Report: Update on Gary Patterson's coaching future

Gary Patterson became the focal point of the college football world on Sunday when it was announced the longtime TCU coach would be stepping away from his post leading the Horned Frogs.

When these moves happen, college football fans naturally wonder what the next move will be.

According to one reputable ESPN reporter, nobody should be surprised if Patterson ends up on the sidelines in the future instead of stepping away from the game and relaxing on a beach somewhere.

“From talking with a few sources tonight, wouldn’t be surprised at all if Gary Patterson coaches again. Not really the retiring type,” ESPN’s Adam Rittenburg tweeted.

It’s far too soon to speculate on potential destinations, or debate whether Gary Patterson would drop a level as stay on as a head coach, or potentially take a coordinator or assistant role with a Power Five program.

There are already, however, reports swirling about the frontrunners to replace Patterson at TCU when the 2021 campaign officially comes to an end.

Gary Patterson at TCU

Patterson has been the frontman at TCU for 20 years and is widely considered a highly-respected name in college football circles.

The 2021 Horned Frogs had lost three-straight games, and with conference realignment talks, the transfer portal and the college football landscape getting even more competitive, the TCU brass felt now was the time for a change.

“The story of Gary Patterson and the rise in the fortunes of the TCU football program over the last 20 years is clearly one of the most remarkable in the history of college football. We are grateful to Gary and Kelsey Patterson and appreciate everything they have meant to TCU and the Fort Worth community,” athletic director Jeremiah Donati said in a statement Sunday night. “Under his leadership, TCU has become a nationally recognized brand name in football and in collegiate athletics.”

It’s been reported that TCU decision-makers asked Patterson to finish out the remainder of this season, but he declined. Instead, longtime assistant Jerry Kill — who has plenty of experience as a head coach during his long coaching tenure — will fill in as interim head coach.

Patterson arrived at TCU as Dennis Franchione’s defensive coordinator in 1998 and took over as head coach in 2001. He went 181-79 at TCU and oversaw the Horned Frogs’ rise from being left behind after the breakup of the Southwest Conference back through Conference USA, the Mountain West and back into the Big 12, largely due to the success the school had under Patterson.

He was the second-longest tenured college football coach in the nation, trailing only Kirk Ferentz of Iowa.