FORT WORTH, Texas — Most TCU fans know Gary Patterson as the fiery coach on the sidelines every Saturday during the fall. As Patterson has joked, he doesn’t have the best poker face when it comes to hiding his emotions during a game.
Off the field, though, Patterson is a different guy. He likes to say there’s “Coach P” on Saturdays and then there’s “Gary.”
Well, “Gary” has come out amid the coronavirus pandemic. Just ask Jerry Kill, one of Patterson’s closest confidants who joined the program as a special assistant this offseason.
“I think the thing that’s got us through (the COVID-19 crisis) is Gary,” Kill said. “Coach Patterson — everybody looks at him as the high-strung this and that. He’s been very, very calm and works very hard in trying to see where this is all going to go. He’s the president of the AFCA. He’s handled everything really, really well as far as trying to keep us all staying positive. We’ll wait and see what happens.”
As of now, how the football season plays out is anybody’s guess. Maybe it starts on time. Maybe it’s delayed a few weeks, or possibly pushed back to the spring. Maybe fans are allowed. Maybe they aren’t.
But, just like in games, Patterson and his staff have made adjustments on a seemingly daily basis. TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said he and Patterson are in constant communication with the latest developments amid the crisis.
“We are preparing to be flexible and to adapt to whatever the moment calls for,” Donati said. “No one is panicking.”
Patterson has described himself as being as busy as ever in formulating plans for whatever may happen next. If programs are allowed 29 or 20 practices before the start of the season, TCU will be prepared.
There is no unnecessary worry surrounding the football program these days.
“I control what I can control and right now we’re going into finals and making sure everybody’s eligible,” Patterson said last week. “We’ve never done online classes at TCU. For our university, our chancellor, our deans, and our students … it’s been a new way of learning. I’m proud of TCU and the way everyone has handled things and gone about things. We’ve tried not to have too much panic.
“If there’s anything I’m learning out of everything, somewhere there has to be leadership. Everybody’s concerned, but at the end of the day, somebody has to show some firmness and know that the sun is going to come up tomorrow. I’m trying to be that guy.”
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