Cal fires head coach Sonny Dykes

In a move that was shocking in its timing, Cal fired head coach Sonny Dykes on Sunday morning.

Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital will serve as interim head coach.

Dykes, 47, completed his fourth season at the helm of the Golden Bears on Nov. 26, posting records of 19-30 overall and 10-26 in Pac-12 play.

The news, first reported by Fox Sports, hinged on several factors, one source said, including Dykes’ interest in other jobs, slow season-ticket sales and a “stagnation” in the program.

Dykes reportedly interviewed for the head-coaching position at Missouri last offseason and the job at Baylor this offseason.

Another source suggested Dykes’ public search for other jobs over the past two years essentially triggered Sunday’s decision.

“This morning I learned that the Cal administration was moving in a different direction and terminating my employment as head football coach without cause,” Dykes said in a statement.

Cal is a special place, and it has been a pleasure to be part of one of the greatest learning environments in the world.

Athletic director Mike Williams wouldn’t discuss the details of his Sunday morning meeting with Dykes, but the AD several times mentioned wanting a head coach who wanted to make a long-term commitment to Cal.

“First and foremost, we want somebody who is committed to building a winning football program on the field,” Williams said.

Every other program at Cal reaches that standard, and we want to do the same thing with football.

Cal Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, in a news release, said, I have been in close contact with Director of Athletics Mike Williams in recent days about this matter.

Williams said he has a short list of candidates, but he declined to discuss names until the end of the hiring process.

Among the candidates to replace Dykes are Ron Rivera, head coach of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and a former All-America linebacker at Cal; Wisconsin defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, who played at Oregon and was linebackers coach at Cal for three years (2003-05); and Spavital, the young and highly regarded offensive coordinator who joined Dykes’ staff last year.

The Bears probably have little chance of attracting former 49ers/Eagles/Oregon head coach Chip Kelly, given his likely salary demands.

“We’d like to have a head coach as soon as possible, but we will be thoughtful and thorough in our search,” Williams said.

Williams said he used software to inform the players and coaching staff of the Dykes firing within 10 minutes of the meeting.

With about a month remaining in the recruiting cycle, the Bears’ assistant coaches have contacted the committed recruits.

Dykes and his “Bear Raid” offensive attack produced plenty of points — Cal ranked fourth in the nation in passing offense in 2016 and 10th in total offense.

The Bears finished the season 5-7 and didn’t qualify for a bowl game.

Chronicle staff writer Rusty Simmons contributed to this report.

Ron Kroichick is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer and Al Saracevic is sports editor.

Sonny Dykes’ record in four seasons at Cal, with his best season in 2015 when Cal went 8-5 with a win over Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.

The offensive-minded coach did not beat Stanford and went 10-26 in Pac-12 play.

A look at Sonny Dykes’ four seasons in Berkeley, during which he made one bowl appearance:

Beat Air Force in Armed Forces Bowl