Everyone wants to know who the next best thing is in college football. To everyone’s surprise, it was the TCU Horned Frogs last season. Time and time again they defied the odds with their epic comebacks until the final game, there was no comeback this time.
Still, TCU achieved something that the Big 12 and Oklahoma failed to do in three opportunities, make the CFP championship game. It was even more remarkable that first-year head coach Sonny Dykes did this with Gary Patterson’s players that finished 5-7 the previous year.
Could there be another “Sonny Dykes” moment in 2023? If so, which first-year head coach could be the one to get it done? There was no shortage of candidates across the college football landscape. From Luke Fickell to Trent Dilfer, the coaching carousel was getting almost as much action as the transfer portal.
After thinking it over, I broke down my five candidates who could do it. While achieving what TCU did in 2022 isn’t probable, it certainly is possible.