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Football: What they’re saying about Dykes
By Jeff Faraudo
Wednesday, December 5th, 2012 at 8:19 pm in Coach search, Football.
What others are saying about Cal’s hiring of Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes:
“Cal landed a great coach in Sonny Dykes. He has always been on the cutting edge offensively and is now a proven head coach. They are lucky to have him.” — Texas head coach Mack Brown
“He’s outstanding … and he’s got a great offensive mind. He knows how to go out and put points on the board. With his pedigree and his background, I think he would be an outstanding coach no matter where he is.” — ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit
“Sonny Dykes is an absolute home run hire for Cal and the Pac-12. I spent 25 years in that league as an AD and he is as prepared as anybody I have seen. Congratulations to Sandy Barbour and the entire Cal administration. He is a great coach, a great person and a phenomenal recruiter. This is as good a hire as you will see in college football this year.” — Jim Livengood, former Arizona AD and current AD at UNLV
“If you have not seen or read Sonny Dykes’ name by now, it might be time for familiarization. Dykes is quickly becoming one of the more buzzed-about names for open or soon-to-be-open coaching jobs. Yes, the college football hot stove season has arrived. I’d venture to say that Dykes is the No. 1 name to watch in this cycle of the carousel.” — Travis Haney, ESPN.com
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December 5th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Step 1 completed, now lets get some recruiting buzz going. He needs to get a bunch of young coaches and go on a complete recruiting blitz. CAL has become known as an NFL stockpile, but without the college wins. Now they can have it all. And we have integrity. Oh and the best education anywhere to set up for your future. Duh, pick up your CAL hat young men!
December 5th, 2012 at 8:55 pm
Well duh, it’s not like these guys are going to say he sucks. Call me negative, call me an idiot, I know this is not a good hire. Screw Sandy.
December 5th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
Ray, screw you. This is a GREAT hire!! We are gonna have an exciting team and are gonna be rooted to our seats during games wondering how we are gonna score next. I like this hire all the way. Go Bears!
December 5th, 2012 at 9:29 pm
To all the naysayers: would you have been happy if Cal had hired a relative unknown in Chip Kelly a few years ago??
It doesn’t take a big name to make a program, it takes a man who is driven to succeed AND who has a certain football genius – two qualities that Dykes definitely possesses. Chip Kelly worked out at oregon, right? I think Sonny Dykes is gonna work out VERY well at Cal. Sandy took a risk, exactly what needed to be done, imho. How many empty seats will there be against Northwester? I don’t think that many.
How excited are Zach Kline, Brandon Bigelow, Daniel Lasco, Harper/Treggs/Powe right now!!???
Go Bears!
December 5th, 2012 at 9:32 pm
And maybe Richard “the best TE in the nation” Rogers actually gets involved in the offense next season. You think Dykes is gonna ignore that beast the way Tedford did? No way. Welcome back Cal football, we have officially become relevant once again.
Now, which recruits will we land?
December 5th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
The nattering nabobs of negativity have been astonishing in their comments under earlier articles today. Unlike politics, this is not about spin. There will be a won loss record next year. There is no reason to bring out the knives before the new coach has had even one game. These guys need to have a couple of beers, relax, & put the knives away at least until next September.
December 5th, 2012 at 9:53 pm
Kline is a pro set quarterback. Going to the spread isnt what he chose out of high school. If he has nfl as his top goal he should consider transferring.
This changes how we recruit at qb movi g forward. Which is fine. We’ll be in the mix for mariotta and denard robinson types now. Not pro style guys.
Powe isnt a spread wr either. Also spread doesnt use tight ends a whole lot.
Im drinking the sonny delight. But why cant people voice their displeasure ? Were all the same fan base. No hire was going to please everyone. But i think only hue jackson would have divided us more.
Im on the sonny train. But dont geg me wrong. Lots of worries. But gonna hope for best.
December 5th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
He worked with Nick Foles at Arizona and he’s a pro QB so I don’t necessarily agree that Kline should transfer. He also used Gronk very well in his offense so he does use beastly TE’s. when the season ended I wasn’t looking forward to 2013 with JT at the helm. Now I can’t wait to see our young weapons in Dykes offense! Go Bears!
December 5th, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Being a pro doesn’t equate to having the best draft stock. There’s a lot of guys who have ran the spread. And maybe my thinking is too old timey and it isn’t even true anymore.
But typically the first round QBs are guys who run pro-style offenses.
I may be wrong though. Was RG3 in a spread at Baylor ? Same with Tannehill ? The difference there though is they’re way better runners than Kline-stein.
December 5th, 2012 at 10:10 pm
I don’t think he should transfer actually.
I guess I’m just thinking of it from the perspective of going to a college as an investment if your a top qb. And I bet it’s hard to go in thinking one thing, and then have a total change. But that’s life. If Kline is really as good as some on here say he is (me) then he’ll be fine.
If he’s not, or if Dykes is inflexible, I think of what happened to Michigan when Rich Rod got there. But that’s a worst case scenario. And there’s no need to think that is what will happen.
I guess what is hard to take right now is that it will take a long time to see the team play and figure out what the differences are.
I hope he opens up practices. I hope he recruits aggressively. I hope he isn’t a pushover.
I hope he hires a great d coordinator. Not a pac-12 retread.
December 5th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
According to Kline, he bleeds blue & gold and will NOT transfer.
December 5th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
…and therefore, will NOT transfer.
