TCU athletic director will support whatever staff changes Gary Patterson wants to make
TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati doesn’t plan to meddle with any possible staff changes that coach Gary Patterson might plan to make for the football program.
Patterson will have full say in whatever direction he feels the program needs to take this offseason. TCU is coming off a disappointing 5-7 season in which it failed to reach bowl eligibility for just the third time in Patterson’s 19 seasons.
“As the head coach, he’s ultimately responsible for directing the adjustments he sees as necessary to continue to move our football program forward,” Donati said Saturday. “My role in the process is to collaborate and provide support where necessary.”
The biggest question centers on the offensive side and the future of co-offensive coordinator and play-caller Sonny Cumbie, who has received much criticism from fans and outsiders who feel the offense has regressed.
TCU closed the season with its two worst offensive performances at Oklahoma last week and against West Virginia on Friday afternoon. Both games saw the offense produce fewer than 300 yards of total offense.
The Horned Frogs had just 65 yards passing at OU, the fewest by a Big 12 team this season. They had just 297 yards of total offense against WVU, only the second team that failed to reach the 300-yard mark against WVU.
TCU failed to score 30 points in four of the final five games as well, and will rank in the bottom half of most offensive categories among Big 12 teams — except rushing offense.
The Frogs averaged 30.3 points and 407.7 yards per game this season. They were solid in the red zone, converting 50 of 53 trips into points (29 touchdowns, 21 field goals).
But TCU also lost three games when the defense held an opponent to fewer than 300 yards of total offense (K-State, Baylor and West Virginia). The offense turned the ball over 20 times this season too.
It’s unclear how quickly Patterson will make a decision on Cumbie and others on the staff. But it’s safe to say a decision should come sooner than later with the NCAA’s early signing period running Dec. 18 through Dec. 20. Most programs want to have staffs in place for recruiting purposes.
It’s believed Cumbie is under contract through the 2020 season. Patterson had little interest discussing Cumbie’s job status following Friday’s loss.
“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.”
Cumbie, a former Texas Tech quarterback who started his coaching career as a graduate assistant on Mike Leach’s staff at Tech in 2009, 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 struggled 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.
This season saw the offense go through expected growing pains with an inexperienced quarterback in true freshman Max Duggan. He showed flashes, at times, of being the future face of TCU football, finishing with 2,077 yards passing and 555 yards rushing.
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.
For now, though, it’s a wait-and-see approach to how Patterson may adjust the staff going forward.
This story was originally published November 30, 2019 at 12:41 PM.
