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This may have been a calculated decision. Dykes, with a single winning season, had some leverage, but not much.
It wasn't as much as Dennis Green, the closest Stanford comparison I can think of, had when he had a losing record at Northwestern, a team that at the time he took over was on an NCAA Div I record losing streak. Nor was it as strong as when Green took the Cardinal to its first bowl in several years because Green's first year wasn't a sharp drop-off from the previous year. In addition, Green had signature wins, including an upset of then No. 1 NotreDame, and the Revenge against Copper Bowl-bound Kal.
Nevertheless, Dykes was able to demonstrate progression, including the first bowl game in four years.
So, Dykes' agent may have known his ability to secure another Power Five conference position was slim even before Dykes began interviewing. So the statements about being mentally checked out and only returning to Kal if he had no other options were bluffs to use the only leverage he had.