OT: Gary Patterson out at TCU, a familiar name becomes interim....
From ESPN:
In meeting with the longtime coach Sunday, school officials asked Patterson to finish this season, but he declined. Instead, Patterson, who coached in the Horned Frogs' 31-12 loss at Kansas State on Saturday, will be replaced by Jerry Kill, an assistant on his staff, on an interim basis for a team that is 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big 12 this season.
TIL that Jerry Kill took a job at TCU!
October 31st, 2021 at 9:35 PM ^
Patterson had a hell of a run in Fort Worth, the Horned Frogs likely wouldn't be in a Power 5 conference without him.
At 61 years old, I'm curious to see if he coaches elsewhere.
October 31st, 2021 at 11:12 PM ^
Patterson & TCU had 3 Top 10 finishes AFTER the Horned Frogs joined the Big XII. For as great a job as Patterson did in elevating TCU during their C-USA and MWC days ..... he sustained it fairly well too.
That's not an easy place to win. TCU has some tradition --- they are, for instance, only one of 4 schools to play in all of the 6 Bowls that currently make up the NY6. But they were absolutely terrible (worst in the SWC) throughout the 1970s, and even though they got a bit better after that, they still only had 3 winning records and 2 Bowl games in their last 16 years in the SWC (1980-1995).
Anyone who is old enough to remember the SWC, it's just incredible to think about --- TCU played in and WON a Rose Bowl, finishing #2 in the country.
October 31st, 2021 at 9:40 PM ^
Down in Texas they aren't messing around. They owe the world to this guy and yet have no issue forcing him out once things go a bit sour.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:09 PM ^
He deserved better than being fired mid-season. He made that program.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:14 PM ^
Well, they did already build a statue of him.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:29 PM ^
I’m guessing they offered him the chance to finish the season and he said no.
Still surprising they didn’t at least wait for the end of the season, given his stature there.
October 31st, 2021 at 11:52 PM ^
From what I read, they asked him to coach out the year and he declined.
November 1st, 2021 at 8:15 AM ^
I don't blame him...
TCU: 'Hey, appreciate the effort, but your team sucks and we don't you here any longer, you're fired. But can you finish out the season for us?'
(Probably...)
November 1st, 2021 at 10:03 AM ^
From the article it's not clear he was fired though.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:10 PM ^
To be fair, Patterson has lost his fastball. But he had a great five year run at the start of the last decade.
October 31st, 2021 at 11:27 PM ^
Texas Tech is looking too (Matt Wells got pushed from TT pretty darn quick).
So perhaps some of this is just timing --- trying not to let a rival get too far in front in the coaching search when there are 2 hot commodities currently coaching in Texas out there (Traylor at UTSA and Dykes at SMU).
October 31st, 2021 at 9:40 PM ^
Hire Patterson! (Eye roll)
October 31st, 2021 at 10:58 PM ^
He was definitely a name thrown around during one of the many coaching searches.
October 31st, 2021 at 9:54 PM ^
Shows how much I know: I kinda ridiculed the idea when someone suggested that Patterson was on the hot seat, and I was clearly wrong.
I get TCU hasn’t done as well recently, but Patterson has been an excellent coach for them, and the level of success they enjoyed was impressive for almost any program, much less TCU.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:13 PM ^
I think this is an unintended consequence of the transfer portal development. As we have seen, you don't really need much of a runway to give your roster a makeover in the mold of a coach more to your liking. To that end, my money is on Frost being out in Lincoln by Black Friday.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:30 PM ^
One thing might save Frost: Nebraska owes him a $20 million buyout if he's fired without cause. (Man did his agent take them to the cleaners.)
The NCAA investigation might give them wiggle room to fire him with cause, though.
November 1st, 2021 at 6:08 AM ^
There might be cause.......involving Scott Frost stayed tuned...Heard it from a Lincoln Ne native who seemed to have alot of inside info...non football related discretions thats all Ill say and wait and see if this scource was reliable or not
November 1st, 2021 at 10:39 PM ^
Granted, my knowledge of CFB coaching contracts is limited, but how is sucking at your job not “cause”?
In most jobs I would think poor performance is the very first thing that gets you canned.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:31 PM ^
Maybe Nebraska and TCU should just trade coaches. Frost is still a big name with his past success at UCF, and I doubt Nebraska could get a bigger name than Patterson. It's a way better hire than Mike Riley was, anyway.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:04 PM ^
Didn’t Kill have to retire from Minnesota because of his health issues? Like he was periodically having seizures? He’s recovered from that?
October 31st, 2021 at 10:12 PM ^
Not only that but after the post-game scrum from yesterday, he got trampled and sustained a concussion according to multiple sources
October 31st, 2021 at 10:23 PM ^
The post-game scrum concussion happened after their SMU game at the end of September.
October 31st, 2021 at 11:12 PM ^
In that case, I may have sustained a concussion and lost the ability to read dates, which is not too surprising considering the amount of alcohol last night's events had driven me to imbibe
November 1st, 2021 at 10:05 AM ^
Sonny Dykes on line 1....
October 31st, 2021 at 10:13 PM ^
Yes, yes, and I don't know. He has taken several jobs since then, but nothing as stressful as a HC position. I imagine he will just be an interim coach until they hire a replacement.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:17 PM ^
Yes, he did retire due to seizures (he had several on gamedays) and also had cancer at one point but pretty sure he's been in remission for many years. After a couple years off he took a couple "special assistant" roles so has been around the game but kinda surprising to see him take on (even an interim) HC gig, especially this one considering Patterson is a good friend of his.