December 5th, 2012 at 10:20 pm
Final post from me tonight. While I’ve been positive about Dykes tonight, I actually much prefer a pro-style offense. So he wasn’t top of my list. But there are a lot of ways to skin a cat and mostly I want intangibles and confidence and swagger/energy from my coach. So I am hopeful. I just wonder if he might look at the athletes we have and run a pro style offense anyway. 98% chance so no, as that is not what he is known for. But these type of men believe they can do anything, which is why they succeed. I am always annoyed by coaches who see a bunch of square pegs and squeeze them into their round holes anyway. that is likely what will happen, and it will still be great. But if there is a day soon when I hear that Dykes will go with Cal’s atheletic strengths and run the pro-style offense…well that will be the day that I truly know that we will be smelling roses soon. Nite all.
December 5th, 2012 at 10:20 pm
I am excited for the 2013 season to start!
Go Bears!!!
December 5th, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Juancho -
My amigo. I’m not calling you out, but you are the self appointed COO of this blog, so I’d like to ask you to consider this: Let’s wait and see if Sonny wins at Cal or not before we show our displeasure – is that fair? I think we all agree that his Offense works. If he can get a good DC, this hire will be just fine.
December 5th, 2012 at 10:27 pm
Calfan, my hermano. Im on board with sonny.
I think he can do well. And will be on board the sonny train until proven otherwise.
I have some concerns. But i would with any hire. Lots of emotions now that its official. I think we can still be supportive but also share our worries.
I dont think its as simple as saying hes a slam dunk or saying hes doomed.
Which is why i think everyone can support our beloved program while sharing their thoughts.
Daredev, i guess im ignorant to him still. But does he have swagger ? From the youtube vids i saw he seemed pretty mellow and softspoken.
December 5th, 2012 at 10:35 pm
From Calbears.com:
“In 2006, Dykes received the Mike Campbell Top Assistant Award from the All-American Football Foundation, the same year he was recognized as one of the top 25 recruiters in the country by Rivals.”
Sounds good to me!
December 5th, 2012 at 10:41 pm
Kevin Parker, AKA the rope guy is still listed on the coaching staff with the title, “Recruiting Assistant”
Sonny Dykes is already listed as Head Coach.
December 5th, 2012 at 10:53 pm
Sonny’s first assignment for all squad members – write a two sentence report on last week’s episode of Redneck Island. Want to start immediately on improving our graduation rate.
December 5th, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Endorsement of Coach Dykes from someone believed to be an LA Tech professor (from CGB):
”
LA Tech prof and fan here…
Thought I’d add in a few thoughts to your conversation, in no particular order…
-Y’all got a good coach. I’ve watched Sonny come in and take a pretty decent foundation left by Dooley and build on it, and I can see him doing something similar at Cal.
-He’s an excellent offensive coach and has a great way with players. They respect him, play hard for him, go to class, and stay out of trouble away from the field (there’s a lot to be said for that these days).
-Hope like hell he hires a good DC, because he won’t have much to do with that side of the ball.
-What he’s been able to accomplish here, with the financial limitations he faced, has been pretty astounding. I can’t even begin to explain the lack of resources this place has. Not only that, he was faced with a staggering amount of apathy from the fanbase. Case in point: with the team at 9-1, and Orange Bowl reps in attendance, playing what was essentially a conference championship game, every business in town was GIVING away tickets in order to get a respectable crowd. The stadium was still only 2/3 full (and the stadium only holds about 32k.
-The missed bowl opportunity lies squarely at the feet of the AD, who arrogantly made his decisions without consulting the coach.
-The university didn’t make a counter-offer to keep him because there’s no money to do so. We are about to face our 6th consecutive year of mid-year budget cuts. As an example of how difficult it is to raise money here: Two years ago, the university announced a capital campaign to build a new football complex behind one of the endzones, to include some luxury boxes. The goal was to have the money raised…in TEN years!
-Tech fan hate to see him go, though we knew it would happen eventually. Seriously, what coach would want to stay after that bowl fiasco? Good luck to him and to y’all.
Meet it is I set it down that one may smile, and smile, and be a villain–Hamlet, I, v
Two more things I meant to add:
-His offense utilizes the run a lot more than people who haven’t watched it think. While it’s not balanced in the 50% run-50% pass sense, it is balanced in how each aspect is utilized in the offense. Think of a Mike Shanahan-led offense in the way he utilizes zone blocking schemes that can help turn effective runners into really good ones.
-Sonny recruits to his system really well. Tech was able to have one of the top offenses in the country this year and did so with a majority of 3-star recruits. The offense probably only had one legitimate 5-star (WR-Quin Patton). I would anticipate much better recruiting results at Cal.
…I haven’t had any [of his players] in my classes
However, I haven’t heard any negative comments from those who do have football players in classes. I don’t know the figures, but I do know that the vast majority of the football players graduate. I was looking on our website to see if I could find any numbers, and couldn’t, but I did find the quote below in a report from last year. A pretty positive note, I think.
Only Rutgers and Louisiana Tech had overall GSR rates for football student-athletes that were better than the overall student-athletes. Boise State had overall GSR rates for football student-athletes that were the same for overall student-athletes.
Full copy of the TIDES report that came from can be found here: http://tidesport.org/RGRC/2011/2011_FBS_Bowl_Study%5BFINAL%5D.pdf
“
December 5th, 2012 at 11:17 pm
JF
Tomorrow at the press Conf please find out who will be a part of the rest of the staff.
