OskiMD;842606085 said:

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He has no future at Cal and in the Pac-12. 0-12 against the big four with a NFL caliber QB doesn't suggest Dykes is ever going to get much success at Cal.

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Not because I think it's necessarily true, but just as a counterpoint, armchair experts at BI said the same thing about Harbaugh ("let's see how he does without Gerhart"), Shaw (Luck), Chip Kelly (Masoli) and now Helfrich (Mariota). The reality is that teams frequently don't experience as big a dropoff as we expect, and I think the fact that we run a junk offense will make that even more likely to be true. I don't know what's going to happen next year, but I wouldn't bet the farm on our offense experiencing a dropoff. Heck, I thought our offense would peak this year (and had what I thought were pretty reasonable expectations) but it was pretty clear that our offense was no better than last year and possibly worse. Not exactly easy to tell because we weren't in as many blowouts and garbage time situations so it's apples to oranges. I definitely think our wide receivers performed worse as a unit than they did last year.

Cal Strong!;842606094 said:

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Interviewing at Missouri WEAK!

Cal not weak. Cal STRONG! Sonny needs to be more like Cal, less like Missouri.

Sonny needs to toughen up his thinking. Toughen up his Big Game record. Then he get paid strong dollars.

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How's it going McClure?

So I don't think this is a serious opportunity here, but can you imagine taking the TFS offense back to the SEC after the Auburn disaster in 2008? - with those SEC defenses back to back to back in a conference schedule? Hah! I think I would dvr every one of their games for the entertainment value.

A few things in addition to what's already been said:

1) Recent on campus troubles at Missouri could be upping Sonny's worth in their eyes. People tend to think that dealing with the craziness that is Berkeley sets people up to not get blown away by some on campus angst regarding football (hence Barbour to PSU in the wake of their recent disaster.) And they're probably not wrong about that.

2) Other programs usually attribute lack of success here to the culture more than the guy, and so assume that moderate success here can still portend big success elsewhere. Even as often as that's proved untrue and people have gotten bitten (see Gilbertson, Keith; Mariucci, Steve; Bockrath, Bob; and Tedford, Jeff ) the idea persists.

3) I had to wonder when the team gave him that game ball after OSU if the writing wasn't already on the wall about his trying to get out. That looked like a thank you and we'll miss you gift to me- as did last weekend's win.

4) SEC country is probably much more his - and his family's- cup of tea than the bay area ever could be. Can't much blame a guy if he wants to go where the politics and culture are more like what he's accustomed to.

Wow, lots of "hope he leaves" posts.

Funny thing that none of you appear to be considering.

1) Mizzou with the recent upheaval on the campus isn't a great coaching destination. the fact that the team was ready to boycott games reflected poorly on the coach and will be heavily recruited against. Mizzou probably can't get Richt's agent to even pick up the phone.

2) It is clear that while many posters here absolutely hate Dykes and think a chimp could out-coach him, not all ADs do and I'd like to point out that ADs vet coaches for a living. There must be something there.

3) Losing Dykes now will put 2016 on shaky ground in a hurry. First we will almost certainly lose some players who decide they have better opportunities with other programs. Also we'll have a coaching staff that will be scrambling to put together a recruiting class. We already have a bit of a talent deficit against the teams posters here complain that we are 0-12 against, lets see if making it worse makes the 2016 season better.

4) Cal would have to hire a coach AFTER all these other schools have already claimed most of the better candidates. Good luck finding a top coach if Dykes moves in a couple of weeks.

I've said before that I'm not sure Dykes is the coach who can take us to a Rose Bowl, but unlike the negabears here, I refuse to say he cannot. The trajectory of the program is in the right direction and there are a lot of pieces coming back, especially on defense. The team could be good next season. But now we have a new uncertainty to deal with.

beelzebear;842606070 said:

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And 2008 was during the building...just starting out. Let me just say - I've been in similar situations where I was hired/kept on as insurance because the other option is implosion. I think if Tedford left during the renovation it would have been BIG TROUBLE, especially with the big donors backing the project. I'm sure they could have backed out at any point if something like that happened.

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The difference between what Dykes has done and what Tedford did before the extension in question couldn't be much bigger. Tedford took us to the stratosphere (as far as Cal Football is concerned), whereas Dykes took a conference bottom-dweller and moved it up a few notches to the middle of the pack. 2004 was a truly amazing year. If Dykes had accomplished that, then we'd have reason to discuss an extension. And this is before taking the stadium project into consideration. Dykes is no Tedford at this point (and I wanted Tedford gone).

