Texas to give Gary Patterson handsome salary for a special assistant
On the morning of Feb. 9, it was first reported by Axios in a tweet what the salary of new Texas football special assistant to the head coach and former TCU Horned Frogs longtime head coach Gary Patterson would be making. Patterson will reportedly be getting $150,000 annually in this role as special assistant to the head coach with Texas.
Per Axios, they received this information “in response to an open records request”. This Axios report also noted that “at TCU, Patterson’s salary was more than $6 million”.
This is obviously a big shift for Patterson. But it’s looking like he’s willing to take a step back to find what the next steps are for him in coaching at the college level.
New Texas football special assistant Gary Patterson has his salary with the program reported by Axios
.@UTAustin is paying Gary Patterson $150,000 annually as a special assistant to the head football coach, per info I just received in response to an open records request. As head coach at TCU, Patterson's salary was more than $6 million.#Longhorns
— Asher Price (@asherprice) February 9, 2022
It goes without saying that Patterson is worth paying this annual salary for Texas. But it is pretty lofty compared to other off field coaches around the Power Five. For context, the LSU Tigers didn’t pay any one of their analysts on staff in 2018 more than half of what Patterson is receiving in 2022, per a report from Ross Dellenger of The Advocate.
Texas hired Patterson as a special assistant to the head coach last month after he spent more than 20 years as TCU’s head coach. He went 181-79 in 22 years as TCU’s head coach dating back to the 2000 season.
Patterson’s career at the college football coaching ranks dates all the way back to the early 1980s when he started out as a graduate assistant with the Kansas State Wildcats. Between his time with Kansas State as a GA and his start as TCU’s head coach in 2000 Patterson also had stops with the New Mexico Lobos, Navy Midshipmen, Utah State Aggies, and Tennessee Tech, among many other schools.
The proven experience that Patterson has coaching in the Big 12 is likely going to help the Longhorns right away, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Patterson is one of the brightest defensive minds to coach in the Big 12 in the last decade. And his track record of player development and defensive success in the Big 12.
Patterson is definitely one of the most exciting additions to the Longhorns staff this offseason. He should help the likes of second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian and co-defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski in terms of improving the personnel and overall results on defense this fall.
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Texas finished up last season with a record of 5-7 (3-6 Big 12) following a Black Friday win over the Kansas State Wildcats in the regular season finale. Sark, Patterson, and the Longhorns will be looking to be one of the most improved teams in the Big 12 in 2022.