Can’t wait to find out who the DC and ST’s cord will be.
We need those guys to be very very good.
Please let us know what the vibe is like.
What do the players think?
And, what are they going to do abou their first task, recruiting? JC mid year transfer and HS early entrant is coming right up with LOI day about a month and a half later.
BIg time recruiting period starts tomorrow for Cal football.
Hope the new HC and his staff are top recruiters and land a great class.
Thanks!
December 5th, 2012 at 11:28 pm
bobsac, wake the f- up! It’s all about spin. It’s a commercial to sell tickets!
BSB, I would have a worry with an unknown coach, not knowing whether he valued defense and player discipline. With Dykes, we know he doesn’t care about defense and is unable to correct player discipline.
Can he win shoot-outs? Yes. Is it “exciting football”? Sure, just like the Cohan owned Warriors were exciting basketball.
That doesn’t make it per se a great hire.
From my point of view, I watch more than the score board when I watch football. I appreciate good defense. I appreciate a game with limited to no penalties. I pay attention to so many aspects of every play, and I fear we hired a coach that doesn’t care about half of the game.
Could this turn out okay? Yeah, but if the Dykes paradigm holds, where the game is about outscoring the opponent and overcoming your own penalties, I won’t be enjoying the game over half of the time.
Seriously, Cal just hired a coach that was near LAST in defense and penalties this past season. Think about that, guys.
Now, if people out there want to watch a “warrior-esque” Cal football product, congratulations. That’s not what I want to watch, and I’m very upset to think that I could care even less about Cal football than I did at a low point this season.
I can see that happen even with a winning record, should the Dykes pattern hold.
December 5th, 2012 at 11:34 pm
To be extra clear, that he runs the spread is only a minor issue for me compared to his defenses and penalty numbers.
Dykes would have been the greatest OC hire, ever!
Head coach, however, leaves a great deal open to debate.
———————
Juancho, I wish you would not have mentioned Rich Rod’s Michigan debacle. That did nothing for my currently brittle mental state over this hire.
December 5th, 2012 at 11:59 pm
From the onset Sandy clearly stated that the university’s objective was to find a coach who’s a complete package with a main focus on benefiting the student athletes. We are inferring from his previous years that Dykes has some weaknesses like giving up too many yards/points and penalties, but what coach doesn’t have weaknesses and what’s to say he won’t improve? According to the LA Tech Professor, the state of things at LA Tech are very different from Cal with the latter in a much more favorable and better condition. Maybe this means we can expect bigger, greater things from him coaching at Cal. Plus he’s a young coach. Let’s give him some time.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:02 am
Go8ears i agree with you. But come on man. I just laughed out loud when i got to the part about his downside being giving up too many points.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:19 am
Haha he will get better. I mean what else can we do at this point as a Cal fan but to remain hopeful and support our team?
December 6th, 2012 at 3:59 am
I guess Diaco not panning out would mean losing 3-0, but Dykes not panning out means losing 49-42. The latter is definitely more exciting if those are the choices.
But heck, maybe we will even win some games. That’d be a nice change from this year.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:59 am
Kevin Parker, AKA the rope guy is still listed on the coaching staff with the title, “Recruiting Assistant”.
Well, damn. There goes my job.
December 6th, 2012 at 6:09 am
Ray Finkle: Moron.
December 6th, 2012 at 6:10 am
Juancho I’ve had it with you. Encouraging Kline to transfer? I mean your negativity is borderline pathological. Enough. Open your eyes.
December 6th, 2012 at 6:12 am
And these bleating sheep who keep saying we will no longer feature pro set oriented QBs and tight ends – please explain his development of Foles and Gronk and AZ. Enough!
December 6th, 2012 at 6:16 am
Here is what you critics are missing, and it’s a subtle but simple point:
Berkeley is a smart school. Dykes is a smart man. We’ve lacked that basic confluence in recent years. He’s going to bloom, I guarantee it.
December 6th, 2012 at 6:23 am
Hey Wisdom Cow, you are smelling this place up like a barn. Weren’t you the same guy defending Tedford deep into his malaise? Not sure you are in a position to offer these cynical predictions with any credibility whatsoever. Do you assume this same type of reflexive negativity to other aspects of your life? I hope not.
GO BEARS.
WELCOME TO COACH DYKES.
December 6th, 2012 at 6:59 am
Dykes is apparently one of only 3 football coaches to have a team graduation rate higher than the school’s graduation rate. Granted, LA Tech isn’t the ivy league, but this is a pretty big deal. I’m really excited to see his offense, but we need a very good D-coordinator, and DEWayne Franklin is not that guy, I hope. 10-40 as a head coach? Yikes.
December 6th, 2012 at 7:21 am
#22 Wisdom Cow-hopefully you & other anti-New coach attack warriors followed my advice, had a couple of beers last night, and now like for Scarlett in Gone with the Wind, tomorrow is a new day. May your knives rest back in the drawer at least until the 1st loss next season. My 1st choice was Mike MacIntyre but I got over it even before I finished the 2d beer.
December 6th, 2012 at 7:41 am
I’ve asked Wisdom to save these posts and compare notes in a year. If we go less than .500, he has license to complain ad nauseum. If we manage 8 wins or more, he should be bowing down. If it in between, we chalk it up to a decent year but reserve judgment. Unfortunately, he thus far has only told me to “STFU” but I am hoping he will have a little more graciousness.
