Texas AD reveals intricate, surprising details on Gary Patterson hire

Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte sat down for a long interview with On Texas Football to discuss all the current and future happenings with Longhorn sports. Among the topics of conversation was how former TCU head coach Gary Patterson ended up on Steve Sarkisian’s staff this offseason.

“It all came about because of Steve,” Del Conte shared. “Two years ago, Nick Saban had 10 former head coaches on his staff. Ten. You look at Lane (Kiffin), Steve, the coach at Maryland (Mike Locksley), Charlie Strong, Mike Stoops. … Steve was very familiar with that. When Gary and TCU decided to part ways in mid-October, the phone rang.

“I rolled over to his office and he said, ‘Do you think there’s a chance that coach (Patterson) would come here?’ I said, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll put you two together.'”

Del Conte described his long-standing relationship with Patterson, stemming back to the mid-1980s when the new Texas staffer was on staff at UC Davis. However, he also made it clear that it was Patterson and Sarkisian’s bond that brought him into the fold.

“It took a long time, from that initial, ‘I’m no longer the coach at TCU’ sting, … Steve was dealing with his own issues, and here comes Gary, and they have a conversation,” Del Conte continued. “They just vetted each other out. Gary said, ‘I’m not interested in taking anyone’s job. I just want to help Steve. I love the guy, I love his personal story.’ They had these really in-depth conversations … That took two months. I was just the connector. Really what I did was, I stayed out of it, because I didn’t want Gary or Steve or the fans to think I had anything to do with it. My job was just to add a little food coloring, a burnt orange drop into the mindset.”

Gary Patterson helping out in Austin

Patterson is making $150,000 to serve as a special assistant to the head football coach. When he was the head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs, Patterson was making just north of $6 million.

He spent over two decades as the TCU head coach before they mutually decided to part ways during the middle of the 2021 season. He dominated the Longhorns during his time in Fort Worth, winning seven out of the 10 matchups since joining the Big 12 in 2012. Now, he’s on the other side, wearing burnt orange. Patterson has already been recruiting Texas and has been in pictures with recruits since his arrival in Austin.