Louisiana Tech HC Sonny Dykes Agrees to Coach Cal

The California Golden Bears waited weeks to find a replacement for former head coach Jeff Tedford, but it appears that the search is over.

UPDATE: Wednesday, December 5 at 10:23 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford

According to Pac-12 Digital correspondent Bryan Fischer, Dykes is officially the Bears' new coach:

"

It's official: @calfootball has hired LaTech coach @sonnydykes. Press conference tomorrow at 2pm PT (on Pac-12 Networks).

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) December 6, 2012"

---End of Update---

According to San Francisco Chronicle reporter Ron Kroichick, Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Dykes will be Tedford's successor:

"

Source confirms that #Cal will hire Sonny Dykes. School already has held a team meeting.

— Ron Kroichick (@rkroichick) December 5, 2012"

Dykes led the Bulldogs to a 9-3 record this year, good enough for a third-place finish in the WAC behind Utah State and San Jose State.

Experience as a head coach in the WAC doesn't necessarily jump out at you, but Louisiana Tech did lead the nation in scoring at 51.5 points per game. Too bad the Bulldogs also allowed 38.5 points per game, or their record may have been even better.

Prior to becoming Louisiana Tech's head coach in 2010, Dykes had a hand in the offense at Arizona and Texas Tech. Any college-football fan who has been around in recent years should immediately associate high-octane offense with the Red Raiders.

According to San Jose Mercury News reporter Jeff Faraudo, Darrell Hazell and former Oakland Raiders coach Hue Jackson were other names considered. Obviously, that changed when Hazell agreed to become Purdue's next head coach.

Tedford struggled in his last few years with the Bears, but he still won't be an easy guy to replace. He's the school's all-time winningest coach, and Dykes will have to live up to those expectations.

The Bears rank 94th in the nation in scoring this season, so it will be interesting to see how Dykes transforms the attack. He will have to replace starting quarterback Zach Maynard, the top-two running backs and probably wide receiver Keenan Allen as well, making his task more difficult.

Dykes had success with the Bulldogs, but the Pac-12 is much more competitive than the WAC. All eyes will be on him as he embraces the challenge and attempts to return the Bears to relevance.