Blackwell Commentary: Making Change

Charlie Strong. (Will Gallagher/IT)

Change is what we want. And we want it now, of course. Change your outlook. Change your fortunes. Change your culture. Make change. And then, change your mind.

Change was certainly in the air – say, a few floors high in the air at Belmont Hall – during the 2013 football season. The Texas team was struggling along toward an 8-5 record (although that’s relative – Charlie Strong would’ve LOVED being 8-5 last season, and would take that record for 2015, too), and people were unhappy.

Change the defense. Change the offense. Change the AD. Change the coach. Heads must roll, fat must be trimmed. Too many people entitled, too many people with a country club mentality, too many people have been here too long.

Change needed to come, and the sooner the better.

The AD change ended in the selection of Steve Patterson, an administrator with a professional sports pedigree and a reputation as someone who gets from point A to point B in an absolutely straight line. He’s known as a “shake’em up” guy, someone who embraces, and thrives, in atmospheres that require significant change.

When he was hired – and even before he was hired – many saw Patterson as “exactly what UT needs”: DeLoss Dodds had been sitting in that chair a long time, and plenty of burnt orangers wanted to change the chair’s occupant. He was the anti-Dodds. Trim the fat, don’t chew the fat.

Which brings us to the summer of 2015.

Evidently new UT President Gregory Fenves has been getting some complaints pertaining to Patterson, and the two have reportedly met to discuss the direction of the athletics program.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know that Patterson’s methods have been reported to be abrupt, aloof, and without the requisite warmth that many alums grew accustomed to during the Dodds/Mack Brown years. He’s raised ticket prices, has been a bit vague about the football gameday atmosphere and doesn’t appear overly concerned about how people perceive him.

Fans have definitely complained about his methods and motives, and now it appears that alums – and Fenves – are getting more involved in the Patterson saga.

The facts are simple on paper.

Fans and UT wanted change. UT got change by hiring Patterson. Patterson hired Strong (and later, Shaka Smart). Patterson raised ticket prices. Patterson oversaw the Rick Barnes exit, which was awkward to say the least. Patterson didn’t talk much, and when he did, some folks were still not sure what exactly he said. Fans complained about lack of clear communication from the AD. Reports surfaced about Patterson being too tight with the budget. Reports surfaced that he was dismissive of alums.

And now, reports have surfaced about his meetings with Fenves, and what that means for Patterson in particular and the UT athletics department in particular.

Will Patterson lose his job? Certainly not right now. Could it happen in a year? Absolutely, especially if Patterson stubbornly maintains his current attitude, which includes him saying “No” recently when asked if he worries about a perception problem with fans. At UT, perception is everything, and Patterson doesn’t seem to grasp that just yet. He needs to understand this reality, and quickly.

Whether he should or shouldn’t lose his job is a question for Fenves, but even Patterson seems to realize that he, too, must change. What needs to happen?

* Patterson’s hirings of Strong and Smart must prove to be both strong and smart (is it too much to ask that the football team beat TCU and Baylor?)

* Patterson must communicate more clearly

* Patterson must – must – learn to schmooze with the alums, even if it goes against every fiber in his body. If it wasn’t in his job description, then it should be added, today, by Fenves. This needs to be non-negotiable.

* Patterson must not be overly tight with his money – send he full band to Lubbock, for Bevo’s sake!

* Patterson must pay coaches – and provide travel quirks – that are equal to or greater than that of UT’s competitors in the Big 12. We are, supposedly, Texas. Act like it.

If he can makes these things happen, then he will indeed prove to be “perfect” for the job. If not, then change is gonna come. Again.