In the time since he was first brought on as an assistant at TCU in 1998, Gary Patterson has seen just about everything one can as a college football coach.
There have been conference changes. There have been the extreme highs and extreme lows, ranging from a Rose Bowl victory to College Football Playoff exclusion. But none of that has kept Patterson -- now the longest-tenured active head coach in the Big 12 -- and the Horned Frogs from maintaining a level of stability over the past two decades that many programs can only strive for.
And one ingredient in the recipe for success that Patterson prides himself on: A willingness to tell it like it is to his players, even if it’s not what they prefer to hear.