Former TCU coach Gary Patterson’s career at Baylor has ended before it began
A move that initially looked and sounded unbelievable - Gary Patterson working as a football coach at Baylor - is over.
Baylor has confirmed that former TCU head football coach Gary Patterson’s time as an assistant at Baylor University has ended. On Friday, the school announced Patterson has left his role as “senior level strategic consultant” for the Bears.
After accepting the job in early February, the “The Gary Patterson Era” at Baylor lasted six months. A source said this was a mutual agreement; that this relationship just wasn’t working.
A Baylor athletics department spokesperson said in a statement: “Baylor Football and Gary Patterson have jointly concluded their official partnership. Gary joined us as a senior consultant in February, and he has been a tremendous asset to the team, providing valuable insights and expertise. We are truly grateful for everything he has contributed and wish him all the best as he embarks on the next chapter of his storied career.”
The former TCU head coach who “resigned” from the Horned Frogs’ position in late October of 2021 will likely spend the 2024 season out of coaching. He did not coach in 2023.
There is the growing possibility that Patterson’s time as a college coach has ended.
In December, Patterson was in the running to be the head coach at the University of Houston to replace Dana Holgersen. Patterson was a finalist for the job, but it went to Tulane’s Willie Fritz. According to people familiar with that hiring process, Patterson was the second option if Fritz passed.
With the itch to coach still prevalent, but the preference to remain living in Fort Worth, Patterson accepted an assistant position on Dave Aranda’s staff. The move allowed him to live in Fort Worth while coaching at the “power four” level.
Patterson worked as an analyst for Steve Sarkisian at Texas in 2022. Patterson left that position after one season.
Apparently the issues that existed at Texas for Patterson continued at Baylor. It is hard for a person who has been a head coach for 20 years to be the assistant-assistant. Patterson had been the full time head coach at TCU from 2001 to 2021.
The positions Patterson accepted at both Texas and Baylor are advising roles; their influence, and power, is designed to be limited. At TCU, Patterson’s influence and power was considerable.
Staffers at Texas, and Baylor, said it was simply a matter of Patterson trying, and wanting, to do more than his job allowed. The jobs he had are basically “Speak when spoken to” positions.
Patterson wanted to speak more than those respective staffs really wanted to listen.
Sarkisian invited Patterson to return for the 2023 season, with the understanding that Patterson needed to take a step back into the traditional role of an analyst. Rather than return to Austin for a second year, Patterson took a year off.
In his first fall away from football in decades, he traveled, did some entertaining, worked for charity causes in Fort Worth, and frequented some tailgates before TCU football games.
Patterson still wants to coach, but after these stops at Texas and Baylor it’s become apparent he needs to be a coordinator, or a head coach.
He is 64, and he has the necessary energy and drive to do the job. Finding the right one has become increasingly difficult.
This story was originally published August 2, 2024 at 3:27 PM.
