As TCU flounders and flops, its offensive coordinator is in an awkward spot

Once the defensive coordinator “agreed” to leave, the next head on the block is offensive coordinator.

In TCU’s case, that would be the man that the head coach spent far more capital than he realized to hire.

Kendal Briles was hired by TCU head coach Sonny Dykes to keep TCU’s offense operating at an altitude set by Garrett Riley, who after TCU’s appearance in the national title game took off to Clemson . TCU’s offense is currently flying at a rapidly descending altitude, on course for a crash landing in the Trinity River.

Dykes dumped his defensive coordinator, Joe Gillespie , after last season’s 5-7 finish. The defense isn’t much better. Neither is the offense, and the coordinator is the same one from last season. You do the math.

As much as Dykes may like Briles, he likes being employed more. If anyone understands the routine of college football offseasons, it would be Kendal. Even if TCU misses a bowl for the second consecutive season, it will take a natural disaster for them to fire Dykes.

It will not take as much to dump Kendal, even if that move is lipstick, blush, foundation and eye liner on a frog.

Why Sonny Dykes will stick around

People like Dykes, and no one should ever forget he led this program to a level it had not seen since 1938. A level that most programs would sign a contract in blood with Satan to enjoy just once. Looking at you Baylor, Texas Tech, Kansas, Kansas State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, South Carolina, UCLA, Colorado, Kentucky, Minnesota ... and how is Rutgers on any list?

The common shot at Dykes is that he “lucked” his way through the 2022 season with former coach Gary Patterson’s players all the way to the title game. It is conveniently forgotten that at the time Dykes was hired by TCU, in the winter of 2021, he built a winner at SMU, and had been approached by Texas Tech, Texas, and Oklahoma.

As originally reported by Kirk Bohls, then of the Austin American Statesman, Dykes was a top candidate to replace Tom Herman, after the 2020 season. Tech was interested in Dykes, in the fall of ‘21, but thought his approach to recruiting was better for a metro area rather than Lubbock. There had been back channel conversations about gauging Dykes’ interest in OU.

No one should disregard that he was in demand.

Dykes has a few “excuses” that his bosses know have made this job harder than it was even when he accepted it. The transfer portal has become a multi-layered nightmare for the private schools in power conferences.

TCU has money to spend in NIL, but until there are rigid rules in place they all know they are apt to lose out on talented kids who will go elsewhere. Even with defined rules, they may lose them anyways.

Since defeating Michigan in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, TCU has become one of college football’s bigger disappointments. To go from a national title game to struggling to gain bowl eligibility for a second straight year is embarrassing, and inexcusable.

In a power league, TCU is a rebuild, not reload, program. That was the pattern set by Patterson, and it is both realistic and attainable. The standard is to be relevant, and “around” it for a playoff berth. They are currently neither.

Kendal Briles’ “problem”

When Dykes hired Briles, the move was met with a lot of disgust among TCU fans, as well as some members of the administration, and boosters. If his name was Kendal McTerriblecoach, the level of anger would have been a modest decibel.

But, his name is Briles. For a lot of people that’s a hard one to navigate. Some TCU fans refuse to try.

As is the case as Briles previous stops - Florida Atlantic, Houston, Florida State and Arkansas - nothing “bad” has happened off the field that would embarrass the school. He’s currently the coordinator of an offense that is, at best, erratic.

Since Briles was hired, the team is 8-10. The quarterback position last season was unsettled, and he inherited a roster on offense that had major departures to the NFL, and other issues. He has some plausible reasons for last year’s performance.

This season, he has the quarterback in Josh Hoover. There are talented receivers. The line has some issues, but the offense must be the strength of the team.

TCU’s offense ranks 38th nationally, but this goes well beyond some decent numbers.

The way TCU called its game against Central Florida, where it led 28-7 early in the third quarter only to lose by a point, invited criticism. They turned the ball over five times in the blowout loss at SMU. They turned the ball over four times in the double-digit home loss to Houston.

TCU is minus-10 in turnover differential, “good” for 128th in NCAA’s FBS .

Briles’ offense is not the reason why this team is under .500. But it should be the reason it’s at least over .500.

Starting with its game on Saturday night at Utah, TCU has six games remaining to salvage its season, and for coaches to make their case why they should be back. If the finish to the season shows promise of a steady rebuild, led by a quarterback who looks like he may have it, TCU can deal with it.

If the finish to the 2024 season is close to their 2023 campaign, there is no way Dykes will be allowed keep his job while keeping the status quo. And he already dumped his defensive coordinator.

You do the math.