October 31st, 2021 at 11:13 PM ^
Yes, and they were actual health issues/seizures...not the kind caused by getting beaten down by Saban, banging coeds or having 20+ players arrested in your program under your watch.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:11 PM ^
Dick move from the university, unless he resigned. They owe him more than the coach who got them those natties in the 30s.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:15 PM ^
It was mutual.
November 1st, 2021 at 2:17 AM ^
It was only "mutual" in that they told him he could quit now (mutual) or be fired at the end of the year.
That's not mutual. That's having enough dignity to walk away when someone doesn't want you but tells you you can hang around for a while to clean up your stuff.
November 1st, 2021 at 6:12 AM ^
i take your meaning, but i can see sticking around at a place you love to try to accomplish something with your staff and the players you recruited.
November 1st, 2021 at 10:06 AM ^
Is that just like your opinion though, man? Sir? "Mutual" does kind of sound like fired, but it's certainly something Patterson could and presumably would disagree with publicly if he really did want to stay.
November 1st, 2021 at 10:35 AM ^
Coaches don't quit in the middle of a season unless they have some serious medical or family issue.
"Mutual" here clearly means they told him he was fired at the end of the season, and he said "Thanks but no thanks" to coaching the rest of the year.
This isn't really hard to translate.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:17 PM ^
Statue in 2016. Fired in 2021. No scandal ( that I know of) Interesting.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:33 PM ^
Gary Patterson and TCU were robbed in 2014 by not being in the playoffs. Florida St got in by virtue of being undefeated--then proceeded to be embarrassed by Oregon in the 1st round. TCU destroyed Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl 42-3.
October 31st, 2021 at 10:34 PM ^
Wow...I knew we are living in cut-throat times, but this is just some cold shit.
Maybe I'm just getting old.
October 31st, 2021 at 11:03 PM ^
You won't believe the last photo!
The 13th name on the list will shock you!
October 31st, 2021 at 11:11 PM ^
Smallest enrollment of any school in D1 and .....he won a Rose Bowl. Incredible coach but the game has just changed too much too fast.
He was actually one of THE guys mentioned when Ohio State parted with Tressel.
November 1st, 2021 at 8:30 AM ^
"Smallest enrollment of any school in D1 ..."
Not even close. Let me know if I'd need to dig up numbers for you. (Hint: You could start with Wake Forest.)
November 1st, 2021 at 1:01 PM ^
Tulsa according to the wikis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Division_I_FBS_football_programs
October 31st, 2021 at 11:20 PM ^
So you build a statue and then fire a guy? That is why you wait to anoint someone as your savior. It is just business nothing personal, except the product on the field are student athletes who needs to think about their future and personal satisfaction.
October 31st, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^
Jerry Kill is a coach I really liked and respected.
Not sure if they've been able to address his medical issues in the time between stepping down at Minnesota and coaching in an assistant capacity at TCU.
I hope so... I hope that he is able to offload some of the HC responsibilities to help him out. I am sure they have done their due diligence prior to his being hired as an assistant, and spoke to him on whether he felt like he was able to take on additional responsibility.
Good luck to the guy.
November 1st, 2021 at 8:07 AM ^
I feel positive about both these guys. Gary Patterson absolutely does not deserve his fate at TCU. Jerry Kill absolutely deserves admiration for his return to visibility as a coach after such devastating health problems at Minnesota. You wouldn't expect Patterson to be out of a job very long (unless his choice) after such an amazing run at TCU. Just discovered he has coached there for 21 years! From Conference USA to Mountain West to Big 12. Very few winning years at TCU before him. It must be all about youth.
November 1st, 2021 at 8:30 AM ^
Jerry Kill is a good coach, but he's had epilepsy for a long time. Unfortunately, stress is a big seizure inducing hot point, so being the head coach made it worse at Minnesota. He had Minnesota moving in a good direction when he was there, and has been successful everywhere he's been - including leading Saginaw Valley State (SVSU) to some big seasons playing as NAIA #1/#2 teams against Grand Valley State's Brian Kelly.
November 1st, 2021 at 2:12 AM ^
This seems wrong. Gary Patterson took TCU places they had no business going. They were 11-3 and finished #9 in the country in 2017. In 2014 He had them almost in the title game, and they would have most likely been in if the 4-team format was around then." In 2010 he won the Rose Bowl, had an undefeated team and finished #2.
Yeah the last few years have been a struggle, but Jesus the guy has been your coach for 22 years and has had more success than you ever deserved. You can't cut him some slack?
I know someone will take the job because $$$, but I would think twice or three times about it. They clearly have unrealistic expectations and absolutely no loyalty.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:54 AM ^
The 4-team format existed in 2014. OSU made it that year as the #4 team.
November 1st, 2021 at 10:36 AM ^
Right, forgot. More proof that the 4-team format is total bullshit.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:34 AM ^
Many people here are talking about how this seems wild and cutthroat but uh, they no longer play defense (Patterson's specialty) and if you've paid any attention to some of the shit this guy has said over the past few months...its clear the game has passed him by.
he's been pretty vocally anti-player in a number of high profile issues, even so far as to seem like "old man yells at cloud" in media sessions. Combine that with a program that's rapidly deteriorating and this was probably the best decision - let him walk away now before it gets really embarrassing.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:48 AM ^
Patterson could have climbed the coaching ladder, the offers were certainly there, but he chose to remain in Ft. Worth. He deserved better.
November 1st, 2021 at 9:05 AM ^
I find it beyond the pale that Jerry Kill is a head coach again. His health was an issue during his entire tenure at Minnesota and it's why he had to leave the job.
Someone needs to step in and say enough is enough. I don't begrudge the guy the opportunity to make a living, but TCU is being heartless in multiple ways in this whole episode.