Gary Patterson, TCU agree to mutual parting after 22 seasons
The Gary Patterson Era, one that saw TCU win a Rose Bowl and gain Big 12 membership, is over.
In the midst of his 21st season, Patterson, 61, is out as football coach, TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati confirmed in a statement Sunday evening.
Assistant Jerry Kill, a former head coach at Minnesota and the best man in Patterson’s wedding, will serve as interim coach for the remainder of the season. Given its location in a prime recruiting area in Fort Worth and upgraded facilities, TCU is likely to be viewed as an attractive job.
SMU’s Sonny Dykes, viewed as a leading candidate for the Texas Tech job, could be a front-runner for TCU. So could Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente, a former Patterson assistant.
”Chancellor (Victor) Boschini and I met with Coach Patterson today and mutually agreed that the time has come for a new voice and leadership in our football program,” Donati said in a statement.
“We asked him to continue on as our head coach for the remainder of the season, and take on a different role in 2022, but he believed it was in the team’s and TCU’s best interests to begin the transition immediately. We respect Coach Patterson’s perspective and will move forward in that direction.”
It’s an abrupt end for Patterson, one that was apparently forced by the administration, based on the statement. Rather than wait for the end of the season, Patterson opted to leave now with four games remaining and a bowl bid unlikely. He was making $6.1 million this season, according to the USA Today coaches’ salary database.
Expected to be a potential contender in the Big 12, TCU had struggled this season. The Horned Frogs fell to 3-5 and 1-4 in the Big 12 after a 31-12 road loss at Kansas State.
While Patterson is known for his defenses, TCU stands 112th in total defense this season, allowing an average of 443.3 yards per game.
Since an 11-3 finish in 2017, TCU is 21-22 overall and 13-19 in the Big 12.
Patterson, who has a history of rants and tangents in the best of times, had grown especially cantankerous this season. He had sparred with SMU officials about an incident at the end of the Iron Skillet game.
He urged boosters to support NIL for TCU, suggesting he could lose 25-30 players otherwise. And he went on a reported seven-minute rant about an online piece by a TCU grad suggesting a change was in order. After the K-State loss, Patterson was asked about a Fox Sports report that he would exit at the end of the season.
”I don’t have control of all of that stuff,” Patterson said. “I’m here coaching. Did it look like I was not trying to coach today?”
He becomes the second Big 12 coach to leave before the end of the season. Texas Tech fired Matt Wells earlier this month after a loss to K-State.
Despite the drop-off the last few seasons, Patterson’s spot at TCU and in Fort Worth is secure. A life-sized statue of Patterson was erected outside Amon Carter stadium in 2016. The success of the football program was a huge factor in TCU gaining Big 12 membership in 2012.
Since taking over for Dennis Franchione after the regular season in 2000, he’s posted a record of 181-79 with six finishes in the top 10 of the AP poll. Eleven times under Patterson, TCU has posted double-digit wins in a season.
TCU finished a perfect 13-0 in 2010, beating Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl and ending second in the AP poll. In 2014, the Horned Frogs narrowly missed making the first College Football Playoff. TCU fell from third to sixth in the final rankings. Patterson and his wife Kelsey have also been active working for charitable causes in Tarrant County.
”The story of Gary Patterson and the rise in the fortunes of the TCU football program over the last 20 years is clearly one of the most remarkable in the history of college football,” Donati said in his statement.
“We are grateful to Gary and Kelsey Patterson and appreciate everything they have meant to TCU and the Fort Worth community. Under his leadership, TCU has become a nationally recognized brand name in football and in collegiate athletics.”
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