Sonny Dykes made a change on his offensive staff less than 24 hours after a homecoming loss dropped TCU below .500.
TCU has fired co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach A.J. Ricker, On3's Pete Nakos shared on Sunday. SI also confirmed the move.
The Horned Frogs fell 24-20 to West Virginia on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium, dropping to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in Big 12 play. TCU carried a 20-17 lead into the fourth quarter and didn't score again. David Afogbo forced the game-winning fumble for the Mountaineers, and TCU finished with 484 total yards and three turnovers.
Protection has been the sore spot. Quarterback Jaden Craig was sacked three times on Saturday, bringing TCU's total to 20 sacks allowed through seven games. That is two shy of what the Horned Frogs gave up in all of 2025, and their sack percentage of 8.33 percent is tied for 107th nationally, per TeamRankings. The line entered the season with a veteran group and added transfer Noah McKinney.
Offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis and assistant offensive line coach Ryan Swingle are expected to oversee the offensive line going forward, per TCU On SI. Sammis arrived from UConn in December 2025 to replace Kendal Briles, who left for the OC job at South Carolina. A former offensive lineman at Virginia, Sammis coached the line at VMI, William & Mary and UConn before the Huskies promoted him to offensive coordinator ahead of the 2024 season.
Ricker came to Fort Worth in December 2021 as part of Dykes' first TCU staff, following him from SMU. He took over the Mustangs' offensive line in 2019, added co-offensive coordinator duties in 2020 and earned a Broyles Award nomination.
The early returns in Fort Worth were strong. Five of Ricker's offensive linemen signed NFL contracts over his first two seasons, including Steve Avila, a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 2023, and Brandon Coleman, a third-round pick of the Washington Commanders in 2024. The 2022 team reached the national championship game.
Last season, TCU went 9-4, beat USC 30-27 in overtime in the Alamo Bowl and finished #25 in the final AP poll.
Ricker started 47 games at center for Missouri from 2000-03. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Western Michigan in 2006 and 2007 and was promoted to offensive line coach in 2008. He coached the line at Saint Joseph's College in Indiana in 2009 and was the Pumas' head coach in 2010, then went back to Western Michigan as offensive line coach and run game coordinator under Bill Cubit in 2011 and 2012.
From there, he coached the offensive line at Illinois in 2013 and his alma mater Missouri in 2014 and 2015, worked as an offensive analyst at Houston in 2016 and Oklahoma State in 2017, and ran the line at Kansas in 2018 before joining Dykes at SMU.
Changing offensive line coaches in late October rarely fixes protection overnight, since the techniques and calls are already baked in. Handing the room to a coordinator who spent most of his career coaching that position gives TCU a better shot at a quick adjustment than most midseason moves do.
TCU needs three wins in its final five games to become bowl eligible. The Horned Frogs host Kansas on Saturday, October 31, then close with Arizona, Kansas State, Utah and Texas Tech.