FORT WORTH, Texas — Of the many hires TCU could have made, it found the one that is going to irritate the former head coach the most.
TCU wanted Sonny Dykes, and Sonny Dykes wanted TCU.
In coaching circles, it was no secret this fall that TCU was the job Dykes coveted.
Sonny Dykes replacing Gary Patterson isn't a betrayal in any sense, but to the former TCU head coach it's hard to swallow.
All of this is.
From a bird's eye view, TCU preferred the coach who has not won a conference title in 12 seasons over the coach who won a Conference USA title, a Mountain West title, a Big 12 title, a Rose Bowl, and built the program.
Patterson will soon learn what every ex-employee learns: The place you left doesn't implode upon your exit. We are all replaceable.
On the first day, Sonny made it clear this will be a different program. He said practices will be open, something Patterson did away with years ago.
Dykes made it clear he plans to let his players and coaches be more visible, and available. Both are details that Patterson effectively eliminated years ago.
These are the plans right now, but plans can change when you lose a few games.
It is not a coincidence that TCU went with the candidate who is nearly 180 degrees opposite from Patterson. Replacing the "hard guy" with the "nice guy" is not uncommon.
The Dallas Cowboys did this in 2007 when after Bill Parcells retired he was replaced by a coach who referred to himself as a "softy," Wade Phillips.
Sonny Dykes is not Uncle Wade, who was good coordinator but did not have it in his DNA to be a great head coach. He was too passive, too nice, and he loathed being disliked.
The next few years will ultimately determine if Sonny Dykes is the right hire, but one of the major reasons TCU went with Sonny was because of his plan, and because he is not Gary.
Not long after California fired Dykes after the 2016 season, Patterson hired him to join his staff as an offensive analyst in 2017.
In the one season on Patterson's staff, Dykes got to know all of the people in TCU's administration. Those relationships, and friendships, gave him a major advantage when TCU was reviewing candidates to replace Patterson.
Iowa State's Matt Campbell was on the list, and the flirt with Deion Sanders was more of a fun charade for Twitter, but Dykes was the guy for this job.
When Dykes talked with Texas Tech about its opening after Matt Wells was fired, the power brokers involved in that hiring process conceded that he was a better coach for Dallas-Fort Worth than Lubbock.
Texas Tech hiring Sonny Dykes would have been a wonderful story. His dad, Spike, was the long time coach at Texas Tech and his wife is a Tech grad.
Sonny likely would have accepted the offer to be the head coach at Texas Tech, but the proposal never came. Tech hired Baylor assistant Joey McGuire.
What Tech didn't like about Dykes' proposals and plans TCU did.
One of the reasons Dykes is the first coach since the mid 1980s to turn SMU into a winner was not only his receptiveness to accepting transfers, but his approach to recruiting local talent.
He would bring potential recruits for unofficial visits all the time to SMU's campus. In an area as big as the Metroplex that has so many FBS level players, having kids on campus for unofficial visits is easy. Having kids just drop by Lubbock is not so easy.
One of the reasons Dykes wanted to leave SMU is that he felt the need to deliberately encourage potential recruits to visit on Sunday rather than Saturday. He didn't want them to see SMU's atmosphere on game day because of the small crowds.
TCU may not draw Oklahoma-sized crowds, but most Saturdays Dykes should feel OK with kids dropping by for unofficial visits to campus during a home game.
Having spent a season with TCU, he has a firm grasp of what to expect with this job. And TCU has a firm grasp of what to expect from Sonny Dykes.
As much as the former head coach may not like this, it's why TCU and Sonny Dykes are together.