As for defense and penalties, in another post I compared La. Tech and Cal this year. La. Tech had the worst in the nation defense, but Cal was #92. Cal was worse in penalties (by one). Seems to be they are just about the same in the categories. But when you factor in offense…
December 6th, 2012 at 7:51 am
Juancho and Go8ears I have slept on it and I also am ready to drink the Sonny Delight! I have a suggestion, While he’s still in Louisiana, go over to Baton Rouge and find the hot assistant to John Chavis at LSU (I’d love to get him but he’s already making $1.3 million) bring him in as the defensive coordinator, leave him alone to design a scheme and recruit what he needs and let’s go.
Keepin’ hope alive baby!
December 6th, 2012 at 8:05 am
Blake, I guess you have the only opinion in here? My bad for disagreeing with you and others. How about you screw off Blake. I have been around football my whole life and have coched as well at a few levels. I have watched Dykes coach in many games the last few years and I am not at all impressed. His teams are undisciplined as hell and they play zero D. Enjoy your hi scoring losses of 55-37. Who cares how many points you score if the rest of your team is a sloppy mess. Enjoy your game day slop buddy.
December 6th, 2012 at 8:18 am
Right Bearclaw, whatever you say buddy. I’m a moron because I disagree with you. You are the almighty being when it comes to cal sports. Good luck with that.
December 6th, 2012 at 8:34 am
From Social Welfare studies to the culture of Rednecks. Now that’s what I call progressive.
December 6th, 2012 at 8:44 am
Remember the pissed off UCLA fan base last year when they “settled” for 4th choice Jim Mora? All he did was guide UCLA to the south division championship with a redshirt freshman QB. Beat USC when it counted for the title. Have we ever been in that position?Sounds like us next year with oiur new QB!
LA Tech didn’t have the money for top notch assistant coaches and it’s doubtful Dykes is getting Tedford money. Let’s assume Sandy is assembling a coaching group that include OC and especially DC that step up. Maybe Dykes was selected because he sold his plan to improve our defense along with implementing his offensive fireworks. Let’s go!
December 6th, 2012 at 8:47 am
Thoughtful post, ScottyBear.
Does anyone know contract info for Dykes. He made $750k at La. Tech. Doubling him at Cal is still way less than Tedford, which presumably means more $$ for assistants.
I do hope he keeps Gould.
December 6th, 2012 at 8:47 am
what’s all the fuss about? good offense and good defense are not mutually exclusive. All he needs to do is get good defensive coaches and players and things should go well on both sides of the ball. I think too many posters here just need to complain about something. Less than 24 hours after a hire is too early to predict doom. We will not know anything prior to Labor Day anyway. I look forward to the future and am willing to give Sonny a chance. Welcome Sonny. Take us to the Rose Bowl! Go Bears!
December 6th, 2012 at 8:50 am
I haven’t read anything from those who wrote that Tedford should go because he had a big gut. Apparently Sandy did not think a hard body was an important qualification in the hire.
December 6th, 2012 at 9:40 am
All he needs to do is get good defensive coaches? and make sure he tells the players to not commit penalties, too, I guess?
It’s just not that simple. Good thing other programs are not looking for good DCs, too. Was it not Tedford’s leadership from the top that brought issues everywhere? Clancy and Gregory was very good DCs, I thought. Does a trickle down from the HC not apply to Dykes when it comes to defense (which he ignored at Tech) or penalties?
Yet, now, a good DC will make everything fine against the rest of the Pac 12? Believe me. I get that a good offense will help the D, but that presumes the SAME defense we had under Tedford. We don’t even know if there is a 3-4 or 4-3 preference coming in. All we know is the new top guy has experience inspiring offense, ignoring defense, and living with penalties.
I really can’t help but smell the stench of a commercial in the Barbour press release, and I think Dykes’ hiring was, in part, based on the ability to sell tickets with offense. The final results and total product won’t matter (toward the goal of ticket sales) as long as the offense puts up numbers. Look at how well Cohan did with his Warriors.
I can respect that, for many, they are happy with this. I wanted a coach that has demonstrated some balance in priorities, which doesn’t mean not caring about offense, but caring about everything. Any disrespect (as toward Eric) was for blatantly misquoting me while he disregarded my position, which, IMO, is answering a disrespect in kind.
———————
And to those saying my opinion is invalid because I was a Tedford defenders – go back in the archives, then, and prove it. I ripped his play calling since Dunbar. I lost it before most over his continuing to play Longshore. I did not call call for his firing until early this season because (which I clearly stated even when ripping him way before hand) he was going to be given a year with the new facilities.
December 6th, 2012 at 10:05 am
I’m sorry – I misquoted you how?
You wrote:
“Wasn’t Clancy a pretty damn good DC? Yet Cal kept getting blown out, and Tedford did coach some great defensive teams.”
I wrote:
“Tedford coached great defenses? Really? Tedford coached poor offenses, which entirely wore out our defenses. 3 and outs every time destroy the best defenses.”
Where is the misquote? I used your words – you said Tedford coached great defensive teams. I said he coached great defenses. Is that the misquote – defensive teams versus defenses? And how was there in any way a “blatant misquote”?
Oh, and let’s see the rest of the post I made.
“I realize you are unhappy with Dykes. Fair point. But your analyses having fallen far short of the mark thus far. And you were a very big Tedford supporter long after the ship had sailed. So how about you take a year off from rendering judgments. If we go worse than .500 next year, I’ll be the first in line to say you are right. If we get 8+ wins, even with a crappy defense and tons of penalties, I hope you’ll do the gracious thing.”
