Sonny Dykes Daniel " Sonny " Dykes ( born November 9 , 1969 ) is an American football coach and former college baseball player . He is currently the head football coach at the University of California , Berkeley . Dykes was named 2011 WAC Coach of the Year for leading Louisiana Tech to the 2011 WAC title and an appearance in the 2011 Poinsettia Bowl . Prior to becoming the head coach at LA Tech , Dykes served as offensive coordinator at Texas Tech and Arizona . As an assistant coach , Dykes learned the air raid offense under mentors Hal Mumme and Mike Leach . Sonny Dykes is the son of Texas Tech coaching legend Spike Dykes . Early years . Sonny Dykes graduated from Coronado High School in Lubbock , Texas where he played both football and baseball . He lettered for three years as a first baseman for the Texas Tech baseball team . Dykes earned a bachelor ' s degree in history from Texas Tech University in 1993 and a master ' s degree from the University of Kentucky in 1999 . Coaching career . Early career . Sonny Dykes began his career in the spring of 1994 as an assistant baseball coach at Monahans High School in Monahans , Texas . Later in 1994 , Dykes switched to coaching football as the running backs coach for J . J . Pearce High School in Richardson , Texas . From 1995 to 1996 , Dykes coached at Navarro College in Corsicana , Texas . In 1995 , he coached the running backs as Navarro posted an 8 – 2 record . In 1996 , he served as the quarterbacks and receivers coach and the passing game coordinator as Navarro finished 7 – 4 while reaching the Texas junior college championship game . At Navarro , Dykes coached Leroy Fields , who led the nation in receiving and was selected in the seventh - round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos . In 1998 , Dykes served as the wide receivers coach at Northeast Louisiana . Under Dykes ' guidance , wide receiver Marty Booker broke all of NLU ' s single - season and career receiving records and was named first - team All - Independent . Booker played in the Blue - Gray and East - West Shrine all - star games and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the third - round of the 1999 NFL Draft . Kentucky . In 1997 , Sonny Dykes served as a graduate assistant and tight ends coach at Kentucky under head coach Hal Mumme . The season highlight was a win over # 20 Alabama , a team Kentucky had not beaten since 1922 . Led by sophomore quarterback Tim Couch , Kentucky ' s offense set multiple school , SEC , and NCAA records . Dykes returned to Kentucky in 1999 to serve on Mumme ' s staff as wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator . The season highlights were a victory over # 20 Arkansas and a trip to the Music City Bowl . At Kentucky , Dykes coached James Whalen who earned consensus All - America honors and set the all - time NCAA Division I record for receptions by a tight end . Whalen was selected in the fifth - round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys . Dykes also coached wide receiver Quentin McCord who was selected in the seventh - round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons . Two of Dykes ' players , Derek Smith and Brad Pyatt , signed as undrafted free agent s with the Indianapolis Colts in 2002 and 2003 , respectively . Texas Tech . In 2000 , Sonny Dykes joined Mike Leach ' s staff at Texas Tech as the wide receivers coach . In his five seasons as receivers coach , Texas Tech wide receivers set numerous individual school and conference receiving records . Dykes coached wide receiver Carlos Francis who finished his career at Texas Tech with the second - most career touchdowns and third - most career receiving yards , and Francis was selected in the fourth - round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders . In addition to Francis , Dykes also coached receivers Wes Welker and Derek Dorris who signed free agent contracts with the San Diego Chargers and New York Giants , respectively . During his tenure as the Texas Tech receivers coach , the Red Raiders participated in a bowl game in each of his five years including the 2000 Galleryfurniture . com Bowl , 2001 Alamo Bowl , 2002 Tangerine Bowl , 2003 Houston Bowl , and 2004 Holiday Bowl . Texas Tech finished the 2004 season ranked 17th in the final Coaches Poll , which was the first time the Red Raiders were ranked in a final poll since joining the Big 12 Conference . After five seasons as the Texas Tech wide receivers coach , Dykes was promoted to co - offensive coordinator alongside Dana Holgorsen in 2005 . Texas Tech opened their 2005 season with a 6 – 0 record , the program ' s best start since 1998 , and defeated Oklahoma for the first time under Mike Leach . In 2005 , the Red Raiders were trailing Kansas State , 13 – 10 , late in the second quarter but won the game 59 – 20 . Also in 2005 , Texas Tech had a halftime lead of 14 – 10 over Texas A & M . By the end of the game , Texas Tech increased the margin to 56 – 17 . It was the Aggies ' worst loss to the Red Raiders in the 64 - year - old rivalry . Under Dykes ' direction in 2005 , Cody Hodges led the nation in passing yardage per game . The 2005 season culminated in a trip to the Cotton Bowl Classic and a ranking of 19th in the final Coaches Poll . In Dykes ' second season as co - offensive coordinator , Texas Tech ranked third in passing with 370 