Cal head coach Sonny Dykes has been in contact with the University of South Carolina and University of Virginia about job opportunities at those schools, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

He is no longer in the running at Missouri, which promoted defensive coordinator Barry Odom to head coach Thursday night. Dykes, who interviewed with Tigers athletic director Mack Rhoades on Tuesday, still has a contract extension offer on the table from Cal.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Dykes hadn’t spoken to his team about the developments. One Cal player, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, called the news “a little bit of a shock.”

“We’ve had it the other way around where we were interviewing coaches and stuff. It’s a little different when you hear your coach is interviewing,” the player said. “But we all understand that it’s a business at the end of the day. He’s got to make the best decision for himself, the family and long-term.”

When he left Louisiana Tech for Cal in December 2012, Dykes was tasked with improving the program on the field and in the classroom and has done both.

Cal’s Academic Progress Rate rose from 938 in 2012-13 to 941 in 2013-14 and the Bears steadily have increased their win totals, too. Cal went 1-11 in 2013 and 5-7 last season. After starting 5-0 this year for the first time since 2007, Cal lost four in a row. It then won two of its final three regular-season games to become eligible for its first bowl game in four years. The Bears (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) will learn their postseason destination Sunday.

Dykes has returned to Berkeley from a recruiting trip in Southern California, according to multiple sources. He was expected to attend Cal’s annual scholar-athlete scholarship banquet Thursday night.

After an extended break, the Bears return to practice Friday and Dykes is scheduled to meet with media, though it remains unclear whether that will happen.

Dykes, who has not responded to multiple requests for comment, must repay Cal $2 million in previously earned salary if he takes another job before Dec. 31, according to his contract. That figure drops to $1 million if he leaves after Dec. 31 and before Dec. 31, 2016. Cal is in the final year of paying former head coach Jeff Tedford’s negotiated buyout of $5.5 million.

A FootballScoop.com report Thursday morning suggested that if Dykes left Berkeley, Cal’s administration “would consider bringing Tedford back” as the Bears’ head coach. Multiple sources, however, have since shot down that possibility.

“I don’t buy that for a second,” one donor told The Chronicle. “What he did academically, I couldn’t even fathom that. … There is zero chance that Tedford comes back.”

Another name being mentioned is ex-Raiders head coach and current Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson. Before joining the NFL, in which he has coached for the past 16 seasons, Jackson was the offensive coordinator at Cal (1996) and USC (1997-2000). Jackson, the Raiders’ head coach for the 2011 season, was reportedly a top candidate for the Bears’ job before Dykes was hired.

Other possibilities might include Utah State head coach Matt Wells, Bowling Green head coach Dino Babers and Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Kris Richard.

Dykes is just one of a number of coaches being considered at Virginia and South Carolina.

The Cavaliers reportedly are also interested in Western Kentucky head coach Jeff Brohm, Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun and former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano. The Gamecocks will meet Friday with Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, according to reports. They also have been linked to Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez and Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley.

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Con_Chron