Gary Patterson is gone from Texas Longhorns football, and home to help Fort Worth

Gary Patterson is no longer a Texas Longhorns football coach.

But he is still a force for good in Fort Worth and Texas.

The day the news broke that Patterson will leave UT after a year as a football special assistant, he was speaking to Austin students on charity leadership.

He didn’t drop any hints.

But he did tell communications students at UT’s Moody College: “Wins and losses kept my job, but that’s not what I wanted to be remembered for. I want to be remembered for giving back.”

Patterson is one of the last championship coaches of college sports’ amateur era.

He might or might not coach again. But in 247sports.com’s report on his departure, Patterson said he plans to “help college football on a larger scale.”

Now his main work can involve helping coaches — and now, newly paid players — put their money to work for good causes.

His Gary Patterson Foundation has helped fund Fort Worth causes for more than 20 years.

A more recent effort with singer Leon Bridges, The Big Good, raises more than $1 million for local charities.

The Big Good will announce new partners at a March 7 event in Fort Worth.

At one of seven UT appearances over two days in classrooms and lecture halls, Patterson told students how recruiting visits take coaches to streets in “places where most people wouldn’t drive down.”

“As a coach, you try to make a difference not only in life, but in the community’s life,” he said.

“At some point in time, I want to tie north, south, east and west Fort Worth together and make them work as one, and I think we’ve gotten a lot closer to being able to do that.”

One Austin panel topic was “Leading Positive Change: Collaborating to End Homelessness.”

“We’re calling him ‘Professor Patterson’ now,” said Minette Drumwright, a professor of advertising and public relations and host of the discussion.

Patterson spoke at five scheduled Moody College events and had two more informal events, she said.

UT hopes to have him back as a speaker, she said: “He brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to our students.”

The lecture series is funded by late Fort Worth UT alumni Ann and David Chappell. That discussion was moderated by former Mayor Kenneth Barr and also included leaders from the Presbyterian Night Shelter.

Patterson’s wife, Kelsey, a UT alumna and treasurer of the Patterson Foundation, also mentioned the big-money change for college coaches.

“The money has gotten so big that a lot of people are in it for the wrong reasons,” she said.

“It’s really about coaching and mentoring people.”

Today, that also includes mentoring athletes on how to help the community that gave them love and support.

Patterson talked about how his and Bridges’ partnership in The Big Good has helped feed 100,000 local people and more through the Tarrant Area Food Bank.

In some of his last comments to the UT students, he said:

“You want to make sure you partner with the right people,” he said.

“They’ve got to treat people right .... You have to make sure you partner with people who make a difference.”

Patterson is back to make a difference in Fort Worth.