Former TCU Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson is making his return to college football as a consultant on the Baylor Bears staff.
His official title with the Bears will be a senior level strategic consultant. Patterson took a year off in 2023 after being Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian’s special assistant in 2022. Patterson said in an article from 247Sports that he learned a lot under Sarkisian at Texas.
“I’m so appreciative of Steve Sarkisian, the players and fans for my time at Texas this past year,” Patterson told Horns247. “I loved my time in Austin. I jumped into that role right after leaving TCU, and I put off a lot of stuff foundation-wise, because I wanted to be a sponge. I wanted to see how the coaches on staff there (at Texas), who have been at places like Alabama and Washington, recruit; how they handle practice; and how they handle things like NIL (name, image and likeness).
“I learned so much and have so much respect for guys like Pete Kwiatkowski and Jeff Choate and Bo Davis, and really, really enjoyed the players. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get to August and I’ll want to come back — if Sark would have me. But right now, I feel like I need to take some time for my wife, kids and grandkids while also looking to see if I can help college football on a larger scale.”
Before joining Sarkisian’s staff at Texas, Patterson was with TCU from 1998 to 2021. Patterson started out at TCU as the defensive coordinator and he served as the head coach starting in 2000.
Former TCU head coach Gary Patterson is the winningest head coach in TCU history
During Gary Patterson’s two-decade stint as the head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs, he accrued 181 wins and 79 losses. He failed to make a bowl game at TCU just four times, but he wasn’t given a fair shot in 2021 as he was fired when he had a 3-5 record.
Patterson had 10 seasons with 11 or more wins at TCU. From 2002 to 2011 there were only two seasons in which the Horned Frogs did not have at least 10 wins.
Some argued that Patterson’s Horned Frogs should have made the College Football Playoff in 2014. TCU was ranked No. 3 in the CFP rankings and they dropped to No. 6 after beating the Iowa State Cyclones 55-3. They lost their spot to the Ohio State Buckeyes, who went on to win the national title game.
In an article from ESPN, CFP executive director Bill Hancock explained why TCU did not make their way into the CFP in its first year.
“The committee doesn’t just say, ‘Well, here’s where they were the week before, they won so they move up.’ That’s the old poll mentality,” Hancock said. “The committee has a different mentality about it. Ohio State’s résumé improved. Baylor’s résumé improved with a victory over a good K-State team. And TCU had the misfortune of playing a team that would finish 2-10 on the last weekend. It helped people understand it’s a new day.”
Former TCU head coach Gary Patterson can help the Baylor Bears’ offense
Gary Patterson has a proven track record when it comes to producing high-level offenses. Gary Patterson’s quarterback with the Horned Frogs in 2014 was Trevone Boykin, who finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting. He was first-team All-Big 12 and the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
Trevone Boykin at TCU
• 10,727 Passing Yards
• 2,049 Rushing Yards
• 114 Total TDs
• TCU finished #3 in the Final AP Poll (2014)
• TCU finished #7 in the Final AP Poll (2015)
• #4 in Heisman Voting (2014) pic.twitter.com/74F2IhF3Zh— College Football Report (@CFBRep) June 27, 2023
The Baylor Bears offense in 2023 left a lot to be desired. They finished 101st overall in scoring with just 23.1 points per game. Their passing offense, in both yards and scoring, finished 97th in the nation with 263 yards per game and 1.3 passing touchdowns per game.
In Gary Patterson’s last full year, which was in 2019 due to COVID and his firing, his offense finished 56th in scoring. During the 2014 season in which Patterson and the Horned Frogs felt they deserved a bid in the CFP, they finished second in the nation in scoring.
While Patterson’s prime as a head coach of one of the most powerful offenses in the nation was a decade ago, he will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Baylor Bears.
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