of our program,” said Dykes.

Mike Buddie is TCU's new Director of Intercollegiate Athletics | Barry Lewis - TCU Horned Frogs On SI

In announcing the contract extension for Dykes, Buddie said, “I am excited about the new additions to the coaching staff, namely new offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis and head strength coach Darl Bauer, as well as in the locker room. Sonny was laser-focused in the end-of-year review of the program and made a number of difficult decisions with the goal of bringing TCU back to the College Football Playoff.

“Competing for national and Big 12 championships requires the right leadership, and Sonny has proven he's that person. His track record on the field, his standing in the community, and the decisions he's made to position this program to pursue those goals speak for themselves.”

Dyke's Resume is Strong , but How Strong?

This is the second contract extension Dykes has received since joining TCU on November 30, 2021. He received an extension in December 2022 that took his contract to 2028.

During this past off-season, there were a slew of changes involving collegiate football head coaches. Seventeen Power 4 schools changed head football coaches, with 33 head football coaching changes taking place overall within Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools, including at three College Football Playoff teams (Ole Miss, Tulane, and James Madison). 

Other prominent schools that made head football coaching changes during the off-season included LSU, UCLA, Michigan, Florida, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Utah, Cal, Iowa State, Michigan State, Auburn, Arkansas, and Stanford.

If ever there was an opportune time for a head football coach to opt for a change in scenery, it was this past off-season. 

TCU Coach Sonny Dykes leads his team on to the football field | TB@KillerFrogs.com

Despite Dykes’ success at TCU, his name never was publicly mentioned for any of the head coaching positions that opened across the country.

Evidently, 9-4 seasons don’t impress the rich and powerful in today’s college football environment.

Two other Big 12 coaches received national attention and prominent head coaching positions within the Big 10. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham was hired as the University of Michigan’s new head football coach. Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell was hired as Penn State’s new head football coach.

With Dykes evidently not being courted by other schools, it is somewhat surprising that Buddie and TCU chose this particular time to extend Dykes’ contract, although overall his four-year tenure with the Frogs has been successful, at least in regard to Big 12 and TCU standards:

Dec 31, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Sonny Dykes celebrates on the podium with the trophy after defeating the Michigan Wolverines in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Dyke's Resume Is Strong, but How Strong?

• Back-to-back 8-4 regular seasons (2024 and 2025), followed by bowl wins (the New Mexico Bowl and the Alamo Bowl, respectively) for consecutive overall 9-4 seasons.

• Most total wins (36) by a Big 12 school since the start of 2022.

• Most Top 25 wins (eight) among Big 12 schools since the start of 2022.

• Most Top 25 finishes (two) among Big 12 schools since the start of 2022.

• The only Big 12 school to be in the College Football Playoff (CFP) title game since the start of the CFP.

Dykes' 36 wins in his four seasons at the helm of TCU’s football program are the most by a Horned Frogs head football coach in his first four seasons in nearly a century, exceeded only by Francis Schmidt’s 37 wins from 1929-32.

How TCU's Success Under Dykes Compares to the Patterson Era

Furthermore, this current four-year period with Dykes is TCU’s second-most successful four years since it joined the Big 12 in 2012. The only period better was the 2014, 2015, and 2017 seasons under legendary TCU head football coach Gary Patterson; the team over those three particular seasons was 34-6, and 22-5 in the Big 12. Those Frogs had one losing record, in 2016, won the Alamo Bowl twice, and the Peach Bowl once.

Dec 30, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Ken Seals (center) and head coach Sonny Dykes celebrate after victory over Southern California Trojans in the Alamo Bowl as Valero chief operating officer Gary Simmons (left) watches at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Dykes’ first season at TCU has been his most successful in Fort Worth. After succeeding Patterson for the 2022 season, Dykes led TCU to an undefeated (12-0) and Big 12-championship regular season. Heading into the postseason, the Frogs were one of three unbeaten FBS teams in the country. The other two were Georgia and Michigan. 

