What if? What if Gary Patterson had left TCU for Tennessee in 2020?
When Gary Patterson talked to Tennessee about its vacant head coaching job in 2020, it was the third time in his career the Vols had explored hiring the then-TCU head coach.
Given how it all turned out, this is one of those “What might have been?” situations had Tennessee offered the job to Patterson.
Patterson talked about this to the Star-Telegram and Associated Press on Monday evening before accepting the Legends Award at the Davey O’Brien ceremony in downtown Fort Worth.
At the time of these discussions with Tennessee, it had just fired Jeremy Pruitt after it finished 3-7 during the COVID season, and was again looking for another head coach while its athletic department was a toxic waste dump.
Patterson said he was on a call with his wife, Kelsey, and longtime friend Jerry Kill, who at the time was a member of his staff, when he talked to Tennessee. The Vols were looking for what would be their fifth head coach since Phillip Fulmer was fired after the 2008 season.
TCU was aware of this conversation, and Patterson said chancellor Victor Boschini called him and said, “Don’t leave.” At that time, Patterson was under contract through the 2023 season.
“This is right when the [transfer] portal is coming, and so all those 26 seniors that were part of [TCU’s 2022] national championship group, there was a great chance that maybe half of them, because it was right before signing date, could have left,” he said. “So I couldn’t find a plan.”
Had Patterson left for Tennessee, it would have created a butterfly effect, starting with TCU would have avoided the difficult separation from the popular head coach.
Tennessee ultimately went with Josh Heupel, who is currently the longest-tenured coach the Vols have had since Fullmer. Patterson would coach eight more games for TCU before he “resigned” in late October ‘21.
Patterson had been fiercely loyal to TCU, which both empowered and financially rewarded him over the years, but the coach was always aware these things end. Knowing when to get out before you “get got” is one of the hardest tasks for any successful coach.
His task today is different from 2020: “It’s one of those things that I just wanted to write the end of my story the way I wanted to write it.”
That’s why he is the defensive coordinator at USC as he attempts to nail the hardest task in coaching: Ending in a way that won’t bug you for the rest of your life.
Will Gary Patterson ‘fit’ better at USC than he did at Texas and Baylor?
Patterson is 66, and looks like he stopped aging the day he “resigned” from TCU. Not coaching looks to have had a positive impact as he accepted the Legends Award. “Legends” don’t normally keep coaching. When a person is voted into a Hall of Fame, like Patterson was recently into the College Football HOF, it usually means they’re retired.
Patterson never formally retired, but was merely waiting/hoping for another chance to coach.
Patterson said Monday that USC coach Lincoln Riley called him two years ago to inquire about his interest in joining his staff then, but Patterson passed. Patterson was aware of the specifications to qualify for the College Football Hall of Fame, one of which is to be “retired” for three seasons.
Patterson worked at Texas under coach Steve Sarkisian in 2022 as a defensive analyst. That lasted one season.
Baylor coach Dave Aranda hired Patterson to be a “senior level strategic consultant” in February ‘24. That lasted six months.
According to staffers at both schools, neither stint worked for Patterson because he wanted to do more than those positions allowed. It was awkward, clunky, and it didn’t fit.
The interest to hire Patterson at other places had mostly been tepid. Because of his age. Because of NIL/transfer portal. Because he was the man in charge at TCU for 20 years.
Will USC “fit” better than his previous two jobs? In February, sure. When the Trojans play Oregon on Sept. 26 is another matter. If Riley allows him to be the DC, and GP doesn’t try to be the head coach, this can work.
“I wanted at some point in time to coach in the Big Ten,” said Patterson, who the last time he was the designated defensive coordinator was at TCU, in 2000. He was the de facto DC in his TCU head coaching tenure.
USC gave Patterson that chance because Riley desperately needs to fix a defense that has been the reason he has not won a playoff game, or a national title, at Oklahoma or USC. Patterson said he doesn’t plan to deviate from the scheme that helped make him a national name during his time at TCU, one that is mimicked so frequently now by so many teams.
If this works, it will give Patterson the chance at the ending to a brilliant career he desires, or he will be just another great coach whose finale didn’t work the way he wants.
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
