Why TCU coach Gary Patterson is in a 'better place' after a few staff changes
TCU football coach Gary Patterson is in a good mood.
It's not that spring practice is going great, although it seems to be going well, despite more than 10 players sidelined while nursing various injuries. It's more about the change in coaching responsibilities that has Patterson — as he put it after Thursday's first full-pad practice of the spring — in a better-than-usual mood.
"Really now I've been able to be more rested and probably have a lot better sense of humor," Patterson said. "I’m going to be able to see things a little bit differently. I’m already in a lot better place on a day-to-day basis."
The biggest change this season is defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow moving from safeties to linebackers. This has allowed Patterson to take linebacker off his daily ledger of responsibilities. Glasgow, who played linebacker at Oklahoma State, has coached safeties for Patterson for 17 seasons.
Paul Gonzales moved from cornerbacks to safeties and former TCU safety Jeremy Modkins was hired as cornerbacks coach after serving as a defensive analyst the previous four seasons.
The last time TCU employed a linebackers coach was DeMontie Cross in 2015. Cross rejoined the staff in January as director of player personnel. The past two seasons, however, Patterson assumed the linebacker coach role, along with every other duty that goes with being the head coach.
"The last two years I’ve just been really tired," Patterson said. "I lost about three and a half hours out of the middle of my day because I'd been preparing for linebacker meetings and coaching linebackers.
At age 58 and after 21 seasons at TCU, Patterson shouldn't be coaching a position anyway. The addition of defensive line coach and recruiter Zarnell Fitch has also been a boon for the Frogs.
"It was good that we did it," he said. "It was a great move on our part."
That's not just because it took more off Patterson's plate. It has been a great move for recruiting, too.
"It was really good to hire Z," Patterson said of Fitch, a former TCU defensive lineman who is in his fourth season and third as defensive line coach.
"It's been big having Z be part of it because he’s really turned into a fantastic recruiter," Patterson said. "When I came here we had some older guys who could really run [recruiting]. We kind of flipped the switch again where we got some young guys who can really run recruiting and some older guys who know people. It has made my job a lot easier.
"We’ve already had a lot of success in recruiting for 2019."
Glasgow, who was a graduate student under Patterson when Patterson was Dennis Franchione's defensive coordinator at New Mexico in 1996, came to TCU as part of Patterson's first staff in 2001. His move to linebackers from safeties should benefit the Frogs' pass coverage.
"A lot of times [linebacker coaches] coached the front but they don’t coach coverage," Patterson said. "To have a guy who understands the concepts for all the back seven [is a great benefit.] Paul is a detailed and meticulous guy. Jeremy is a great technique guy."
"Up to this point, it has been exactly like I expected," he added. "They've brought a lot of energy. It’s made my job easier."
This story was originally published March 22, 2018 at 8:38 PM with the headline "Why TCU coach Gary Patterson is in a 'better place' after a few staff changes."