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After weeks of speculation about the Texas Longhorns hiring former TCU Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson, the defensive guru was spotted at the basketball game between Texas and the Kansas State Wildcats at the Erwin Center on Tuesday evening.
Gary P x CDC spotting in the Erwin. pic.twitter.com/RvjSZeoRX1
— TBC (@TexasMBBcountry) January 19, 2022
Patterson was seen in a suite with Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte, Patterson’s former boss in Fort Worth, but Patterson’s hire is not yet official, even though Horns247 reported that he’s already at work for the Longhorns and Patterson was wearing a white pullover with a Longhorn logo.
Gary Patterson is sitting in a suite here at the Erwin Center wearing a white pullover with a Texas logo. "Nothing official," he said. Considering all the HR steps to get hired by a state agency, it may be summertime before it's official.
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) January 19, 2022
On Jan. 9, Texas posted a job listing for special assistant to the head coach, a role with responsibilities including:
- Assist with special projects assigned by the Head Football Coach.
- Assist with the overall practice and game day preparation, statistical analysis, and video analysis of opposing teams.
- Assist with self-scouting of offensive, defensive and special team’s schemes.
The possibility of adding Patterson to the Texas football staff in some capacity surfaced more than a month ago and advanced in early January when he reportedly visited Austin to meet with the coaching staff and tour the football facilities.
Now it appears that an official hire is imminent for the longtime TCU head coach, who is regarded as one of the top defensive minds in the country. Texas struggled defensively under first-year coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, finishing 99th in scoring defense and 52nd in FEI.
Winter conditioning began on Tuesday for the Longhorns as classes for the spring semester started.