Phil Longo has been the head man at Sam Houston State for about three weeks now, and has been making splashes with a number of transfer portal additions while putting his staff together, and he's set to welcome a familiar face back to the Bearkats campus.
Longo is bringing Zack Patterson back to the Sam Houston campus, this time as offensive coordinator.
Patterson joined the Wisconsin staff prior to the 2024 season as an offensive analyst after serving as the offensive coordinator at Hampton (FCS - VA) for three seasons, where they averaged over 350 yards per game in his time calling the plays.
His appointment with the Bearkats marks a return, as Patterson previously served on staff from 2016-20, overlapping with Longo during the 2016 season before Phil left for the opportunity coordinator opportunity at Ole Miss.
While with the Bearkats he served as running backs coach and run game coordinator, as Sam Houston led the country in both scoring offense and total offense for two seasons in 2016 and 2017.
In addition to working alongside Longo at Wisconsin and Sam Houston, Patterson's relationship with the veteran offensive coordinator stretches back to their time at Slippery Rock, where both coordinated the offense for the Division II power.
With Patterson calling the shots at Slippery Rock (D-II - PA), he would post seasons where the offense posted program records in scoring, total yards, touchdowns, and total plays while earning a nod as a finalist for the the FootballScoop Coordinator of the Year award in 2015.
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