TCU coach Sonny Dykes faces fan boos and Fire Sonny chants after 4-4 start
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The gist
TCU fans booed and chanted "Fire Sonny!" during a 22-16 win over Kansas; Dykes said he didn't notice.
Dykes is 4-4 in his fifth season, two years after a national runner-up finish.
Background
Sonny Dykes is TCU's head football coach, in his fifth season with a 40-21 record at the school; he led the Horned Frogs to a 13-2 record and a national runner-up finish in 2022. TCU has slipped since: 5-7 in 2023, then consecutive 9-4 seasons capped by bowl wins, with early losses each year keeping them out of Big 12 title contention. This season TCU sits 4-4 and 2-3 in the Big 12 despite the conference's top defense, and the frustration surfaced in the stands during the Kansas game. TCU had agreed to a contract extension with Dykes in April 2026, with terms undisclosed.
How it unfolded
- Apr 3, 2026TCU and head coach Sonny Dykes agreed to a contract extension; details and length were not disclosed.
- Sep 8, 2026TCU opened the season with a 15-10 loss to North Carolina, and calls mounted for Dykes' firing as a TCU receiver suffered a brain bleed after a locker room assault.
- Oct 31, 2026TCU beat Kansas 22-16 in Fort Worth on Jaden Craig's 17-yard touchdown run with 1:09 left; fans booed, some wore bags over their heads and chanted "Fire Sonny!"
- Nov 1, 2026Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Mac Engel wrote it was hard to see how Dykes survives, calling it "a when, not an if."
- Nov 3, 2026At his weekly media availability, Dykes said he didn't notice the boos or chants.
- Nov 5, 2026The Arizona Daily Star reported Dykes returns to Arizona, where he was offensive coordinator from 2007-09, for Friday's game against No. 22 Arizona.
Key terms
- national runner-up
- The second-highest level of NCAA college football in the United States, below the Football Bowl Subdivision.
- Big 12
- A U.S. collegiate athletic conference with 16 member universities, headquartered in Irving, Texas.
- bowl wins
- A postseason college football game in North America, mainly played by top-division NCAA teams.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Caution
- Star-Telegram columnist Mac Engel wrote that Dykes' tenure "feels effectively over. This is a when, not an if."
- Official
- Dykes said he didn't notice the boos or chants, that criticism is "the bad part" of the job, and that at 4-4 "it's not good enough" but the program has won a lot of games.
- Support
- Nebraska coach Matt Rhule, discussing fan impatience around his own program, said he is "not going to keep coaching if it means my kids grow up screwed up" after his 13-year-old daughter was harassed.
Still unverified
Star-Telegram columnist Mac Engel wrote "Someone is lying" and questioned Dykes' claim that he didn't hear or see the criticism, saying coaches who say they don't hear such things "are full of it."