Six days into his new job, Cal coach Sonny Dykes has announced his first major assistant coach hire. As expected, offensive coordinator Tony Franklin will join Dykes after coaching under him the past three seasons at Louisiana Tech.
“Tony Franklin is an innovative and creative mind who is one of the top offensive coaches in the nation,” Dykes said in a release. “He’s had a tremendous amount of success producing some of the most prolific offenses in college football. I’m excited that he is joining our staff at Cal and look forward to much more success in the years ahead.”
“I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to come to the No. 1 academic institution in the country and try to also make it the No. 1 football program in the country, that’s our goal,” Franklin said. “To be able to do that with Sonny is kind of like a fantasy that started years ago. We talked about it and it’s a strange thing, but we both wanted to end up here. I’ve been recruiting California for a long time and this is where my wife and I wanted to live. It’s funny how dreams sometimes do come true.”
Additionally, Dykes hired Rob Likens to be the associate (to the) head coach and wide receivers coach from the same position at LT.
The Bulldogs ranked second in the country in total offense and fourth in passing offense this year.
(Photo credit: Cal athletics)