I then backed up what I wrote with statistics comparing Cal’s defenses v. La. Tech’s, comparing penalties, and comparing offenses. I have no disrespect for you or your opinion that Dykes is not a good choice. My point is that your factual bases are suspect if your focus is lack of defense and penalties.
December 6th, 2012 at 10:43 am
Dykes wasn’t my first choice but have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Those were some very strong candidates he beat out – yeah, I know, that also means giving sb the benefit of the doubt. Here’s hoping for a success!
Welcome Sonny.
December 6th, 2012 at 10:43 am
Ray Finkle = moron sn alias
December 6th, 2012 at 10:45 am
“you said Tedford coached great defensive teams”
“Tedford did coach some great defensive teams”
Compare the two again, Eric. Tedford has history before last season, and if you use your own argument (which is quite valid) that the poor offenses of late hurt the D, you might realize the defenses of late were not that bad. Compare to Dykes history.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:04 am
I encourage all to watch espn all access with La tech. So we can see how he runs practice. I was pretty impressed.
It was live on ESPN U a couple weeks back
People are all over this hire and say he won’t do anything for the Bears.
We’ll see, I hope he and his staff are motivated to prove the haters wrong. Low expectations seem to be the consensus.
I hope new Golden Bears and players prove the “experts” wrong
December 6th, 2012 at 11:15 am
I’m starting to really embrace this hire. Dykes is a great recruiter and a proven offensive mind.
Juancho, et al, let’s give him a chance before denigrating him and advising players to transfer.
December 6th, 2012 at 11:18 am
Btw, in response to an earlier post about spread QBs not getting drafted as high. Cam Newton and RG3 came to mind and both ran spread offenses in college. I believe they went pretty high in the draft.
Kline will be ridiculous in the new offense. Go BearRaid!
December 6th, 2012 at 11:26 am
wehofx=Sandy Barbour minion
December 6th, 2012 at 11:58 am
Sonny’s proven he can coach the O…..It’s the D I’m worried about….we’ve got talent and in recent years have had pretty solid defenses, at or near the top (except for this past year obviously)….the D coordinator is going to be key because if we can get back to being a top conference defense and can score a lot of points, we’ll be tough to beat. So, that being said, what D coordinators are out there?
Go Bears!
December 6th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Ray Finkle @#2 (how appropriate) — per your request, you are negative, and you are an idiot.
How do you “know” this is not a good hire? The guy hasn’t even met with his players, let alone coached a game at Cal, and you “know” he’s going to be bad? Go ahead, and express your concerns about what you perceive may be Sonny D’s shortcomings, but your vitriol against him and Sandy Barbour is wholly unwarranted.
By the way Sonny D was not my first choice. It was Diaco, because I think stout defense means discipline; but Jeff Tedford wasn’t my first choice in 2001 either, and despite the past couple years, that turned out pretty well for Cal.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Concord, other than Cal fans, I’d say the general consensus is that this was a blockbuster hire, and exactly what we needed. I hope the pundits are correct.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Heard that DeWayne Walker has emerged as a candidate for the D Coordinator. Lousy head coach for sure, but pretty good coordinator. He ran some good defenses when he was the coordinator at UCLA and held SC to under 10 points in the Bruin’s upset win four or five years ago. The dude would help with recruiting, too. Any thoughts?
December 6th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Let’s all embrace our new coach, hope that he continues to thrive offensively and hires some good defensive coaches to help on the other side of the ball. I am excited to see what he can do with our talent next season. With a bad offense, bad defense and highly penalized team we got to 3 wins that easily could have been 5 wins (Nevada, OSU) with a better coach.
A better offense like Dykes would have made us bowl eligible so I really don’t see how we could be any worse than this year. Nationally this is seen as good hire, not a big one like Petersen would have been but a good one.
Let’s give him a big welcome and let’s get out there on opening day to show our support and see some fireworks!
Go Bears!
December 6th, 2012 at 12:22 pm
H8sred, it seems that whenever anybody makes any comment on this board that isn’t with the majority, people are called idiots and morons. I was just saving you the trouble. Look, I am just as big of a Cal fan as anybody on here, and I feel this is not a good fit. Wisdom cow has stated quite a few things that I agree with 100%. I hope he Dykes proves me wrong. I haven’t spoken with one single person who thinks this is a good hire, and I have spoken to quite a few. Trust me, I wanted to be positive. I was beyond thrilled when Tedford was hired because I follow college football very closely. As far as SB is concerned, she has botched many things at Cal imo. Oh well, I will hope for the best. Go Bears!
December 6th, 2012 at 12:23 pm
DeWayne is 10-40 as a head coach at a much smaller school. I’m not sure how much work it is to be a D coordinator at Cal vs a HC at a smaller school, but that’s an abysmal record, and I know he’s going to be in charge of every single aspect of the D here, as Dykes apparently doesn’t know anything about defense. That’s a tall order. I’m not a fan if he’s hired, but maybe he can recruit enough talent to make up for his shortcomings.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Just want to throw this out there.
Just because some types whatever is going through their mind, right or wrong, doesn’t mean they don’t support the new coach or program.
We should get out of the habit of looking for any one who disagrees with us and immediately start name calling them.
It’s only natural for people to share their worries when there is change. That’s natural.
Like I said, I’m drinking the Sonny Delight. So I’m on board. But that doesn’t mean anybody who shares their concerns is any less a Cal fan. The contrary.
