Sonny Dykes Fired by Cal: Latest Comments and Reaction

More than a month after completing his third losing season in four years, Sonny Dykes is out at Cal.

Cal confirmed the move Sunday after Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports first reported the decision. The Bears went 5-7 in 2016 but closed their season with an impressive 36-10 win over UCLA, and Dykes finished his Cal tenure with a 19-30 record.

Cal also announced that offensive coordinator Jake Spavital will serve as interim head coach. Cal athletic director Mike Williams also spoke about the decision to fire Dykes in the release, which reads in part:

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This was an extremely difficult decision and one that we take very seriously. There was no rush to judgment; we wanted to be thorough and thoughtful. Ultimately, it was a combination of factors that brought us to this outcome. We are continuously evaluating our program and looking for ways to make it better – whether that's through additional academic support, recruiting, facilities, staffing, culture, leadership or anything else that can help our football program succeed. Primarily, we want what's best for our student-athletes and have a head coach in place who is fully committed to our program and our university.

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Kyle Bonagura of ESPN.com later shared Dykes' message to his players after his firing:

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I am as surprised as you all about the news today. I am sorry you all found out the way you did. All I can say is I am incredibly proud of each and every one of you; it has been an honor to be your coach. If you keep working hard and doing things the right way, you will have success in everything you do. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me any time. God Bless.

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While the program hasn't produced elite results, there were no rumors of a potential Dykes departure during the season. In fact, he was considered a buzzworthy candidate for other openings. ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach reported Baylor was interested in pursuing Dykes, although the program ultimately hired Matt Rhule.

This may be a case of Dykes' wanderlust finally being too much for Cal. In addition to recently interviewing for the Baylor job, he was a candidate for openings at South Carolina, Missouri and Virginia in 2015. Feldman reported Dykes' interest in other opportunities "didn't sit well" with Cal players or the administration.

Despite the tension, Dykes and Cal negotiated an extension to keep him in Berkeley through 2019. The school will now be forced to pay a buyout. Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports reported Dykes will receive $6 million in severance.

The timing of the move is curious. If Cal was looking to move on for performance reasons, it likely would have done so immediately after the season. The school has already missed out on a number of high-profile coaching candidates who were interested in a move to a Power Five conference.

Jeff Brohm went to Purdue, P.J. Fleck to Minnesota, Willie Taggart to Oregon and Rhule to Baylor. All four could have been potential targets for Cal, which will instead have no choice but to interview candidates who fell short of other openings.

Should Cal desire an alternative to Dykes' high-octane offense, Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables could be at the top of the list. Venables has had success as a defensive coordinator at Clemson and Oklahoma for more than a decade, helping the Tigers to two straight College Football Playoff finals.

Feldman reported Wisconsin defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox and Spavital are other potential full-time candidates. Offense was rarely the problem under Dykes. Jared Goff parlayed his three years under Dykes into the No. 1 overall pick in last April's NFL draft, while Davis Webb threw for more than 4,000 yards in his first year as a starter.

Defense and Pac-12 performance, however, were major issues. Cal gave up 42.6 points per game, which was second-worst in the nation in 2016. Dykes never produced a winning record in the conference and was 10-26 overall against Pac-12 foes.

Dykes previously spent three years as the head coach at Louisiana Tech, producing a 22-15 record.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.