passing yards per game and sixth in total offense averaging nearly 450 total yards per game throughout the 2006 season . That season Dykes directed an offense that scored 32 points per game , and two receivers ranked top three in the nation in receptions per game and a third receiver ranked in the top twenty . Dykes helped develop Joel Filani into a two - time first team All - Big 12 honoree and a sixth - round selection in the 2007 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans . In 2006 , receiver Jarrett Hicks caught 13 touchdown passes to set the school ' s single - season record and signed as a free agent with the San Diego Chargers in 2007 . Dykes also worked with quarterback Graham Harrell who completed 412 passes for 4 , 555 yards and 38 touchdowns in 2006 . In Dykes last game at Texas Tech , he helped orchestrate the biggest comeback in NCAA Division I - A bowl game history in the 2006 Insight Bowl against Minnesota . With Texas Tech trailing 38 – 7 in the third quarter , the Red Raiders overcame the 31 - point deficit to defeat Minnesota 44 – 41 in overtime . Dykes was honored by receiving the All - American Football Foundation ' s Mike Campbell Top Assistant Award in 2006 . Additionally , Rivals . com listed Dykes as one of the nation ' s brightest offensive minds and top ten recruiters . Arizona . Sonny Dykes joined Mike Stoops ' staff at Arizona as offensive coordinator in 2007 . In his first season leading the Wildcats ' offense , Dykes increased Arizona ' s offensive output by 130 yards per game and finished second in the Pac - 10 in passing offense with a school - record 308 yards per game . Arizona ' s pass efficiency rating increased 32 points from 2006 to 2007 . In 2007 , Arizona set single - season records for passing yards , passing yards per game , completions , touchdown passes and completion percentage , in addition to many single - game records by quarterback Willie Tuitama . During the 2008 season , Dykes helped lead Arizona to eight victories and program ' s first winning season since the 1998 season . Arizona earned their first bowl appearance since 1998 and defeated # 16 BYU 31 – 21 in the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl . In that game , the Wildcats ' 31 points were the most in Arizona bowl history . Wide receiver Mike Thomas set the record for the most receptions by any receiver in Pac - 10 history . Rob Gronkowski set the school tight end records for single - game , single - season , and career receptions , yards , and touchdowns . Gronkowski was named an Associated Press third - team All - American and All - Pac - 10 first - team tight end . During the 2009 season , Dykes helped lead Arizona to their second consecutive eight - win season and a second place Pac - 10 finish , the program ' s highest since 1998 . In the final game of the regular season , Arizona defeated # 20 USC 21 – 17 , the Wildcats ' first victory over a Pete Carroll - coached USC team . Arizona finished the regular season ranked # 22 in the AP Poll , the Wildcats ' first national ranking since the 2000 season . The Wildcats ' season culminated will an appearance in the 2009 Holiday Bowl . During the 2009 season , Dykes was named as one of the nominees for the Broyles Award , an honor that awarded to the nation ' s best college football assistant coach . Louisiana Tech . On January 20 , 2010 , Sonny Dykes was hired to replace Derek Dooley as the head football coach of Louisiana Tech . In Dykes ' first season , LA Tech ' s record improved to 5 – 7 overall and 4 – 4 in the WAC . Despite coaching his team to a losing record , Dykes was one of only four of the nation ' s 22 new head coaches to improve a team ' s conference record from the year before . LA Tech ' s offense improved in several areas of the NCAA statistical ranks including passing offense ( 91st in 2009 to 62nd in 2010 ) and total offense ( 66th to 52nd ) while the team ' s average offensive national rank improved from 65th in 2009 to 54th in 2010 . Despite a 1 – 4 start in 2011 , Dykes ' Dawgs rallied to win seven consecutive games to cap off the regular season with the program ' s first WAC football title since 2001 and an appearance the Poinsettia Bowl . As a result of LA Tech ' s success , Dykes was honored as the 2011 WAC Coach of the Year . At the conclusion of the 2011 season , Dykes signed a contract extension to increase his base salary to $ 750 , 000 . Dykes guided the Bulldogs to a 22 - 15 record over his 3 seasons as head coach . California . On December 5 , 2012 , Dykes was announced as the head football coach at the University of California , Berkeley . Family . Sonny Dykes is the son of Spike and Sharon Dykes . His father Spike Dykes was the all - time winningest football coach in Texas Tech history . His mother Sharon Dykes died in 2010 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer ' s disease . In 2006 , Sonny married the former Kate Golding . The couple has two daughters , Alta Carolina ( Ally ) who was born in 2008 and Charlotte Reese ( Charlie ) who was born in 2011 . Kate ' s grandfather , Joe Golding , was one of the most successful high school football coaches in America . Sonny ' s older brother Rick Dykes served as Texas Tech ' s offensive coordinator from 1996 – 1999 and Arizona ' s offensive coordinator from 2001 – 2002 . Sonny has one sister , Bebe Dykes Petree .