Texas Football Just Suffered a Gigantic Loss That Could Impact The Program

Gary Patterson serves as an analyst at Texas.

Getty Image / Tim Warner


It’s been over a decade since Texas football has truly been in national championship contention. That seems impossible when you consider their resources and location, but it is the unfortunate truth for Longhorns fans.

But, I think coach Steve Sarkisian has the program heading in the right direction. Yes, the Longhorns went only 8-5, but they showed flashes of greatness.

Former top-overall recruit Quinn Ewers was excellent at quarterback at times, and not-so-great at others for Texas.

And, they’re bringing in Arch Manning, heir to the Manning quarterback tradition, as well as another great recruiting class. I think Texas will make the playoff in 2023 before joining the SEC in 2023.

But, they just suffered a huge loss for the program.

Patterson is the former legendary coach at TCU, where he went 181-79. His hire as an analyst at Texas was widely considered to be a great hire.

Here are some more details, courtesy of 247sports.

Gary Patterson says he learned as much as he contributed as a special assistant to Steve Sarkisian at Texas but will step away from that role while he tries to “help college football on a bigger scale.”

“I’m so appreciative of Steve Sarkisian, the players and fans for my time at Texas this past year,” Patterson told Horns247 on Thursday. “I loved my time in Austin. I jumped into that role right after leaving TCU, and I put off a lot of stuff foundation-wise, because I wanted to be a sponge. I wanted to see how the coaches on staff there (at Texas), who have been at places like Alabama and Washington, recruit; how they handle practice; and how they handle things like NIL (name, image and likeness).

“I learned so much and have so much respect for guys like Pete Kwiatkowski and Jeff Choate and Bo Davis, and really, really enjoyed the players. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get to August and I’ll want to come back — if Sark would have me. But right now, I feel like I need to take some time for my wife, kids and grandkids while also looking to see if I can help college football on a larger scale.”

He will be hard to replace for Texas.