Whatever a lot of you are smoking... I'll have some!!!

Good points, EXCEPT #1. Keep in mind, the threatened boycott actually reflects very well on the prior coaching staff, since the coaches were 100% behind the players. Had they stayed, they could have played the "we've got our African American players' backs" card.

Don't worry....they all have their lists ready...Strong, McIntyre, Anderson, etc....oh ya, add Hue.

okaydo;842606005 said:

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I don't mind him doing it now, but I did have a problem with him doing it when we only had 5 wins and we were struggling to get to the 6th win

First: Accomplish something.

Then: Complain or seek new employment via the media.

His 7-5 record makes him look really sexy.

I went from wanting Dykes gone (first half of ASUC game) to really appreciating the job he's done and defending his 0-12 record (after the ASU game) to feeling indifferent (after reading Wilner's sobering article).

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The timing of Wilner's somewhat insightful blog post was curious after this came out. Sounds like he knew about this.

TouchedTheAxeIn82;842606030 said:

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This could be an indication that Dykes feels that his market value peaks now. With Goff expected to be gone, perhaps he is expecting the team to take a step back next year, so now is the time to maximize his opportunities.

Edit: Whoops, concordtom said the same thing.

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Seems like a half of football v. ASU made him. Imagine if we had been blown out? His extension would be pending Board of Regents approval right now.

Apparently Dykes has checked out and will stick around only if we are the last suitor left.

MiZery;842606036 said:

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Wonder if he senses the negativity, even the ones before his hire

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Seems like you sense it very well.

No. No. Noooooooo!




<YES!!!>

KoreAmBear;842606116 said:

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Seems like you sense it very well.

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Everybody wanted another coach after 2013 even though we would have at least 1-2 years of him, Dykes is now tolerable but not a must-keep.

Strykur;842606115 said:

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Apparently Dykes has checked out and will stick around only if we are the last suitor left.

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Should just can him if that is the case.

The word is out now. It really should force Williams hand... a self respecting school just can't bring him back and have it look like we are some kind of last resort.

Or at least pull the offer and start lining up the interviews (and donors). Definitely can't extend now.

KoreAmBear;842606114 said:

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Seems like a half of football v. ASU made him. Imagine if we had been blown out? His extension would be pending Board of Regents approval right now.

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Bonus for a great half of offense. :-D

I have my doubts about Dyke's ability to take Cal to the top half of the conference, but if you think Dykes leaving now won't get us any worse than 2013's 1-11 season, think again. We lose a bunch of seniors this year. Goff is leaving. We'll surely lose a bunch of 2016 recruits. Could possibly see some current players transfer. And remember, we don't have a FCS team on the schedule next year. So you are left with TFS system players w/o TF on offense. And you still have a questionable defense. 0-12 is a real possibility.

Strykur;842606115 said:

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Apparently Dykes has checked out and will stick around only if we are the last suitor left.

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"I just want to go somewhere where I can turn on my faucet in peace."

Eeyore;842606126 said:

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I have my doubts about Dyke's ability to take Cal to the top half of the conference, but if you think Dykes leaving now won't get us any worse than 2013's 1-11 season, think again. We lose a bunch of seniors this year. Goff is leaving. We'll surely lose a bunch of 2016 recruits. Could possibly see some current players transfer. And remember, we don't have a FCS team on the schedule next year. So you are left with TFS system players w/o TF on offense. And you still have a questionable defense. 0-12 is a real possibility.

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If we bring in a coach who can make our defense better than average, we have a chance at a bowl, there was nothing going in 2013 and 2014 with the secondary we were putting on the field those years.

okaydo;842606060 said:

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Here's a St. Louis Dispatch report confirming Pat Forde's report.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/mizzou/eye-on-the-tigers/cal-s-dykes-emerges-as-potential-mizzou-target/article_0685171f-623a-5de6-a3aa-09d9fe681498.html

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Must be erroneous -- it says if Dykes leaves before 12/31 he owes Cal a $2M buyout. I've never heard that before where coaches are paying their schools as they leave.

Sonny is bored by Berkeley. At least Mizzou has gay players, players that are boycotting, and campus unrest. They're the real radicals.

Strykur;842606115 said:

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Apparently Dykes has checked out and will stick around only if we are the last suitor left.

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What the ... so his punting philosophy now matches how he deals with employment adversity? I don't mind Sonny getting an extension, and even hoping that he kills it in his next contract period, but not like this.

