TCU's Gary Patterson pays tribute to a Texas coaching legend

TCU's Gary Patterson knows a little bit about longevity in the coaching profession.

Patterson knows as well as anyone that great coaches have to keep proving year after year. Doing it as a Texas high school football coach isn't easy, but Randy Allen, who retired last week after 44 years, including the past 19 as the head coach at Highland Park, made winning look routine.

"He’s a legend," Patterson said. "He’s meant so much to Texas high school football. The way he’s always conducted himself. If you watch really closely you can learn a lot from him."

Allen, who won 376 games (fourth-most in Texas), would come over to Fort Worth to visit with Patterson and the TCU coaching staff each spring. Allen, 68, was a head coach for 37 years, including stints at Ballinger, Brownwood and his alma mater Abilene Cooper.

"What can you say about a guy," Patterson said. "[Highland Park] has always been a tough job because of different reasons and he's always managed it really well. And he won championships. I wish him luck."

Patterson, 58, has been coaching since 1982 when he was a graduate assistant at his alma mater Kansas State. He's been the head coach at TCU since December 2000.

This story was originally published March 26, 2018 at 1:39 AM with the headline "TCU's Gary Patterson pays tribute to a Texas coaching legend."