Was it a home run hire that we were all hoping for? No.
Is Dykes a good hire? I personally believe so.
Following this process for the last two weeks, it's evident that whoever was Cal's first choice told Sandy they weren't interested which prompted Cal to move on to "Plan B." All things said and done, I think Dykes is a pretty good backup plan.
The essentials that come with Dykes' resume is pretty well-known: offense, offense, and more offense. Dykes is from Lubbock, Tex. and has been a head coach for three seasons. A well-regarded offensive mind, Dykes has proven over the years that his teams can and will put up points.
Dykes' history as an offensive coordinator/in charge of an offense:
2007: 57th in the country (28 points per game)
2008: 16th in the country (36.6 points per game)
2009: 61st in the country (27.3 points per game)
2010: 60th in the country (26.8 points per game)
2011: 42nd in the country (30.1 points per game)
2012: 1st in the country (51.5 points per game)
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| Dykes' LA Tech team was ranked No. 1 in offense this season. Can be bring that success to Cal? |
Why Dykes?
Truthfully, only Sandy knows that answer to that question but this hiring signals a couple things:
1. Sandy believes that outside of the big names Dykes is the best guy for the job.
2. Sandy believes that Dykes "fits" what UC Berkeley (not just Cal) is looking for in a head coach.
3. Sandy believes that Dykes can relate to fans, donors, and potential new fans in and around the Bay Area.
So what does this mean for Cal as a program?
First of all, it means that Cal is not the number one destination for big name coaches. Shocking right? Various names like Chris Petersen, Bob Diaco and Charlie Strong were thrown out there as candidates only to fall away. This is obviously nothing new and a continuation sign of what Cal hopes to become one day. A program like Arkansas might be able to go and get who they want, but Cal is not there ... yet.
With that said, this hire also marks a new beginning for Cal football. By the time kick-off arrives next September and the overachieving Wildcats of Northwestern are standing on the other sideline, Cal fans will forget all about the Tedford era and the slate will be wiped clean and replaced with happy thoughts of what the future might hold.
This hire also reiterates (whether on purpose or not) that Sandy Barbour and Cal believes that the best way to win and sell tickets is with an offensive coach running the show. Strong, Diaco, Mike McIntyre and to a lesser extent Petersen were all defensive minded guys. As outsiders to the situation, we will never know exactly how much the prospect of selling those ESP seats played into this decision, but I'm sure Sandy believed that it is much easier to sell tickets to the Cal fanbase with an exciting brand of football rather than a boring one.
What does this mean for Cal on the field?
Based on Dykes' track record, there is no reason to believe that Cal won't average at least 30 points per game next season. With speedsters such as Treggs, Harper, Bigelow, Lasco and others, the personnel that Tedford left Dykes with seems made for his offense. Dykes was highly successful with Nick Foles under center when he was at Arizona and there is even more talent on this roster in comparison to those Arizona teams. Bottom line, it is safe to say that this will be the most talented roster (outside of the Harrell-Crabtree TT squad) Dykes has ever had to play with.
I also like the fact that Dykes' spread option offense also includes a heavy dose of running the ball. Passing the ball on 3rd-and-2 really irks people after awhile and I'm glad that Dykes' at least appreciates the idea that running the ball can also be a big positive. LA Tech's leading rusher Kenneth Dixon tallied 1,194 yards on the ground this past season on 200 carries. No reason to believe Bigelow couldn't match those numbers.
So that leaves the defense. If the huge positive in hiring Dykes is offense, the huge drawback is defense. Taking Dykes' Louisiana Tech squads of the past couple years as an example, his teams have been terrible on that side of the ball. We could type out the statistics to prove it, but let's just say you should take our word for it.
If rumors are indeed true that former UCLA defensive coordinator Dewayne Walker will accompany Dykes to Cal, that will be a huge bonus for the program. The easiest and quickest way to fix a defense is to
1). Hire a coordinator that knows defense
and
2). Recruit the living crap out of that side of the ball.
Walker has proven in the past that he knows the Southern California area well and can recruit his fair share of talent. That should bode well for Cal considering the number of high-caliber athletes that are attracted to Cal. It is difficult for a school like LA Tech to sign 50-55 capable high school and JuCo athletes who are starter caliber (which is why even highly successful mid-majors struggle on one side of the ball) but it is much easier at a bigger BCS quality school like Cal.
What does the future hold for Cal?
I think the future is bright. While announcing that Chris Petersen would be the next Cal head coach would've been ideal, it was always a long shot. And since it wasn't going to be Petersen, a Dykes + Walker combo is a pretty good consolation prize. Dykes is very much in the mold of Chip Kelly, filled with an up & down offense and a penchant to go-for-it on 4th-and-2 from his own 45-yard line. In many ways, Dykes is what Jeff Tedford is not: daring, creative, brash, and simply doesn't give a f.
The key, as it usually is when it comes to college athletics, is recruiting. Dykes and his staff has been given a roster that is talented enough to win at least eight games this season (despite the tough schedule). But as we all know, it's not about just this season. Dykes needs to show and prove that he can recruit against the biggest names in the game. Because he runs a specific system, Dykes doesn't need to get all the high-4 star kids, but he does need to win his fair share of recruiting battles.
The prospect of getting Walker is also a high plus as noted before. Over the last couple years, Cal has slowly lost its pull in Southern California. Cal needs to re-kindle those relationships down there and Walker is the perfect guy to do it.
My only fear with this hire is that Dykes' gung-ho style will temper off now that he's in a position where he has to win. There have been countless examples (including Jeff Tedford) where the pressure to succeed on a high level forces coaches to become more conservative, uncreative, and in the end downright scared to take chances. Hopefully Dykes keeps his underdog style.
Regardless though, I will be looking forward to Spring Ball for the first time in I don't know how long.
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