Disappointing News for TCU Horned Frogs.
Gary Patterson, a former TCU coach, is a true legend among the Horned Frogs. He worked as the program’s defensive coordinator before taking over as head coach in 2000. Over the course of two decades, he guided them to an 181–79 record before leaving in the middle of 2021. For good reason, the school unveiled a statue of the coach in 2016.
With all of that background, Patterson’s post-TCU résumé is, to put it mildly, intriguing.
He supported Steve Sarkisian as a special assistant in ’22 at Texas, an in-state and conference opponent. Although Patterson left football in 2023, his name kept coming up in relation to a couple positions as the coaching pendulum swung back and forth. According to numerous sources on Thursday, Patterson will provide off-field guidance to Baylor coach Dave Aranda this season.
Patterson will serve as a “senior level strategic consultant” for the Bears, assisting Aranda and his staff with opponent preparation and self-scouting on both sides of the ball, according to SacEm365, a website that covers Baylor athletics.
TCU and Baylor have a fierce, long-running rivalry. Baylor and TCU are roughly 90 miles apart in Waco and Fort Worth, respectively. It peaked in 2014 when the Bears pulled off a stunning comeback to defeat the Horned Frogs in a shootout, 61–58. Both teams would go on to finish 11-1 (8-1 Big 12), while Ohio State, the eventual national champion, was notably rejected by the College Football Playoff. Additionally, Patterson had a tense relationship with Art Briles, the former coach of Baylor, whose son also happens to be a member of Sonny Dykes’s TCU staff.