Why National Perception Still Matters

Despite losing to Kansas State, 31-28 in overtime, in the Big 12 Championship Game, TCU was named as one of four College Football Playoff teams, along with Michigan, Georgia, and Ohio State.  

In a College Football Playoff National Championship semifinal game, TCU defeated Michigan, 51-45, in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, to become the first Big 12 team to qualify for the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

Unfortunately, in the national championship game, the third-ranked Horned Frogs were pummeled by defending national champion and top-ranked Georgia, 65-7.

Jan 9, 2023; Inglewood, CA, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Sonny Dykes reacts in the 4th quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP national championship game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Georgia’s 65 points were the most scored by a team in a College Football Playoff (CFP)/ Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title game. The 65 points also tied for the most points scored against a team ranked in the Associated Press top four. 

Georgia’s 58-point win was the biggest margin of victory in any national championship game dating back to the start of the BCS era in 1998, eclipsing USC’s 55-19 win over Oklahoma in January of 2005.

Dykes, who is one of six active head coaches to have coached in a CFP National Championship game, and the Frogs followed up the national championship game humiliation with a 5-7 season in 2023. TCU became just the third team since the College Football Playoff started in 2014 to make the playoff one year and miss a bowl game the next season.

The Horned Frogs, under Dykes, posted consecutive nine-win seasons, in 2024 and 2025, for the first time since the 2014-2015 seasons. 

TCU’s wins in 2025 included eight victories over Power 4 (P4) opponents. The Frogs were one of 15 schools in the country to boast that many or more wins over P4 competition.

Feb 28, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA;TCU wideout Savion Sanders (WO49) talks to the press during the 2025 NFL Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephanie Amador Blondet-Imagn Images | Stephanie Amador Blondet-Imagn Images

TCU has had seven All-Americans, 57 All-Big 12 selections, and 13 players selected in the NFL Draft during Dykes' tenure, including eight in the 2023 NFL Draft, the most in the Big 12 and in Texas. That figure also placed fourth nationally and set a program record since the NFL went to its current seven-round format in 1994.

Dykes is relatively new to the collegiate football head coaching ranks. TCU is Dykes’ fourth head coaching position since 2010. He has secured his most head-coaching wins in his four years with the Horned Frogs. 

Dykes was introduced as TCU’s head football coach on November 29, 2021. He replaced TCU interim head football coach Jerry Kill, who replaced Patterson, who resigned on October 31, 2021, after being told he would not be retained as the Frogs’ head coach in 2022. 

Including Kill on an interim basis, Dykes became TCU's 32nd head football coach since 1897. 

Former TCU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Jeremiah Donati, who now is at the University of South Carolina, hired Dykes at TCU following a reported national search.

Some TCU athletic donors and fans were less than thrilled with the hiring of Dykes, especially with him coming from rival SMU. They believed that the attractiveness of the TCU job should have attracted candidates with a much higher profile and level of success than Dykes. They also believed that TCU could have, and should have, made much more of a splash on the national scene when replacing such a football coaching legend as Patterson. They believed that bringing in Dykes, who had limited head coaching experience and success, was an insult to Patterson.

Sep 21, 2019; Fort Worth, TX, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson (left) speaks with Southern Methodist Mustangs head coach Sonny Dykes (right) before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Dykes had been the head football coach at SMU for four seasons, 2018-2021. Dykes went 30-17 at SMU. The Mustangs achieved rankings in the AP top 25 in each of their last three seasons. That hadn’t happened in Dallas since the “slush-fund” days of the Southwest Conference (SWC) in the 1980s.

In addition to SMU, Dykes has led the football programs at Louisiana Tech and Cal. 

As head coach of Louisiana Tech, Dykes went 22-15 over three seasons (2010-2012). He was the 2011 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Coach of the Year.

Dykes went 19-30 as head coach of the Pac 12 Golden Bears, progressing from one win in 2013 to an 8-5 finish in 2015. He was fired after going 5-7 in 2016.

