Football
- Title:
- Assistant Head Coach; LB/Special Teams Coordinator
Darrell Patterson is back for his 11th season at Rice University and his sixth as Assistant Head Coach and his eighth year of coaching the Owl's linebackers. He also serves as Special Teams Coordinator (seven years) and Run Game Coordinator (fourth year).
Patterson enters the 2017 with a linebacking corps led by 2016 All Conference USA pick Emmanuel Ellerbee and a host of experienced players looking to step into the void created by the graduation of three-year starter Alex Lyons at linebacker. His special teams lineup is highlighted by junior punter Jack Fox, who also handles the kickoff duties, while incoming freshman Will Harrison and two-year letterman Haden Tobola come into camp competing for the placekicking duties.
Ellerbee led C-USA and finished sixth nationally in tackles last year and enters his senior year as a candidate for a number of national honors.
In his six seasons overseeing the Owls special teams, Patterson has produced one All-American (punter Kyle Martins) and one freshman All-American (kick returner Mario Hull) in addition to the most productive kicker in school history, Chris Boswell who departed with all the school records for field goals and kick scoring. Boswell took over as the Pittsburgh Steelers kicker in 2015 and set a club record for field goals by a first-year player (29) as well as records for more postseason field goals (7).
In addition to his coaching duties, Patterson also continues to spearhead Rice's recruiting efforts in Canada, where he had a playing career in the CFL for seven seasons (1984-90). The Owls have signed a total of eight Canadians in the past nine years, including All C-USA offensive tackle Scott Mitchell and All C-USA tight end Luke Willson. Two of those signees (Willson and Christian Covington) were drafted into the NFL. In 2016, Canadian product Peter Godber will enter his second year as one of the starters at offensive guard.
Patterson joined the Rice coaching staff on February 20, 2007 after two seasons coaching the linebackers at Stanford University.
Patterson's collegiate playing experience took place at Texas Christian University, where he was a standout linebacker from 1979-82. He is a member of the TCU Hall of Fame and remains the school's all-time leader in tackles (544), unassisted tackles (286), and assisted tackles (258).
He was selected in the sixth round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, but made his way to the Canadian Football League (CFL) for a seven-year career-playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1984-88 and the Hamilton Tiger Cats from 1988-90. Patterson won a Grey Cup championship with Winnipeg in 1984 and was on the runner-up team with Hamilton in 1989.
Following his playing days, Patterson began his coaching career as an intern for the British Columbia Lions in 1991. His coaching career has, since then, led him to Akron (1992-94), Temple (1995-96), Kentucky (1997-00), Arkansas State (2001), Baylor (2002), Southern Methodist (2003-04), and Stanford (2005-07). He also had a coaching stint with Ottawa of the CFL in 1995 as the defensive line and special teams coach.
While coaching at Southern Methodist, Baylor, and Arkansas State, Patterson coached the linebackers. At Baylor, he coached linebacker John Garrett, who went on to sign an NFL free agent contract. Patterson coached defensive tackle Larry Chester during his two seasons at Temple. Chester went on to sign an NFL contract with the Indianapolis Colts.
During his four seasons at Kentucky, Patterson was part of a staff that advanced to two bowl games: the 1998 Outback Bowl versus Penn State and the 1999 Music City Bowl against Syracuse. While at Kentucky, Patterson coached safeties Willie Gary and Anthony Wajda to All-SEC honors, as well as Freshman All-America David Jackson.
Patterson graduated with a bachelor's degree in Human Relations from TCU in 1984.
He and his wife, Julie, whom he met while playing professionally in Canada, have three children together: a son, Michael, who was a three-year letterman and 2012 Rice graduate, and two daughters, Monika and Meghan, who are both currently undergraduates at Rice. Meghan was a two-year letterwinner for the Rice volleyball team.
