When SMU looked to replace Chad Morris as head coach, Sonny Dykes was an obvious choice. Dykes has longstanding roots to the state of Texas, and also runs a productive spread offensive system. The thought process was simple: Dykes can build on the success Morris had by the end of his tenure with the Mustangs.
Four years into the Dykes era at SMU it became obvious — it wouldn’t be that simple. Dykes was quickly shuffled in to coach the 2017 bowl game against Louisiana Tech, and then opened against North Texas, TCU and Michigan. An 0-4 start was tough enough. Getting outscored 184-65 in the four games was disastrous.