TCU's Gary Patterson Emerging As Front Runner For Arkansas Head Coaching Job

HT: coachingsearch.com

Coachingsearch.com is citing sources that indicate TCU head coach Gary Patterson has emerged as the front runner for the head coaching position at Arkansas.

Patterson has become a fixture at TCU guiding the Horned Frog football program onto the national stage first as a BCS buster then forcing BCS conferences to extend invitations. 

It’s not the first time Patterson has been wooed before but Arkansas can make a compelling case to make the move.

1. SEC School

2. Lots of $$$$$$$

3. Facilities

4. Patterson won’t have to shift his recruiting focus.

5. Rabid fan base

To go with point #2, Patterson makes close to $3 million per year at TCU on a contract that runs to 2018.  Arkansas shouldn’t have any problem coming up with some major dollars.

For one thing the Hogs didn’t have to pay off Bobby Petrino when they fired him with cause and John L. Smith is make chump change so athletic director Jeff Long doesn’t have financial liabilities to deal with.

If Gary Patterson is in Jeff Long’s cross hairs I would expect Patterson to be calling the Hogs in the next few weeks.  When Jeff Long wants someone to coach one of his programs he gets the deal done (i.e. Bobby Petrino and men’s basketball head coach Mike Anderson.)