The “Hour of Dominance” was nice while it lasted. For about one hour Friday afternoon, K-State football fans had the answer to their prayers. They had Gary Patterson.
GoPowercat.com reported that Gary Patterson agreed to a contract to coach at K-State. Unfortunately for Patterson fans, the Web site took the story down shortly after it was put up.
Athletic Director Bob Krause and Patterson’s agent denied the story. Patterson acted outraged about the whole ordeal.
He even called ESPN-FM 103.3 in Dallas on Friday to voice his feelings.
“I don’t appreciate the way the whole thing has been handled,” Patterson told the radio station. “If anything, it would probably give Kansas State a far less chance of me even picking up the phone and talking to my alma mater. I’m disappointed in the way the whole thing was handled.”
He’s even said he’s not pleased with schools that fire coaches midseason. This would put K-State, which fired Ron Prince with three games left on the schedule, in Patterson’s doghouse.
Now, I’m not going to point any fingers at GoPowercat.com or the K-State administration. If Patterson refuses to come to K-State, the main reason won’t be because of those two.
If Patterson truly wants a new job, and he believes K-State is the best option, he’ll be a Wildcat. It’s that simple.
Even if Patterson was upset about the GoPowercat article, do you think that one story would be enough to make him say, “I’m done with K-State”?
K-State doesn’t control the site. That’s all Krause would need to remind Patterson. Surely, Patterson would agree his alma mater can’t control an independent Web site.
It’s also unlikely that firing Prince midseason will have a huge effect on Patterson’s decision. First of all, look at his possible options. Clemson fired Tommy Bowden after six games. Tennessee will force Phillip Fulmer, who won the national title in 1998, to leave after this season.
Do you think Patterson is going to want to go to those places if giving a coach a fair chance is important? As even Prince acknowledged during his Monday press conference, coaches are fired midseason all the time. It’s a business.
Here’s a scenario that could hurt K-State: Texas Tech coach Mike Leach takes the Tennessee job. That could open up the Texas Tech job for Patterson.
That situation would be ideal for Patterson. He’d have a Big 12 job with a high-powered offense in place. He’d be stupid not to take it.
Patterson might not come to K-State, but it won’t be because of the crazy events of last week.
Jon Garten is a senior in print journalism. Please send comments to sports@spub.ksu.edu.