Strykur;842606132 said:

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If we bring in a coach who can make our defense better than average, we have a chance at a bowl, there was nothing going in 2013 and 2014 with the secondary we were putting on the field those years.

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and who's gonna run an offense w/ TFS system players?

NYCGOBEARS;842606134 said:

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Sonny is bored by Berkeley. At least Mizzou has gay players, players that are boycotting, and campus unrest. They're the real radicals.

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Exactly, who needs organic kale with farro?

"I'm told..." Boy, talk about hearsay. "De facto free agent"...

Eeyore;842606126 said:

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I have my doubts about Dyke's ability to take Cal to the top half of the conference, but if you think Dykes leaving now won't get us any worse than 2013's 1-11 season, think again. We lose a bunch of seniors this year. Goff is leaving. We'll surely lose a bunch of 2016 recruits. Could possibly see some current players transfer. And remember, we don't have a FCS team on the schedule next year. So you are left with TFS system players w/o TF on offense. And you still have a questionable defense. 0-12 is a real possibility.

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maybe we'll at least have a better recruiter. sh*tty seasons are more palatable when you are at least acquiring talent.

LethalFang;842606124 said:

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Bonus for a great half of offense. :-D

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Dude Wilner totally knew about this, yet wrote about it like he didn't know. So at first I'm thinking he's insightful, now he's kind of douchy again for purporting to know so much about the situation and obtaining credit for "predicting" correctly.

I could be very wrong here, but I think this could end very badly for Cal. Losing a lot of talent with a new coach who would have limited time to establish recruiting networks in/around California. Cal, as a choice, would be far down the list for available coaches behind Georgia, Mizzou, Miami, and others. So FremontBear can crow about a fourth or fifth choice coach.

I'm not convinced that Sonny could ultimately get Cal to the top, but this could lead to another 3 years of rebuilding.

NVGolfingBear;842606149 said:

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I could be very wrong here, but I think this could end very badly for Cal. Losing a lot of talent with a new coach who would have limited time to establish recruiting networks in/around California. Cal, as a choice, would be far down the list for available coaches behind Georgia, Mizzou, Miami, and others. So FremontBear can crow about a fourth or fifth choice coach.

I'm not convinced that Sonny could ultimately get Cal to the top, but this could lead to another 3 years of rebuilding.

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Losing a coach to an SEC school sure changes the narrative about Cal being a dead-end job though.

NVGolfingBear;842606149 said:

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I could be very wrong here, but I think this could end very badly for Cal. Losing a lot of talent with a new coach who would have limited time to establish recruiting networks in/around California. Cal, as a choice, would be far down the list for available coaches behind Georgia, Mizzou, Miami, and others. So FremontBear can crow about a fourth or fifth choice coach.

I'm not convinced that Sonny could ultimately get Cal to the top, but this could lead to another 3 years of rebuilding.

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Georgia is after Kirby Smart, Miami will probably hire Butch Davis, the other major remaining job is South Carolina, and then Missouri. We present an interesting opening outside the SEC, and the South for that matter.

KoreAmBear;842606133 said:

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Must be erroneous -- it says if Dykes leaves before 12/31 he owes Cal a $2M buyout. I've never heard that before where coaches are paying their schools as they leave.

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Oh, yeah, happens all the time. And it is fair and reasonable. If the school has to pay the coach to get out of the contract early, only fair that the coach has to pay the school to get out of the contract early.

As a general rule, however, the hiring school takes care of the buyout, it is part of the overall hiring package. For instance, when Bielema went from Wisconsin to Arkansas, he owed a $1 million buyout to Wisconsin, which Arkansas paid. His new 6 year contract with Arkansas then had an initial $3 million buyout that Bielema would have to pay if he left, that drops by $500,000 each year.

In Dykes case, the $2M drops to $1M after 12/31, so if he takes another job, he can just let the new school know he isn't taking the job until 1/1. Of course, to make everything clean, he can just negotiate with Cal and everyone can walk away immediately with the post 12/31 $1M buyout, rather than make an awkward transition.

I think Mike Williams might have been played. Rumors force the "Sonny is my guy" talk which only increases Sonny's market value. I have to say Sonny's agent is winning so far.

FremontBear;842605954 said:

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Good luck to Dykes, it would be a great hire for Missouri.

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LOL! That's really funny!

BunzOfAnarchy;842606083 said:

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Well Dykes is the only name mentioned in the headline and his picture is shown with the story. That suggests he's got something or other on the other guys.

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The Mizzou AD wanted Sonny at Houston in the past:

SEC offenses are pretty bad so there is the short lived novelty factor