Hall of fame college football coach to return after brief hiatus

Former TCU head coach Gary Patterson is returning to coaching after taking some time away.

TCU Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson reacts during the first half. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

You can take the old coach out of football, but you simply cannot take the football out of the old coach.

Former TCU head coach Gary Patterson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame just last week, but he was unable to ignore the itch he has to return to the sidelines. Throughout the week he had been linked to USC's defensive coordinator role, with the deal becoming official on Friday. As confirmed by ESPN's Ptete Thamel, Patterson has accepted a role to join Lincoln Riley's staff at USC.

"Per sources, this deal is done and Gary Patterson will be USC's next defensive coordinator," wrote Thamel.

Patterson, 65, last worked for Baylor as a consultant for six months before the start of the 2024 season. He also served as an analyst for Texas during the 2022 season. Before both of these roles and what he is best known for, Patterson was the winningest coach in program history at TCU.

During his time in Fort Worth, Patterson posted an 181-79 record as the head coach of the Horned Frogs, winning one CUSA championship, four Mountain West titles and the program's first Big 12 title in 2014.

TCU Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson reacts during the second. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Patterson will be replacing D'Anton Lynn, who left USC to take the same role at his alma mater, Penn State. While USC fans are likely upset that Lynn left, they certainly have to appreciate how much this defense improved under his guidance.

With Lynn at the helm on defense, the Trojans' defense went from averaging 377.1 yards per game in 2024 to 348.8 in 2025. They also saw their points allowed per game drop from 24.1 to 22.4 during that same time.

Patterson will inherit a talented defense, and will also be adding some key transfers to the fold as well. The Trojans have the No. 29 portal class in the country to go along with their No. 1 recruiting class, with notable additions such as corners Carrington Pierce (Oklahoma State) and Jontez Williams (Iowa State), as well as defensive linemen Zuriah Fisher (Penn State) and Alex VanSumeren (Michigan State).

It will certainly be interesting to see how the defense responds to Patterson's style of play, but it does feel safe to assume that many around the sport respect the hire from Riley.

USC finished the 2025 season with a 9-4 record, posting the most wins under Riley since his first season on the job in 2022.