Gary Patterson

Patterson began his coaching career in 1982 at Kansas State University as an assistant to head coach Jim Dickey. After subsequently serving a number of years as an assistant coach at a number of different schools, Patterson was hired by Dennis Franchione as the defensive coordinator at the University of New Mexico in 1996. He had previously served as a linebackers coach at Tennessee Tech (1983-1984) where Franchione was the offensive coordinator and in the same capacity on Franchione's Pittsburg State University staff in 1988, as well as playing on the 1980 Kansas State Wildcats football team when Franchione was an assistant on the coaching staff. He followed Franchione to Texas Christian University (TCU) in 1998, serving as the defensive coordinator there, as well. Patterson was a 2000 finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top college football assistant coach. He was named head coach at TCU prior to the Mobile Alabama Bowl in December 2000 after Franchione left to become the head coach at the University of Alabama.

Patterson remains friends with former Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill from their time as coaches on Franchione's Pittsburg State staff.[10] Kill served as the best man during Patterson's wedding to wife Kelsey in 2004.[10]

Patterson won his 110th game at TCU with a 56-0 rout of Grambling, passing Dutch Meyer as the winningest coach in program history. His teams have won 10 games or more in a season eleven times. Only three times have they failed to reach a bowl, in 2004, 2013, and 2019. Patterson's Frogs have earned a spot in the year-end top 25 ten times, counting his partial season as head coach in 2000. In 2005, Patterson led the Frogs to the Mountain West Conference championship in their first season as a member. Over the course of the 2005 and 2006 seasons, the Frogs won four consecutive games against Big 12 Conference opponents, with three of the victories coming on the road. He tandem jumped with the Army Golden Knights prior to the 2005 TCU vs. Army football game, crossing skydiving off his bucket list.[11] Patterson was named the 2005 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year.[8] In January 2007, Patterson turned down a head coaching offer from the University of Minnesota worth over $2 million per year.[12]

Patterson led the 2009 Horned Frogs to a perfect 12–0 regular season record, a Mountain West Conference championship, a #4 final BCS ranking, and an invitation to the 2010 Fiesta Bowl—their first major bowl appearance in 51 years. They ultimately fell by a score of 17–10 to undefeated #6 Boise State. The 2009 Horned Frogs became the second "BCS Buster" from the Mountain West Conference (and the fourth, overall). For much of the season, they were a serious threat to "crash" the 2010 BCS National Championship Game. However, any chance of the Horned Frogs playing for the national championship ended on the final day of the season, when Cincinnati defeated Pitt on an epic fourth-quarter rally. This assured that two teams from Automatic Qualifying conferences would finish the regular season undefeated (whoever won the 2009 SEC Championship Game would have also finished undefeated). Patterson was named the 2009 AP Coach of the Year, becoming the first head coach of a BCS non-AQ conference team to win the award.[13] He won a total of seven national "Coach of the Year" awards in 2009[5] in addition to being named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year for the second time (his third conference "Coach of the Year" award, overall).

The following year, Patterson led the 2010 Horned Frogs to a second consecutive undefeated regular season and a #3 final BCS ranking. TCU received the first Rose Bowl invitation offered to a team from a non-AQ conference during the BCS era. The Horned Frogs won the 2011 Rose Bowl, 21–19, over Wisconsin to cap off only the second undefeated and untied season in school history. When TCU entered the Big 12 Conference in 2012, Patterson was faced with 7-6 2012 and 4-8 2013 seasons, but turned it around and led the Horned Frogs to their first Big 12 title in 2014, going 11-1, finishing in the top 5 of polls, with impressive wins over #4 Oklahoma, Minnesota, #7 Kansas State and scoring 82 points behind a 31-point third quarter against Texas Tech.

The 2014 TCU Horned Frogs football team shared a conference title with Baylor and were ranked #6 by the inaugural College Football Playoff selection committee. Patterson once again won several national "Coach of the Year" honors for turning the team around after the disastrous 2013 season. He was also named the Big 12 Chuck Neinas Coach of the Year.[9] Patterson now has four conference coach of the year awards, from three different conferences, all earned while coaching the same program.

In August 2016, TCU announced Patterson's contract had been extended through 2022, with an annual base salary of $4.75 million.[14] The Frogs went 6-7 (4-5) in 2016 losing 31-23 to Georgia in the Liberty Bowl. In 2017, TCU opened with a 63-0 drubbing of Jackson State. They dismantled Arkansas 28-7 in Week 2. In Week 3, the #20 Frogs beat SMU in the Iron Skillet Rivalry 56-36. In week 4, the #16 Frogs upset #6 Oklahoma State 44-31 behind a 31 carry 160 yard 3 TD performance from HB Darius Anderson. Next, the #9 Frogs won 31-24 over #23 West Virginia in a game in which QB Kenny Hill had a passing, rushing, and receiving TD. #6 TCU then won 26-6 over Kansas State and moved up to #4 with a 6-0 (3-0) start. They shutout Kansas 43-0 to be 7-0 (4-0) and leading the Big 12. However, in Week 8 they lost 14-7 to #25 Iowa State dropping to #8. They beat Texas the next week 24-7 moving up to #6, but they lost 38-20 to #5 Oklahoma. TCU bounced back by beating Texas Tech 27-3 in which Kenny Hill didn't play. In Week 13, the #12 Frogs beat Baylor 45-22 to finish 10-2 (7-2). They made the inaugural Big XII Title Game as #11 but lost 41-17 to #3 Oklahoma. They dropped to #13 and were selected to the Alamo Bowl against #15 Stanford. TCU beat Stanford 39-37 to win the Alamo Bowl.

Gary and Kelsey Patterson are dedicated to supporting children in and around Fort Worth through The Gary Patterson Foundation. Gary serves as the chairman, and Kelsey serves as the secretary/treasurer and manages the daily operations. Through grants, scholarships and collaboration with other area non-profit organizations, the foundation’s primary goal is to provide equitable educational opportunities for all children.[15]

In December 2018, The Gary Patterson Foundation donated $325,000 to 38 Fort Worth ISD elementary schools to upgrade the schools' libraries.[16] Gary and Kelsey Patterson were subsequently awarded the 2019 Texas Library Association Benefactor Award.[17]