Gary Patterson Is Reportedly A Candidate For UNLV’s Head Coaching Vacancy

This Would Be Patterson’s Return To The Mountain West

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Patterson is a candidate for the UNLV job

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Texas assistant coach Gary Patterson has been linked to UNLV’s vacant head coaching position, per The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman.

UNLV fired head coach Marcus Arroyo on Monday after a 5-7 season. UNLV will be looking for a new head coach and could hire someone with decades of experience.

The 2022 season was Patterson’s first since 1999 when he was not a head coach. Patterson was TCU’s head coach from 2000 to 2021. TCU was in the Mountain West from 2005 to 2011 and Patterson won four Mountain West Championships with the Horned Frogs during that span. He has experience coaching in the Mountain West.

In October 2021, Patterson was fired after a 3-5 start with TCU. He finished his time at TCU with a 181-79 record. He was the longest-serving head coach in TCU history and the program honored Patterson with a statue outside of Amon G. Carter Stadium in 2016.

For this season, Patterson has served as a special assistant to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. If Patterson wants to make his return as a head coach, UNLV would be a place for him to leave his mark on a program. UNLV is looking to make a bowl game and Patterson has a proven winning record at TCU.

It will be interesting to see how the NIL and transfer portal landscape impacts Patterson’s candidacy. Before he was fired at TCU, Patterson encouraged TCU boosters to make financial moves for recruits and transfers in October 2021.

UNLV could make a decision on Arroyo’s replacement in the coming days.