Gary Patterson Of TCU Named Home Depot Coach Of The Year

In 2013, the TCU Horned Frogs were 4-8 and missed a bowl for the first time in 10 seasons. Gary Patterson led them back with a vengeance in 2014.

TCU didn’t get a College Football Playoff berth, but their coach, Gary Patterson, earned some hardware as the Home Depot Coach of the Year.

The Horned Frogs improved to 11-1 and were co-champions of the Big 12 Conference, but dropped from No. 3 in the penultimate CFP rankings to No. 6 in the final listings, missing out on a playoff berth.

More from College Football

Patterson has chosen to stay above the fray since Selection Sunday.

"“We have to be the leaders of what’s good not only in football but in America,” Patterson said on ESPN’s broadcast of College Football Awards Show in Orlando, Fla. “I felt so much for my kids and understood what they were going through, but my congratulations go out to the first four. To be a part of something like this is remarkable.“We got a chance to play an Ole Miss team that was No. 3—this is a playoff game, our chance to build our resume.”"

The Horned Frogs will meet the Rebels in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on New Year’s Eve.

TCU’s lone loss was a 61-58 defeat at Baylor on Oct. 11, a game in which the Horned Frog had a 24-point lead in the fourth quarter before Baylor roared back to win on a field goal at the gun.

Patterson is 131-45 in 15 seasons at TCU, the winningest coach in school history.

The award is chosen by ESPN and ABC college football analysts. Gus Malzahn of Auburn was last year’s winner.

In 2013, the TCU Horned Frogs were 4-8 and missed a bowl for the first time in 10 seasons. Gary Patterson led them back with a vengeance in 2014.

More from FanSided