I don't remember what I've previously posted on Gary Patterson and TCU, but it's been something I wanted to capture. This is one of the remarkable sports stories of our time. To put it in context, imagine waking up in 15 years to find that Vanderbilt has become a perennial power, contending for conference titles and living in the top 20. It's easy now to forget how bad TCU was. We don't remember a time when TCU was even decent, since it hadn't happened since before we were born.
Gary Patterson, surly as he is, has created a money-making brand out of literally nothing. 160 wins in 17 seasons, a 74% winning percentage, 11 seasons of 10+ wins, 5 times in the final AP top-10, 10 wins in 16 bowl appearances, 2 major bowl wins, 6 consensus all-Americans, and twice national coach of the year, at TCU, where they had not finished in the AP top-20 since 1959!
I have said and still believe that if you judge a coach by performance vs. expectations, then Patterson is at the top. In a business dominated by huge state schools with sparkling tradition, he puts little TCU in the national discussion on a regular basis. And, thanks to his 47-5 run from 2008-2011 including the most improbable Rose Bowl win in history, he dragged the Frogs into the Big 12, meaning millions in revenue for the school. We wondered if he could adapt to a power conference, so after going 11-14 to start, he reeled off a 23-3 run with 2 top-7 AP finishes in years 3-4, and with this year's 11-3 finish, got to the 11-win mark for the 3rd time in 6 Big 12 seasons.
Despite a personality very hard to like, let's appreciate one of the great coaching jobs we'll ever see.
S
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
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