Bob Stoops on TCU handling of parting ways with Gary Patterson: 'Terrible'

Much like the rest of the college football world, former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was shocked to hear the news about Gary Patterson. The longtime TCU football coach reached a mutual agreement with the school Sunday to part ways.

The winningest coach in Horned Frogs history, Patterson was in his 22nd season at the helm. Even before TCU was a member of the Big 12, the coach led them to a Fiesta Bowl victory in 2010. However, the program has struggled of late. Patterson’s last year with more than seven wins was in 2017.

“It’s terrible,” Stoops said. “I hate it for all parties. Gary Patterson is who put TCU on the map. Without Gary Patterson, they’re (not) in the Big 12 right now. For goodness sake, they have a statue of him in front of the stadium. For the administration and he not to be able to finish out the year in a positive way, and from there decided what to do is very unfortunate. I’m not there to know all the details, so I’m not blaming any particular party. But in my eyes, it’s incredibly unfortunate for a guy that has invested so much into that university and football program. To not have a chance to leave in a positive way, I hate it.”

The Horned Frogs are on track to miss out on a bowl game for the second time in three years. Although they were invited to the Texas Bowl in 2020, that game was ultimately canceled because of COVID-19.

They currently sit at 3-5, ahead of only Kansas in the conference standings. Assistant coach Jerry Kill is slated to serve as the interim for the remainder of the year.

Kill returns to a head coaching role for the first time since 2015. He coached Minnesota from 2011-15, stepping down due to health reasons. He returned to coaching in 2017 as the offensive coordinator at Rutgers and then joined Virginia Tech as a special assistant in 2019.

Patterson’s midseason departure is one of several across college football so far this season. In the same conference, Texas Tech fired coach Matt Wells ahead of a Week 9 game against the Sooners. LSU, USC and Washington State also made midseason coaching changes.

Gary Patterson gave Bob Stoops, and many other coaches, plenty of trouble over the years. Still, the former Sooners head man was 7-2 against Patterson in his career. The recent move from the Horned Frogs to let go of one of their all-time greats shows that in today’s age of college football, job security is falling lower and lower.