As Texas and TCU face each other in Fort Worth for the first time in nearly 20 years, rumors are swirling that the Horned Frogs' head coach could become a Longhorn.
There has been speculation that Texas coach Mack Brown's job is in jeopardy -- and the name of TCU coach Gary Patterson is in the rumor mix.
When asked if he would consider taking a job as head coach at UT, Patterson told NBC 5, "Well, there's not a good answer to that, good or bad."
Patterson went on to say that Brown and his wife are good friends, as are others at Texas.
"Right now, I'm a Horned Frog," Patterson said. "I'll leave it at that."
"I don't think there is a bigger job," he said when asked if he planned to reach for "bigger jobs" than his position with the Frogs. "TCU maybe used to be a job that was a stepping stone, but I think it's a destination job now," he said.
At TCU, Patterson has focused on the whole person, not just the football player.
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"I tell them, 'If I'm going to spend more time raising you than raising my own sons, we need to do it right,'" he said.
He put the formula into place 16 years ago.
"These players are used to handling football; they're not used to handling the problems of everyday life that we are," said his wife, Kelsey.
"Really the method behind the madness is Gary trying to prepare the players for their own success," she said.
And there has been plenty of success -- five conference championships and seven bowl wins, including a Rose Bowl victory.
But there have also been lows. In early 2012, four football players were accused of selling drugs and were arrested. Later that year, the team's star quarterback was arrested on a DWI charge and was suspended.
"It's part of life," Gary Patterson said. "They're just a microcosm of everything else that's going on. You hope that you've done enough that you stop it, but I am not so naive to understand that it always goes well."
The Pattersons also try to make a difference beyond TCU. Their foundation supports economically disadvantaged children all over North Texas.
"Through our foundation, you're able to impact the lives of kids in your community and develop roots within a community," Kelsey Patterson said. "That's something that coaches don't always get to do."
"They give us more than what we give them," her husband said. "I think people need to understand that my strength is the kids."
Kickoff for Saturday's game against the Texas is at 6:30 p.m. The game is the Frogs' first home game at night this season.