How quick some of us forget the Tedford divide this blog had where forever nobody could share a worry about Tedford for fear of being called a name. Please don’t tell me we’re going back to that.
December 6th, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Analysis on why Dykes’ previous team’s defense sucked is totally lacking. Was it due to players’ injuries, bad defensive scheme, coach’s lack of emphasis on defense, or something else? In order to fix a problem, one needs to know what the root of the problem is. I wonder what Dykes offered as a solution to this problem when he talked with Sandy. Can anybody shed some light on this matter?
December 6th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Well said Juancho. I have no choice but to drink the Sonny Delight, and I am thirsty
December 6th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
Let’s hug it out, guys.
Except for you Juancho. You are still my arch-nemesis.
December 6th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
I believe the saying “offense sells tickets, defense wins championships” may apply here and SB’s reference in her letter to an “exciting brand of football” coming to Cal was likely a reflection of her ultimate desire in this regard. I’m not going to criticize coach Dykes because it isn’t appropriate at this juncture. The concerns are all valid, however. At our stage currently, it is perhaps appropriate that we simply work to try to achieve bowl relevance. Thereafter, as I’ve said on the few posts I’ve provided, the Rose Bowl and (who knows) the upcoming 4-team playoff should be our goals. If those aren’t the team’s ultimate goals, then what the hell is the point? College football is littered with teams that lose games 49-42 and are stuck in middle of pack mode as a result. Conversely, they may win several games by that score, only to get pounded by a more physical and traditional opponent in a bowl game. Finally, by no means am I suggesting we’re even on the same planet with the team I’m about to mention (although we should strive to be), but go ask Alabama whether “exciting” football is the way to play. The DC choice for us will be CRITICAL.
December 6th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
There are a few defensive minded coaches out there that flamed out as head coaches but were excellent DC’s before they became HC. Not sure we could afford some of them but Chizik and Randy Shannon come to mind.
December 6th, 2012 at 1:32 pm
Randy Shannon would be a great hire. Anyone know if the press conference will be online or radio or something?
Will I hope you step in gum.
I officially baptize Sonny Dykes in the name of Kline, amen.
December 6th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
presser will be live online on calgoldenblogs.com
December 6th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
sorry. californiagoldenblogs.com also on P12 network
December 6th, 2012 at 1:41 pm
here is a link to the live stream.
http://pac-12.com/live/calbears.aspx
December 6th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Look at it this way. Had Tedford taken a 1 million dollar pay cut, then Dykes hired as OC, keeping Clancy, then I’d be thrilled, the offense being given new life.
With Dykes, everything will change. You cannot presume the D will be the same caliber, and regardless of the DC hired, penalties under Dykes watch has been awful. I was against him as soon as I started researching him when he was first rumored to be interviewed. That won’t change because he now wears a Cal hat. It will change when he makes me a believer.
Does this make me anti-Cal? Was everyone not thrilled with Tedford over the past few years anti-Cal?
———————
I have been wondering, however –
Several stories back, during the search, I wrote that a guy like MacI would have been a tough for promoting ticket sales outside the diehards or college game savvy, even though he was probably the 2nd most ideal hire after Petersen (who would have sold tickets). MacI would probably have been much like Tedford, building ticket sales each year.
Dykes offense = ticket sales. I don’t think anyone will disagree with this. It’s very marketable, and should be backed up by numbers even before his first Pac 12 season.
So, I wonder just how bad of shape the athletic department is in. Was Sandy not in a position where someone like MacI (whom I think most would agree would have been a better hire) could be afforded to gamble on? Could the school even risk that ticket sales wouldn’t rise greatly within a year?
She made the tough, and I believe still, correct, call to cut baseball. It was the only listed in danger sport that was very likely to instill the rage it did and subsequently bring in the donations to save it and other sports, which I believe was her plan when she announced cutting it in the first place.
So, again, I wonder if Sandy made the best choice she could after Petersen, in order to KNOW that ticket sales should increase, and increase soon.
Doesn’t mean I have to be pleased about it, but it may have been the best option available given the budget problems.
December 6th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
IF Sonny Dykes can get a good DC and IF Cal can CONTINUE to recruit NFL talent on the defensive side of the ball then there is nothing to complain about with this hire – we need some offense and a coach who WANTS TO SCORE TDs – an anti-Tedford. Dykes is that.
I am speculating here, but the penalties may mostly be offensive holding penalties due to the many, many pass attempts. But La Tech also only gave up 10 sacks in 12 games!! Think about that. That seems pretty disciplined to me. So let’s lay off the “undisciplined” criticism until we actually see what types of penalties his teams are prone to committing. I doubt he had a game that had 5+ personal fouls committed by his team…but if he did, then that is a red flag. Anyone wanna dig up how many personal fouls his team committed last year??
Think about this too:
Kline is drooling right now thinking about throwing for 400+ yards/game. Bigelow, Lasco and the new small stud RB must be drooling thinking about how wide open the field is gonna be. Harper, Treggs and Rogers are probably already practicing their new TD dance routines! WE ARE GONNA SCORE SOME POINTS, FINALLY!!
Dykes is just coming into his own as a coach. I think we will be back in the rankings after an absolutely inspired first 3 games of next season – payback against OSU is gonna be sweet!
And finally, the grass isn’t ALWAYS greener…
even though most on this board seem to think so.
I am optimistic and VERY glad Sonny Dykes will be wearing the headset next season. Go Bears!