After being fired at Cal, Dykes joined Patterson’s TCU staff as an offensive analyst for the 2017 season.

The Horned Frogs will enter their 2026 regular season coming off an Associated Press final top-25 (No. 25) ranking for the 2025 season. 

Dykes, who is 56 years old, will enter the 2026 season as his fifth with the Horned Frogs, which will be his longest tenure as a head coach at one school. That “longevity” also will make him sort of an oddity among today’s collegiate head football coaches.

Heading into the 2026 season, the average tenure of the 68 Power 4 head coaches is 4.75 seasons. If you remove from the sample set Kirk Ferentz, who is about to coach his 28th season at Iowa, the average drops to under 4.5 seasons.

Going back to 2021, there are only 19 power-conference head coaches in the same place that they started that season.

Only 13 P4 coaches (19 percent) will enter the upcoming season in at least their seventh year with their current school. 

Head Coach Sonny Dykes speaks to the players after their scrimmage this past weekend. | TCU Football X/Twitter

Dykes has a contract extension that could mean he will be coaching the Horned Frogs into a seventh season, and perhaps beyond. 

This begs the question, “Is Dykes the next Patterson?” In other words, is being TCU’s head football coach the apex for Dykes? Is TCU the last head football coaching job for Dykes, as it has been for Patterson, thus far?

Fort Worth could be the last entry on Dyke’s resume, especially considering that his name never was mentioned, much less whispered, during the past offseason when so many attractive and lucrative collegiate football head coaching openings occurred.

When the openings came about, not only were the names of well-known head coaches tossed about, but so were the names of head coaches of programs at a lower level than TCU’s football program. Even the names of defensive and offensive coordinators surfaced, rather than Dykes’ name.

TCU has been Patterson’s only collegiate head coaching job, though he recently was named defensive coordinator at USC. Because of his success with the Horned Frogs, Patterson’s name almost always was mentioned when head coaching openings occurred at prominent collegiate football programs during his tenure in Fort Worth. Patterson always chose to stay loyal to TCU. 

What 2026 Will Ultimately Decide

Dykes’ future at TCU beyond the next season or two could be tied to how well the Horned Frogs and their new coaches perform in 2026.

🐸 » 🇮🇪

We’re officially 400 days out from the 2026 @AerLingus College Football Classic, with the Horned Frogs playing host to North Carolina at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday, Aug. 29.

🗞️ https://t.co/Hg5Dh2EfEN #GoFrogs x @cfbireland pic.twitter.com/zz1bdrEIpY

— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) July 25, 2025

TCU will face a more difficult schedule in 2026 than it did in 2025. The Frogs’ season-opening game will be played about 4,500 miles from Fort Worth, in Dublin, Ireland, and their schedule will include games against the top three finishers in the Big 12 last season – conference champion and College Football Playoff participant Texas Tech, BYU, and Utah. Of those three, TCU faced only BYU in 2025. The Cougars easily handled the Frogs, 44-13, on November 15, in Provo, Utah.

One prominent sportsbook expects the Horned Frogs to take a step back in 2026. The Caesars Sportsbook has posted TCU’s 2026 regular-season win total at 6.5.

In today’s collegiate football world, the rich and powerful football programs are less prone to tolerate a nine-win season, much less a season that doesn’t include at least seven wins.

It would seem likely, even at TCU, that Dykes, despite having a fresh, crisp contract extension in his back pocket, would face backlash if the Horned Frogs finish the 2026 season with less than seven regular-season wins.

Join the Conversation

Sonny Dykes has delivered wins, stability, and one of the most successful four-year stretches TCU has seen since joining the Big 12, but is that enough to put him in the same conversation as Gary Patterson, or does he still have another to reach? And maybe the bigger question: was this extension about what Dykes has already done, or what TCU believes he can still become? Head over to the KillerFrogs Fan Forum and join the conversation becasue thisis exactly the kind of debate Frog Nation isn't going to agree on anytime soon.