The ups and downs of the Frogs' season can be relived. The first part of the story is over.
The Associated Press named the coach of the year on Monday after he led the Frogs to the College Football Playoff.
He received 37 of 46 first-place votes and 120 points from the AP Top 25 voters to win the award. Gary Patterson won the first two games for the school.
The award is the ultimate team award, according to Dykes. More so than ever in college football, it is a team effort.
The winner of the Michigan-TCU game will play for the national title.
Last year's winner, Jim Harbaugh of Michigan, received five points and was followed by Tennessee's John Heupel, who received one point. Kirby Smart received a first place vote.
He has spent time with Louisiana Tech, California and SMU. The son of a Texas Tech coach, Sonny is 83-64 in 13 seasons as a head coach in the Lone Star State.
"It's not always like this, and I've been on both ends of the spectrum, so something like this probably means more to me than it might someone," he said. I've been fired after I've been 1-10. I've been on top and bottom. It really makes you appreciate the good times more when you have bad times.
The path to the AP coach of the year is unique. No coach had ever won his first coach of the year award on his fourth stop as a bowl subdivision head coach.
After five years with SMU, Dykes moved to take over at TCU. He had a good idea of what the Frogs were going to look like.
Dykes took what he had and turned it into one of the best teams in the country.
It's more about getting the chemistry of the rooms right than it is about adding talent. I believe that part of it is overlooked. The chemistry and the competition.
The Frogs didn't lose until the Big 12 title game, when they were beaten by Kansas State.
When the year began, we had no expectations at all. "We thought we had a chance to be pretty good, but we just gained confidence every week, and we had some kids that were tough and like to compete, and that made everything better."
One of the head coaches in major college football right now who worked for Mike Leach early in his career is Louisiana Tech's Sonny Dykes. The cause of death was 61 of a heart condition. He was at Mississippi State for three seasons after previous stops at Texas Tech and Washington State.
One of the most influential people in his career was Leach.
It's one of a kind, for sure.
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