No Bad Blood: Gary Patterson 'Very Welcomed Addition' for Dave Aranda

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After 20-plus years as the head coach at rival TCU and a brief stint in Austin with Steve Sarkisian, Gary Patterson has landed in Waco to join Dave Aranda’s Baylor staff as a senior-level strategic consultant.

The news of Patterson’s arrival came as Aranda made a flurry of offseason changes after the Bears finished 3-9 in 2023. Patterson has and will continue to spend most of his time behind the scenes but brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Baylor’s defense, aiding Aranda, who has seen his own role change drastically. 

“Gary [Patterson] has been a very welcomed addition; he’s been a strong advocate for us,” Aranda told 365Sports at Big 12 Media Days on Wednesday.

“When you sit down with him, he’s so smart. He sees everything. Once he trusts you, he’ll tell you what he’s feeling and seeing. I’m very much appreciative of that, and I know our staff has been. There’s been a fair amount of schemes and things that he’s used [in the past] that we’re making our own.”

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Dave Aranda was the defensive coordinator for LSU’s 2019 National Championship team. 

While Patterson isn’t an on-field coach, and his interaction is limited compared to a position coach, his relationship with the players is having a direct impact.

“With Gary Patterson coming in, he’s helped the safeties a lot,” sophomore defensive back Carl Williams IV told 365Sports. “Talking it up with him is always good. He is just helping us try and get better.”

Sixth-year senior linebacker Matt Jones has also been impressed by Patterson, noting his attention to detail as something off the charts.

“I’ve talked to Aranda about things that Gary has talked to him about, such as what he sees and what needs to be fixed,” Jones told 365Sports. “And then it's just like, how do you see those things? He has a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge. This past spring, I think every time he would come to talk to me about a play or something, every time I would learn something new.”

This offseason, Aranda became the de facto defensive coordinator and play-caller, working alongside second-year defensive coordinator Matthew Powledge. The move out of the CEO head coach role to focus on the defense was one of many moves Aranda made after Baylor’s 3-9 season, a campaign that firmly put the fifth-year head coach on the hot seat.

Adding Patterson allows Aranda to brainstorm with his new assistant over game plans, practice schedules and scouting reports, among other things, while having a backup to help oversee the unit.

“Defensively, Gary is someone, where if it’s 10 p.m., and I’m working on something, I can call Gary and he’s working on something too – he never stops,” Aranda said. “You can ask him questions and his perspective on ‘Hey Dave, do this’ or ‘Hey Dave, I saw this’ or ‘You might want to look at this,’ I’m so appreciative of that. When I go into these [film studies], I know Gary can meet me there.”

For the Baylor fans who can’t fathom seeing Patterson walk the sidelines in the green and gold this season, Aranda confirmed that the plan for the long-time TCU head coach is to not be present on Saturdays.

“Gamedays, our plan for him is not to be there,” Aranda said. “Part of that was his decision. He didn’t want to be there and be a distraction. During prep time and everything [throughout the week], he’ll be very involved.”