Gary Patterson Named Home Depot National Coach of the Year

How much can change in a year? Quite a bit. From 4-8 in 2013 to 11-1 in 2014, the Horned Frogs broke onto the national radar in a big way this season. Now, the accolades are rolling in, and TCU's head coach Gary Patterson has received the latest award. He's been named the Home Depot National Coach of the Year.

From ESPN's press release earlier today:

The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award will be presented to TCU’s Gary Patterson as a part of The Home Depot College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. ET, on ESPN. Patterson led the Horned Frogs to an 11-1 season and the Big 12 co-championship title.

With Patterson at the helm, TCU – picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 by the media during the preseason – captured a share of the title in just its third year in the conference. In his 14 full seasons as head coach, Patterson has led TCU to nine 10-win seasons including this year. The Horned Frogs had just four 10-win seasons prior to him taking over. He is the winningest head coach in TCU history (131-45). The No. 6 Horned Frogs will face No. 9 Ole Miss in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 31, 2014 at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.

It's Patterson's third award of the year, as he was named Big 12 Coach of the Year by both the Associated Press and the Big 12 earlier this week.