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Players support switch to Patterson
Associated Press
MOBILE, Ala.-- Gary Patterson's first game as a head coach
is his team's 12th, and biggest, of the season.
But 10-1 TCU's erstwhile defensive coordinator feels well
prepared for his debut against Southern Mississippi (7-4) Wednesday
night in the Mobile Alabama Bowl.
"The equipment guys are all the same, the football operations
guys are the all the same," said Patterson, who replaced Dennis
Franchione on Dec. 8. "The only guy that's different is me, and
I've got more control over me than most do -- except my wife."
Still, it wasn't until five days ago that Patterson knew he
would lead the Horned Frogs (No. 16 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP). Initially, the players had voted for Franchione to coach the final game even while recruiting
and assembling a staff at Alabama.
|  | | TCU Heisman finalist LaDainian Tomlinson said players were put off that Dennis Franchione wore a Crimson tie to the award ceremony. |
Athletic director Eric Hyman reversed that decision last Friday.
Patterson said he had "very little" to do with the switch, and
wouldn't have had a problem playing second fiddle one more time.
"I wish Fran would have coached in the ball game," he said.
"For me, the best thing is this is not about TCU, it's not about
Alabama, it's not about Coach Fran. It's about the TCU football
players. They're the ones who put their time and their effort and
everything else into this, and they're the reason we're
successful."
TCU tailback LaDainian Tomlinson said most of the players think
Hyman made the right call. He and some of his teammates took
umbrage when Franchione wore an Alabama red tie to the Heisman
Trophy banquet instead of the Horned Frogs' purple and gold.
"I think a lot of guys had changed their mind about Coach Fran
coaching, especially after Coach Fran had on that Crimson Tide
tie," said Tomlinson, the nation's leading rusher each of the past
two seasons. "A lot of guys were like, 'Man, that's wrong.' They
really didn't want him to coach.
"It was a little bit disrespectful to me, him doing the way he
did."
Linebacker Shannon Brazzell said he expects the transition to go
smoothly.
"Everything's the same," said Brazzell, one of the players on
a unit that leads the nation in total and scoring defense. "We're
doing everything the same. When we're practicing, (the defensive
players) never see Coach Fran anyway. We're doing the same things
we've been doing since Day 1, and that's preparing to win."
Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower doesn't expect much to change.
"They are not going to do anything different," said Bower,
whose team has lost three of its last four games after a 6-1 start.
"It won't affect them. You have your coordinators on both sides of
the ball. They won't miss a beat."
Patterson will be joined by new offensive coordinator Mike
Schulz, promoted from running backs coach, and the rest of
Franchione's staff. That includes the seven assistants who went to
Alabama with Franchione, who plans to attend the game.
Patterson doesn't think the double duty will be that tough.
"I'll still kind of take a back seat watching except when
there's questions that need to be answered, like going for it on
fourth down or attempting an onside kick and doing the things a
head coach has to do," Patterson said.
"It's a lot easier now than being the head coach next year,
because I know what to expect from every coach on this staff and
every player."
Quarterback Casey Printers doesn't think the switch will be a
distraction.
"Gary Patterson is our head coach, and he's getting our minds
focused," Printers said. "We'll be ready to play this football
game."
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