Benedict Patterson!

[Sangria Wine]

That’s a little different than the story Gary tells. He says it was about honoring the wishes of one man, who was afraid he otherwise wouldn’t live to see it. . .
I personally don’t buy into the Gary as Messiah belief that without him TCU would be nothing. I believe that gives dramatically short shrift to the legions of TCU folks who went “all in,” to make it happen.
And there’s probably nothing I’ve ever seen that a diva loves more, than being, “forced to accept,” fan adulation.

So Gary accepted something he didn’t want. Same thing I said.

Every team in the Big 12, SEC, B1G are “all in” for football/athletics and yet they don’t all win big because they don’t have the right guy at the helm who cultivated a massively successful program. Being “all in” is a precursor to being able to keep around a guy like GMFP for 20 years but being “all in” doesn’t mean you get one. You can’t catch a fish if you don’t go fishing…but just going fishing without a clue probably won’t result in you catching any fish. Being “all in” is like saying, well our AD has a pulse and is breathing so we gotta give him some credit for that!

 

[Wexahu]

So Gary accepted something he didn’t want. Same thing I said.

Every team in the Big 12, SEC, B1G are “all in” for football/athletics and yet they don’t all win big because they don’t have the right guy at the helm who cultivated a massively successful program. Being “all in” is a precursor to being able to keep around a guy like GMFP for 20 years but being “all in” doesn’t mean you get one. You can’t catch a fish if you don’t go fishing…but just going fishing without a clue probably won’t result in you catching any fish. Being “all in” is like saying, well our AD has a pulse and is breathing so we gotta give him some credit for that!

GP was 45-41 in the Big 12. Is that winning big?

 

[06DallasFrog]

Without him doing what he did nobody else would have ever had the opportunity to do their part in his system. There’s a reason all the money people and insiders made the choice to put a statue of the man outside the stadium even when he did not want them to do so.

I'm pretty sure the story is that it was done by a single donor who wanted to see it in place before she passed.

 

[froginmn]

GP was 45-41 in the Big 12. Is that winning big?

He got us to two BCS bowls, which got us the Big12 invite. Then he got us to the Peach Bowl and a spot where we should have made the playoff.

That is winning big.

 

[froginmn]

That’s a little different than the story Gary tells. He says it was about honoring the wishes of one man, who was afraid he otherwise wouldn’t live to see it. . .
I personally don’t buy into the Gary as Messiah belief that without him TCU would be nothing. I believe that gives dramatically short shrift to the legions of TCU folks who went “all in,” to make it happen.
And there’s probably nothing I’ve ever seen that a diva loves more, than being, “forced to accept,” fan adulation.

I'm very grateful to the donors who helped make the growth happen.

Without Gary's on-field and program-building success, however, it doesn't happen. We can see many examples of coaches who started with a bigger foundation and received as much and more financial support without the success. You only need to look as far as College Station.

I very much believe that if Gary hadn't had the winning seasons and remarkable outcomes he did, the money may have dried up quickly.

 

[Limey Frog]

I'm very grateful to the donors who helped make the growth happen.

Without Gary's on-field and program-building success, however, it doesn't happen. We can see many examples of coaches who started with a bigger foundation and received as much and more financial support without the success. You only need to look as far as College Station.

I very much believe that if Gary hadn't had the winning seasons and remarkable outcomes he did, the money may have dried up quickly.

Yep. Supposedly SMU boosters have pledged $200M already for their ACC venture. I doubt either that they see it all in real gifts or that the ACC holds together very long, but even if both do happen that money will do nothing for their program by itself. Unless Rhett Lashlee is SMU's GP $200M will take them nowhere.

 

[This Ain't Chopped Liver]

GP was 45-41 in the Big 12. Is that winning big?

Coach Patterson’s teams finished in the Top 25 twelve times and the Top 10 seven times which included a #2 ranking and undefeated season with a Rose Bowl win and #3, #7 and #9 rankings while playing in the Big XII.

No other coach has done that while coaching at a small private school that can’t crack into the Top 20 recruiting classes. We should all be very grateful that he stayed.

And he did this with TCU beginning on a bottom rung of college football.

YES, that was winning BIG!

Two and a half years later now, and I don’t understand some here continuing to try and diminish his legendary accomplishments that engaged alumni and boosters and brought us here today.

How many would be on this KF forum if not for Gary Patterson winning BIG?

 

[froginaustin]

I'm pretty sure the story is that it was done by a single donor who wanted to see it in place before she passed.

Widely reported and discussed at length on this site.

 

[tmcats]

i'd rather play tcu without gary patterson than with him.

 

[froginaustin]

i'd rather play tcu without gary patterson than with him.

A flattering sentiment and a deserved compliment for Gary.

 

[Wexahu]

i'd rather play tcu without gary patterson than with him.

From 2018-2021 I wouldn't have minded playing TCU with Gary Patterson.

