How former TCU football coach Gary Patterson is already making an impact at Texas

Even Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte was taken back by the first sight of former TCU coach Gary Patterson in burnt orange.

And he knows a little something about making the color transition after he moved from TCU to Texas in 2017 and went from a Horned Frog hero to a pariah in Fort Worth.

He further cemented his name as a bad word among the TCU faithful when Patterson, who parted ways with the Horned Frogs after a legendary 20-plus seasons in November, was named special assistant to Texas coach Steve Sarkisian in January.

But even Del Conte, like a lot of TCU fans, was initially left speechless and slack jawed by the first sight of Patterson in Texas colors.

“It was one thing for me when I moved down and changed jobs. But you are an athletic director. It’s completely different when it’s the ball coach,” Del Conte said. “When I saw him the first day I was like damn … that was a little bit crazy to me. You see him one way. He was iconic at TCU. And the same state. But the first time I must admit I was like, ‘He is actually here wearing a burnt orange shirt and visor’.”

It’s all good now and the sight of Patterson in Texas is no big deal, said Del Conte, who was in Dallas on Wednesday as part of the Texas Fight Tour, sponsored by the Texas Exes, with Sarkisian and men’s basketball coach Chris Beard.

The tour will resume Thursday night in Fort Worth at Stockyards Station.

Patterson is not expected to be in attendance.

He is all-in at Texas in terms of his energy, attitude and enthusiasm.

Sarkisian says Patterson is already making his presence felt with his head coaching experience and defensive schemes that the Longhorns plan to incorporate into their system.

Sarkisian said former head coaches view the game from a different lens than traditional position coaches. They see things differently.

“Gary has been a great addition,” Sarkisian said.“Gary has been a great another set of eyes for me. I bounce ideas off of him. Sort of big picture. He has got a really good rapport in the building and with our players. He is a natural guy that people like to connect to and talk to. I couldn’t be more pleased with the addition of Gary.”

Sarkisian is not threatened by Patterson’s head coaching background because of his own experience at Alabama, where he was offensive coordinator under Nick Saban before coming to Texas. Saban traditionally has a number of former head coaches on his staff, including Sarkisian from his days at USC, with the focus on hiring the best people in order to get the best results on the field.

And that is Sarkisian’s philosophy with Patterson, who will be counted on to help a Texas defense that was historically bad in its season under coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski.

In 2021, the Texas defense ranked 99th in yards allowed, 100th in yards per play, 100th in touchdowns, 101st in sacks, 104th in yards per rush, 107th in rushing touchdowns, 80th in opposing passer rating, tied for 104th in interceptions and tied for 102nd in passes defensed.

Patterson is a defensive guru known for his 4-2-5 attack at TCU where he gave offenses fits with his mix of zone and aggressive man coverage and blitz packages to get to the quarterback.

Sarkisian acknowledged Texas will be more aggressive, play more man and tighter coverages than the soft zone Kwiatkowski employed last season.

“That is all part of it,” Sarkisian said of Patterson’s schemes. “He is a great defensive coach. We would be remiss to not utilize him in our building.”

Patterson agreed to mutually part of ways with TCU during the 2021 season when the Horned Forgs were 3-5 and had lost five of their last six games.

He left TCU with a 181-79 record, including an undefeated 13-0 season in 2010 that was capped by a Rose Bowl victory.