Two well-known names in the world of Texas-based football are getting looked at to fill the head coaching vacancy left by Gary Patterson at Texas Christian University. Those are undoubtedly big shoes to fill, as he is far and away the winningest coach in TCU history, but the candidates to replace him are no slouches.
According to Chris Hummer of 247Sports, Cowboys great Deion Sanders is a candidate who the Horned Frogs are "currently working to arrange interviews with," among a list of others that includes Nevada's Jay Norvell and Clemson's Tony Elliott. Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram adds Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to that list.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Hummer also mentioned that Moore's representatives have reached out to TCU in his report, which would indicate some sense of mutual interest in learning more about the opportunity.
Sanders became the head coach at Jackson State University for the 2020 season, leading the team to a 4-3 overall record. Through eight games of the 2021 season, Jackson State is 7-1 overall and undefeated in five conference games.
Moore would fit the bill of the more offensive-minded coach that Rittenberg references in the first tweet embedded above, as he's led the Dallas offense to a lot of success. Since taking over the job as the OC in 2019, Moore has helped Dallas to compile the third-most passing yards and the ninth-most rushing yards, in addition to scoring the seventh-most points across the league. Those figures would likely be a lot higher if Dak Prescott didn't suffer a season-ending injury in 2020, which is also worth noting. Through seven games of 2021, the Cowboys rank third and first in points and total yards, respectively.
After an incredibly strong run throughout the 2000s, Patterson struggled to lead TCU to success in recent years, hovering around the .500 mark since 2018 and starting 2021 with a 1-4 record in Big 12 competition.
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