I went to college at a school that had a middling football program with a long dormant championship history. A couple years after I graduated, the school was relegated.
Gary Patterson brought them out of this and I was able to enjoy a lot of great football moments, attend a Fiesta Bowl, attend a Rose Bowl championship, see the school barely miss out on the first playoffs (and attend a fabulous Peach Bowl).
It's possible that other coaches could have brought TCU to the same heights, but Gary was the one who actually did it. For that I'll be forever grateful.