He was a great coach for a good part of his career but by the end he was not a great coach, or even a good one. His program, one that he had almost complete control over, was a mess. Why do you think he's taking analyst positions now and not being offered decent HC jobs?

 

[froginmn]

Why do you think he's taking analyst positions now and not being offered decent HC jobs?

Because he's 64 (tomorrow).

I have no doubt that programs would be offering if he were 15 years younger. I have no idea whether he has received interest from other schools and turned them down or if he hasn't received interest at all.

There's no question that the last few years have been tough, but if he were younger he'd absolutely have interest from mid-tier if not big programs.

 

[DeuceBoogieNights]

Saban just retired at 72. JoePa coached forever. Mack Brown is 72. Just saying.

 

[TCUdirtbag]

How does his serving as a consultant or assistant at another school diminish what he did for TCU, not just football, but the entire athletics program and university?

He deserves to stand alongside Abe and Davey.

Like them, he can stand there when he’s dead.

 

[TCUdirtbag]

He sold HARD for a head coaching gig over the last year. It says something that no one would take him....even with his credentials. Wild.

People keep saying this, but he was on an extended trip in Africa when all the openings came up this cycle. If he were that invested, he would’ve been on hand to interview.

The truth is he has an inflated ego and thinks he’s a candidate for Big 12 or even SEC gigs, when in fact he should be lucky to get an AAC or CUSA type gig.

 

[BrewingFrog]

Saban just retired at 72. JoePa coached forever. Mack Brown is 72. Just saying.

The landscape of College Football has changed monstrously in the last 5 years. The Portal, NIL, and all the attendant zaniness surrounding them have changed how Coaches relate to players. The "Tough Disciplinarian" archetype is as dead as Caesar now. Kids, confronted by a Coach who doesn't worship them and expects effort and sweat, will simply transfer elsewhere. Boosters, who paid $500K to lure a kid to the Program, will howl like hell when said kid is "dissatisfied" with how he's being treated. And it's probably worse than I think it is...

Patterson was sick of this before he was quit, with his "...it's like babysitting your Boss' kids." remark at a Media Q&A. It's worse now, and I don't blame Saban or Butterteeth if they hang up their whistle and go loaf on a beach somewhere. The World has changed, and not for the better.

 

[TCUdirtbag]

A football coach is a bit misunderstood from my standpoint. WHY??... Why pray tell would you want to coach 18-22 years in the first place? We live in a volatile society, with huge amounts of money, stress beyond comprehension, workload, family, and so on and so on, adding of course the handling of Mom and Pop and why isn't johnny isn't playing.. Then I ask why someone hasn't taken that job for such an interview. Forget the sports talking heads, that would be greasing the pan, so who would I ask to do this? So I elected Ben Shapiro, a very smart, conservative man, a competitive person himself, not associated with sports to my knowledge, and dig into the persona of a coach. Holy of all holiness, would that be interesting! The give and take from both sides would be great entertainment and would be the first order for us. We might understand both the conservative view and the idiot approach to being a coach. Sometimes we think we know it all including a love - hate environment but we don't have a clue..

Wut?

 

[tetonfrog]

If GP really wants to coach again, then he will have to swallow his pride and take a DC job. That will force him to work on a daily basis, recruit, scheme and be a fulltime coach again. I doubt he is willing to do that, especially the recruiting part - both high schools and in the portal.

This was the real problem during the last four years of his time here. He got tired of recruiting and it showed on the field. I still cannot believe that he could not bring elite - or even decent - DL to TCU after LJ and Big Ben were drafted in the first two rounds. And any team he would take over would need a big infusion of talent. Why would any AD risk that a refreshed GP would devote himself to recruiting again when he basically stopped doing that here? And GP made it very clear how much he hated the transfer portal.

And, to be clear, I don't enjoy saying these things. I will always respect GP and appreciate his contribution to our school, but the last several years were a nightmare for us. Example #1: he could not beat SMU at home. Sonny is not our coach now if GP has not gotten beaten at home against them twice.

 

[OICU812]

I'm very grateful to the donors who helped make the growth happen.

Without Gary's on-field and program-building success, however, it doesn't happen. We can see many examples of coaches who started with a bigger foundation and received as much and more financial support without the success. You only need to look as far as College Station.

I very much believe that if Gary hadn't had the winning seasons and remarkable outcomes he did, the money may have dried up quickly.

Harbaugh at Stanford. Stoops at OU. Hawkins at Boise. Harsin at Boise. Briles at Baylor. Snyder at KState. Kelly at Oregon. Carroll at USC. Alvarez at WhizzConsin. Franklin at Vandy. Swinney at Clemson. Fickell at Cincy. Schnellenburger/JJ at Miami.

Did Gary do a great job here? For sure, until he didn’t. But the, “Only Gary,” refrain is silly, and it ultimately probably contributed to his demise.

 

[HFrog1999]

Trying again:

Gary = TCU legend
Gary to Gaylor = dumb, pitiful
Gary in yellow = barf