Gary Patterson was paid more than $17.2 million in his final year as head coach, according to tax documents obtained by USA Today.
Patterson and TCU mutually parted ways on Oct. 31, 2021, ending a 21-season run as head coach and a 24-season association with the program. He joined the program as defensive coordinator in 1998 and was elevated to head coach in 2000, following Dennis Franchione's departure for Alabama.
Patterson went 181-79 at the helm, and along the way elevated the university from Conference USA to the Mountain West to the Big 12 (with a brief stop in the Big East along the way). He led the Frogs to at least a share of a title in all three conferences. His 2010 team went 13-0, won the Rose Bowl and finished No. 2 in both polls; the 2014 outfit went 12-1, won a share of the Big 12 championship, pummeled Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl, and finished No. 3 in the nation.
The university and Patterson parted ways on Halloween Night of the 2021 season, and the move included a lump-sum payment of nearly $11.5 million. Patterson also earned $4.85 million in salary. It is not clear where the remaining $850,000 in reported compensation came from.
Patterson's $11.5 million buyout was not the highest among coaches let go during or after the 2021 season. LSU paid Ed Orgeron more than $17 million not to coach the Tigers, and Dan Mullen netted $12 million as part of his separation from Florida.
Patterson spent 2022 as a special assistant at Texas, but will not return to that role in 2023. The future College Football Hall of Fame coach is not presently attached to a team for the 2023 season; should that remain the case, it would be his first season away from a college football sideline since his senior year of high school in 1977.
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