TCU coach Gary Patterson mum on possible coaching staff changes
Sonny Cumbie’s job status going forward remains anyone’s guess for the time being.
The man in charge, TCU coach Gary Patterson, refused to give any indication whether he’d be overhauling his staff this offseason following the Frogs’ 20-17 loss to West Virginia in the regular-season finale on Friday.
Asked about when he’d start evaluating for next season, Patterson said: “Already did. Started in August. Can’t be good at what you do and decide Dec. 1 to go evaluate.”
So what’s his evaluation of Cumbie to this point?
“I’m not doing that,” Patterson said. “This’ll be done in a minute if you keep asking about that. I’m not into selling newspapers. That’s your job.”
A timeline is not known for Patterson to make these staff decisions. It’s expected to be sooner than later with the NCAA’s early signing period starting Dec. 18 through Dec. 20. Most programs want to have their staffs in place for recruiting purposes by then.
Cumbie joined TCU before the 2014 season as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He took over play-calling duties prior to the 2017 season, a year in which TCU reached the Big 12 championship game.
But TCU’s offense regressed in 2018, scoring the fewest points in the Patterson era. Much blame went toward injuries and the fact that TCU used four different quarterbacks throughout the season last year.
That bought Cumbie at least another season, but TCU’s offense will rank in the bottom half of the Big 12 in most categories except rushing offense this season.
True freshman Max Duggan started the majority of games and showed flashes of becoming the face of TCU football in the coming years. But he also went through the expected growing pains of being an inexperienced quarterback.
Duggan struggled down the stretch, throwing for just 65 yards last week at Oklahoma and 144 yards against West Virginia. He completed less than half his passes in the final two games.
For the season, Duggan went 181-of-339 passing for 2,077 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 555 yards on 130 carries with six TDs.
Something Patterson will likely factor in whatever decision he makes is whether Duggan could leave the program if Cumbie departs. Cumbie is responsible for bringing in Duggan, as well as Ohio State transfer Matthew Baldwin last offseason.
Duggan and Baldwin will enter next season as the two top quarterback candidates for TCU, barring something unexpected.
At the end of the day, staff changes may be coming. Or may not. All Patterson revealed afterward is a season-ending meeting for the team at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Patterson sees a possible silver lining to the disappointing season, comparing it to the 2004 season when the Frogs went 5-6 and missed a bowl game. The following year, TCU went 11-1 and followed with an 11-2 season in 2006.
“In 2004, we got beat by Tulane, and we couldn’t make it on the 1- or 2-yard line, and they went 98 yards and scored,” Patterson said. “It was one of the best things that ever happened to us that we didn’t go to a bowl game because we weren’t very good, and we didn’t deserve to be.
“For us, whether that’s the same way or however it is, the bottom line to it is we’re not [bowl eligible]. Everybody can have their opinion about what else they want to do, but the bottom line to it is we’re not going. They scored three more points than we did.
“I’m very thankful for the seniors. To be honest with you, I’m really thankful for all the younger guys who could’ve been a lot of different things and played well. We still came up short seven times this season, and not a lot of things were on their favor. We went on the road a lot. Not a lot of big games at home, so we have between now and next September to try and fix some of those things.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
