TCU’s leadership shakeup did not produce an immediate domino effect, but it did change the pressure points around Sonny Dykes and Mike Buddie.
Daniel Pullin resigned as chancellor after less than two years on the job, and for most people around the program the obvious question is what that means for football. The cleanest answer is that nothing changes right away. The messier truth is that both the head coach and the athletic director are now operating under a different set of eyes.
Pullin had made athletics one of his top priorities, and football sat near the center of that conversation. TCU is 3-3 entering Saturday morning’s homecoming game against West Virginia, and the team’s 1-2 start in Big 12 play has essentially knocked it out of the running for the 2026 playoff picture and the league title race. Since the 2022 national title game, the program has not gotten back into either conversation.
That has left a restless fan base in a familiar mood. Some supporters who were never sold on Sonny Dykes in the first place would have preferred a coaching change already, but Pullin’s departure alone does not force one. The rest of the season will matter a lot in deciding where this goes next.
Victor Boschini, who had been in emeritus status for the last two years after serving as chancellor for 22 years, is back in the role on a more permanent basis. He was the chancellor when TCU hired Dykes after the 2021 season, and that matters.
If TCU had only installed an interim chancellor, Dykes’ return for 2027 would have been close to a lock. With Boschini back in place, the football evaluation becomes much broader.
Boschini knows better than almost anybody what winning football means at TCU. The school’s investment in the program is also hard to ignore.
According to people familiar with the payroll, TCU has the second-highest in the Big 12 behind Texas Tech. A 3-3 record, and a team that is no longer nationally relevant, does not look like a strong return.
Dykes’ contract situation only adds another layer. Earlier this year, Buddie announced a “multi-year” extension, and as part of it Dykes lowered his buyout figure in exchange for more years on the deal.
He was essentially wagering on himself. The question now is not whether the buyout exists, but whether keeping him for a sixth season serves the school’s best interests.
TCU still has six regular-season games left, and the best-case finish is another 9-4 record, which would make it three straight seasons at that mark. That might be enough to keep Dykes in place, though it may not satisfy a fan base that sounds increasingly done with the whole thing.
Buddie’s situation is different, but just as unsettled. Boschini was not the chancellor who hired him from Army to replace Jeremiah Donati, who left for the athletic director job at South Carolina. Pullin was Buddie’s most visible backer, and since arriving at TCU on Jan. 1, 2025, he has been working in a job that keeps changing around him.
The modern AD’s life is largely defined by fundraising, whether he likes it or not. Buddie may be strong in the administrative side of the job, but if raising money is not his strength, that becomes a real issue. Football success drives almost everything, and it is a lot harder to ask for donations when the team is not winning.
Still, the department under Buddie has had its bright spots. Both basketball programs had successful years, and women’s soccer and volleyball are nationally ranked. Baseball, though, has lagged, with two disappointing seasons in a row and no NCAA Tournament berth last year.
Pullin’s resignation does not mean Dykes or Buddie are headed for the exit tomorrow. It does mean both men will be judged under a new boss, and that boss already knows the school, the expectations and the power that comes with winning football.
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