December 6th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
I think some are giving Pendergast too much credit. He should not be that difficult to replace. The defense has not been great the last couple years. Maybe its talent. We have a good linebacker core and seem solid at the corners, but the safeties and d line were below average. Opponents were way too successful on third and long, and too many tackles were missed. Dewayne Walker would be a good catch.
December 6th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
I’ll look more, but here is stuff to think on regarding the penalties.
2010 – 59 penalties for 527 yds in 13 games
2011 – 89 penalties for 796 yds in 13 games
2012 – 201 penalties for 2,012 yds in 12 games
More each year isn’t good. The 10 yd avg for the 2012 means as many 15 yarders as 5 yarders, though that doesn’t mean personal fouls, per se (could be a lot of pass interference). Of note, UCLA, UW and U$C all committed more, though only UCLA had the same avg penalty yards.
Real weird, must have been a huge reffing change this year as penalties doubled pretty much across the board from 2011 to 2012. No one had more than 110 penalties in 2010 or 2011.
Among the other research I did, it’s worth noting the relatively good defensive year for LT in 2011 benefitted from 21 INTs, playing only 1 ranked opponent, the loss to TCU. If I had to bet, the gambling in 2011 that resulted in TOs became penalties in 2012 (possibly by the ref changes? but who knows).
December 6th, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Scoreboard will be humming and Stanford can pretend Cal won’t care on them too but the Bears will and often under Dykes. Question is – Who is the D coordinator? Dykes’ teams will move it dow nthe field and ring up points but the D must be stout and get the ball back often.
December 6th, 2012 at 2:54 pm
I just watched the press conference on the net. I love this guy, he is certainly talking the the talk and I’m anxious to see if he can walk the walk.
December 6th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
Anyone got a link to the press conference video, or audio ? Would appreciate it.
December 6th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
For those of you who are interested in a more thorough analysis of the penalties, I’d like to share a post by elpbear from BI. It allows us to get a more accurate picture:
”
The question of penalties per play is a good one, and I figured it might be useful to have some actual statistics for this one. I’ve only run the numbers for 2012 due to limited time.
LA Tech was 2nd in plays per game (88.6, behind an astounding 92.8ppg for Marshall) and 8th in penalties per game. However, these are ordinal comparisons, which can be misleading. When ranking plays per penalty, LA Tech is actually 40th at 10.94 plays per penalty. For comparison Cal is 8th at 8.83 plays per penalty.
Top 10 + some other relevant teams:
Code:
1 Washington 8.13
2 Florida 8.16
3 USC 8.32
4 UT-San Antonio 8.43
5 UCLA 8.57
6 Rutgers 8.72
7 California 8.83
8 Memphis 9.10
9 Utah 9.29
10 Bowling Grn 9.32
31 Utah State 10.58
35 Oregon 10.79
36 Wash State 10.85
39 LA Tech 10.94
40 Oregon St 11.03
54 Colorado 11.92
56 Stanford 12.10
61 Arizona 12.24
65 Notre Dame 12.49
68 Texas A&M 12.91
75 Nevada 13.78
77 Kent State 13.84
79 San Jose St 13.92
82 N Mex State 14.22
86 Boise State 14.30
108 Alabama 16.17
115 Wisconsin 17.62
119 Arizona St 18.36
124 Air Force 23.66
So, definitely not as big a deal when looked at on a per-play basis. More surprisingly when you look at penalties per play the Pac12 doesn’t look quite so obviously overly-penalized in comparison to other conferences, which is not something I was expecting to find at all.
“
December 6th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
@Wisdowm @49
I did go back and read what I wrote (quoting what you wrote). You accused me of “blatantly misquoting” you. I think, based on the plain language, it is clear I did not.
Now You have changed your story. Now you say that Tedford has history, implying that is what needs to be considered. You are right that Tedford has a history. I thus I pointed out (in the other post) showing the last 5 years of total defense statistics. The average total defense (by per yards per game) over the last 5 years is #47 in the nation. Slightly better than average. Definitely not “great” because I measure great as in the top 10. Tedford’s best defense was 20th in the nation – very good, but again not great. My point, all along, was to challenge your statement that “Tedford coached great defensive teams.” He didn’t.
So when you wrote “Tedford coached great defensive teams,” I took issue with that. I still for the life of my cannot understand how you can say I “blatantly misquoted” you when it is clear I didn’t. Even worse, you admit you aimed a disrepectful comment my way because of you perceiving (incorrectly) that I was “blatantly misquoting” you.
Whether Tedford coached or did not coach “great defensive” teams is a matter of debate and opinion. But if you decide to elevate it to ad hominem attacks, get it right.
All of this started because you have come out disfavoring the hiring of Dykes. Again, an issue of fair debate. But be prepared to meet fairly critiques of your analysis, or, as my high school sons woudl say, “if you can’t take out the trash, don’t take the trash.”
December 6th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
I stopped reading this site–now I remember why. it’s filled with old bears who want change, but only safe change. whatever happened to your sense of the potential for change and the possibility as the preferred default mode? We ought to be pushing the edge of everything–on the field and in research. Sure, I remember the pain of 1981 and the new artificial turf and the first game under Mouse Davis and the run and shoot. We lost the game 29-28 after we lost our QB to injury with a 28-0 lead as I recall. We were stuck with Torchio after that. It was an ugly year. But that first half was beautiful. So now we’re here again; we don’t want no stinking “spread” because we need that pro-style drop back approach. I would much rather see an Oregon or Nevada up and down the field game-type game that we lose than what Cal football had become over the last couple of years. You guys need more than a beer; you need to get a life.
