The TCU Horned Frogs have officially announced Sonny Dykes as their new head football coach - news that was one of the worst-kept secrets this past weekend.
Dykes didn't have to move very far as he comes from just down the road at SMU after four seasons. He coached the Mustangs' final game of the 2021 season, which was a loss to Tulsa on Saturday.
He takes over a program that saw the departure of longtime coach Gary Patterson back in October amid a disappointing season. The team finished with a 5-7 record.
Dykes has some big shoes to fill.
Patterson's storied tenure as head coach of the Horned Frogs began in 2001, and he led them to 17 bowl games, including three New Year's Six bowls. Patterson also has a statue sitting outside TCU's football stadium.
Dykes, the son of former Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes, joined SMU in 2018 and led the program through successful seasons in the last three years: 10-2 in 2019, 7-3 in 2020 and 8-4 in 2021.
Before SMU, Sonny Dykes had head coaching stints at Louisiana Tech and California. He also served as an offensive analyst for TCU in 2017.
The news of Dykes' arrival in TCU definitely puts more weight into the yearly rivalry game known as the Iron Skillet between the two North Texas schools.
SMU on Monday also announced former Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee as the Mustangs' new coach.