TCU’s Patterson hints at play-caller change, but it’ll have familiar feel
Gary Patterson is reverting back to how TCU’s offense was run when Sonny Cumbie and Doug Meacham were co-offensive coordinators from 2014-16.
“It’s going to be just like before when they were together,” Patterson said on a conference call with select media members last week.
Those seasons saw Meacham serve as the Horned Frogs’ primary play-caller and he’s expected to do so again this season. Cumbie has called plays since 2017 when Meacham departed for a job at Kansas.
Meacham rejoined the staff in the off-season as inside receivers/tight ends coach and also lists “passing game coordinator” on his Twitter bio.
Meacham is expected to call games from the field as he did in the past, a source said.
TCU had one of the nation’s best offenses in 2014-15 with Meacham calling the plays. The team went a combined 23-3 those seasons, highlighted by a co-Big 12 championship and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl victory in 2014.
TCU was the nation’s most improved offense that 2014 season. The Horned Frogs increased total yards per game by 188.2 and points per game by 21.4. The points per game improvement was the most since Northwestern went up 24.0 points between 1999-2000.
The Horned Frogs continued that trend in 2015, setting multiple single-season school records. They ranked third nationally in total offense (562.8 yards per game) and seventh in scoring (42.1 points per game).
TCU has regressed in the seasons since, ranking in the bottom half of the 10-team Big 12 in points and passing offense the past two seasons. The Frogs averaged 23.5 points (ninth in Big 12) and 211.5 yards passing (eighth in Big 12) during an injury-plagued 2018 season, and then averaged 30.3 points (seventh in Big 12) and 203.7 yards passing (ninth in the Big 12) last season.
Patterson has repeatedly said throughout the off-season he expected it to be a “conglomerative effort” between Cumbie and Meacham with special assistant to the head coach Jerry Kill serving as the de facto “offensive head coach.”
TCU is looking to bounce back from two disappointing seasons. The Frogs went 5-7 last year, missing bowl eligibility for just the third time during Patterson’s tenure.
TCU is scheduled to open the season against SMU on Sept. 12 at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