December 6th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
moron you are too disordered to comprehend anything having to do with either social welfare studies, culture or anything that is in any way progressive. Do you even know what ‘social welfare studies’ means? Do you understand why it is an academic curriculum? Do you have any understanding of what people trained in social welfare or social work do to benefit society? Or, are you simply spewing bile about something you really know nothing about? Until you can prove otherwise, I am going to assume its the latter.
December 6th, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Eric, I wrote “some.” Which means not all, but more than one. And several were great. Yardage does not tell the story. And as you noted, the poor offense of late made for worse stats for the defense because of too much time on the field.
When you countered “some” with last year’s defense compared to LT’s, that was a mischaracterization of my argument. If it wasn’t blatant, it was incompetent.
December 6th, 2012 at 6:06 pm
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/usc-linebacker-rips-sun-bowl-appologize-entire-city-220344556–ncaaf.html
HAHAHAAHA this is ridiculously embarrassing. What a joke the Pre-season #1 has become.
December 6th, 2012 at 6:07 pm
Even better, the most popular comment:
“he should be grateful his pathetic team even made it to a bowl”
December 6th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
@Wisdom
So much for laying off the ad hominem attacks.
Now let’s address the new assertion of “incompetent.” Your argument appears to be that I supposedly only was comparing Cal’s 2012 defense to La Tech’s 2012 defense. Indeed, you emphasize that “some” equals more than one, and then say I countered “‘some’ with last year’s defense compared to LT’s, that was a mischaracterization of [your] argument.”
Ok. So let’s just make sure I got this right. I said “Tedford coached great defenses? Really? Tedford coached poor offenses, which entirely wore out our defenses. 3 and outs every time destroy the best defenses.”
I’m not sure how that only applies to 2012. Indeed, the plural “defenses” necessarily implies more than one. But just to make sure, I’m sure you saw my post where I actually went through Cal’s defense over the last 5 years. That suggests I was focusing on “some” defensive teams, not just 2012.
Let’s make sure I cover my bases, so that you don’t change the rules of the argument (again).
You didn’t give any time frame in your initial assertion. That being said, you referred to “Clancy,” which suggests you only were considering 2010, 2011, and 2012. As I have already noted, in none of those years did Cal have a great defense (as I defined as being in the top 10). I also included 2009 and 2008, two years prior to Pendergrast, for comparative purposes. One decent year (2008), and one bad year (2009). You have not countered with any other definition, so I assume you agree that none of the defenses were great. If you think my definition of a great defense is incompetent, or that your use of the word “great” has a universal definition I have blatantly misrepresented, by all means let me know.
You also failed to state what is the standard for measuring defense, though you now saw yards per game does not tell the story. But that is why La. Tech had the worst defense in 2012, which is what has been one of two points of all of your posts. No other statistic I am aware of shows La. Tech as last in the nation. I suppose you could have referred to points per game, or sacks, or tackles for loss, or turnovers caused. But you didn’t.
You also now assert that I was comparing Cal’s defense to La. Tech’s when I first responded. Far from it – I was challenging the premise that Tedford coached “some” great defensive teams. But, since you now think we should engage in a comparative analysis, let’s compare to La. Tech during the same period 2010-2012, since in addition to Pendergrast starting in 2010, so did Dykes. As we have established, in 2012, La. Tech had the worst defense, as measured by total yards. In 2011, they were 30 spots behind Cal (one behind U$C), which puts them pretty much in the middle. In 2010, they were not last, but pretty close to last.
So what does that show? La. Tech has not been a defensive powerhouse. It showed improvement in 2011 over 2010, only to have a significant drop-off in 2012. Its defense has not been, on average, better than Cal’s. Ok – can’t dispute the facts. Not sure how this relates to Tedford’s defensive prowess or lack thereof, but at least we have the comparison.
December 6th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
Eric, I apologize, but I’m too tire to read that. I probably have not read your position correctly, nor articulated mine as I would like. Frankly, I am depressed and in pain more the last month than I have been in a very long time. I was really hoping for a hire that would make me feel better (as in forget for a while just how crappy my existence is), and instead I got the guy I wanted least. Sports are supposed to be a distraction, yet this only left me lower.
I know Cal had some great defenses (better than very good, less than stellar or fantastic or dominant), but lack the brain to articulate just why, though several of your own arguments (like offensive ineptitude) should make it clearer to you as well, factoring in the conference compared to national rankings. Then again, maybe I am delusional.
Anyways, I’ll try rereading all of this if I ever get some sleep where I don’t wake up with 3 or more limbs dislocated (honestly, just one shoulder out would be such an improvement!). I’ll give it a better read and offer a real apology or a more apt insult, whichever I feel is more needed.
I am honestly sorry I’m writing this, but I wanted to respond, but can’t read past the first paragraph without zoning out. And I opted for being honest.
Just one question, to see if I am delusional or not, because this drives me batcrap crazy every time it’s on. Cymbalta – Because Depression Hurts. That’s —-ing BS, right. My limbs dislocate by gravity alone, countless times a day, AND I GET DEPRESSED BECAUSE OF IT! It is not the other way around.
This is what happens when holidays and birthdays make me load up on pain pills to get through events and then have to deal with cost of those outings.
December 10th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
Wisdom, I wish you a speedy recovery. Hang in there.
December 11th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
thanks, Will. Trying. The cold sucks.