TCU coach Sonny Dykes stepped to the microphone Tuesday and tried to swat away two of the loudest issues hanging over his program: the fan backlash aimed at him and the debate over what the Horned Frogs are actually spending on football.
Neither topic is going away anytime soon.
After TCU’s comeback win over Kansas in Fort Worth on Saturday, some fans were seen wearing bags over their heads and chanting “Fire Sonny.” The noise has followed Dykes since the season-opening loss to North Carolina in Dublin, and it has only grown as the regular season has dragged along.
When asked about it Tuesday, Dykes cut off the question before it was even finished and said he didn’t notice any of it. He said he was focused on doing his job.
That kind of answer rarely convinces anyone. Coaches and players can pretend they’re insulated from the chatter, but the people around them usually aren’t, and the message gets through one way or another. Dykes, though, said the criticism won’t change anything about how he works.
“We’ve had some of that ourselves here, and that’s just part of it. It’s the bad part of it, but I don’t concern myself with that.
I don’t have any control over it. Didn’t hear it.
Didn’t see it. Didn’t know anything about it; it’s certainly not going to have any impact on me, or how hard I work.”
The bigger issue for Dykes may be the one tied to money.
Earlier this season, The Athletic published a report on payrolls across Power Four programs, and coaches around the country pushed back on it. The report pegged TCU’s payroll at between $22 million and $25 million. But according to high-ranking members of TCU’s administration, the football program’s payroll is closer to $30 million, which would make it the second-highest in the Big 12 behind Texas Tech.
Dykes rejected the numbers being circulated.
“The numbers that are being talked about are nowhere near the truth - just FYI. Not even close,” Dykes said Tuesday.
“It’s accounting. There are a lot of different ways to do accounting.”
He also said he supports transparency around payrolls, even though that kind of detail has not been folded into the MSCCSFL Act, more commonly known as the Protect College Sports Act.
The truth is hard to pin down because nobody involved has much incentive to tell it straight. Financial details are private, players can exaggerate, agents can shade the facts, coaches can spin them, and administrations can use them to make a point. Dykes kept insisting the figures being discussed are wrong.
That leaves TCU sitting at 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big 12, with a coach under fire and a fan base that has made its frustration plain.
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Noah Fifita And Arizona Face A Real Friday Night Test
Friday night in Tucson brings a Big 12 matchup that should tell us a lot about where Arizona and TCU really stand. Arizona comes in leading the conference in passing offense behind Noah Fifita, and the Wildcats will lean on that strength against a Horned Frogs defense that has been one of the leagues toughest against the pass and has also set the pace in scoring defense.
For TCU, the trip is another chance to steady an offense that has been searching for answers, while Arizona has its own questions after both teams have had trouble getting much going on the ground. If the Wildcats can turn this into a clean aerial game, they can put real pressure on a TCU unit built to make life difficult through the air. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Defense Faces Its Biggest Big 12 Test Yet In Arizona
Arizonas passing game is about to put TCUs defense in a different kind of spotlight, with quarterback Noah Fifita at the center of it. The Horned Frogs have spent much of the season leaning on a defense that has been one of the leagues best, and now they get a test that asks whether that group can keep a polished, experienced passer from dictating the pace. Sonny Dykes and senior safety Jamel Johnson both pointed to Fifitas accuracy and mobility as the traits that make him such a difficult matchup.
For TCU, the challenge is less about simply getting stops and more about handling a quarterback who can extend plays and punish mistakes in the passing game. Arizonas offense has the kind of rhythm that can stress a secondary snap after snap, which is why this trip feels like such a measuring stick for the Horned Frogs. If TCU can make Fifita uncomfortable early, it could say plenty about how far this defense has come. [Read more 🡒]