Gary Patterson says he parted ways with TCU during football season to ‘stop the noise’
Former TCU football coach Gary Patterson said he stepped down after 21 seasons on Sunday because he felt that’s what was right for the team and TCU.
He wanted to “stop the noise” with so much negativity surrounding the program with three straight losses and questions arising about Patterson’s future with the school.
Patterson had a brief conversation with the Star-Telegram on Thursday night, his first public comments since parting ways with the school.
Patterson’s decision helped “stop the noise” as he desired. The attention has shifted from his departure and the team’s losing streak to the search for the school’s next coach.
As far as his future, Patterson said: “I have all options open. I don’t know which direction I will go. Right now I want to help my coaches and players the best I can to have a good finish to the season.”
Patterson thought about making a guest appearance on ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday, but opted not to in the best interest of all parties. Instead, he’s waiting for the separation agreement with TCU to be finalized and then will have more to say. He’s taking his time with so many memories and people to thank for helping him along the way to become one of the most successful coaches of this generation.
For now, he sounded content and remains all-in with the 2021 TCU team. The Frogs are 3-5 overall and must win three of their final four games to become bowl eligible.
Patterson has shown up to work with the team this week, helping his assistants game plan and watching the walk-through portion of the practice. Patterson raved about how special assistant Jerry Kill has stepped into the interim role and how his defensive assistants have handled the workload since he’s left.
Patterson won’t be coaching Saturday’s game, of course, but will be watching closely. He hasn’t given up on the 2021 season even though he’s not in the head coaching job anymore.
Patterson, 61, left as the school’s all-time winningest coach with a 181-79 record. TCU won six conference championships in three leagues and had six AP top-10 finishes over 21 seasons. He coached 18 first-team All-Americans and had 55 players selected in the NFL Draft.
The football success is why TCU climbed up conferences, from the Western Athletic Conference to Conference USA to Mountain West to eventually the Big 12.
Patterson made it clear that he’ll always love TCU and that Fort Worth is home. And he’s focused on sending his current group of players out on the best note possible.
This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 5:43 PM.
