Couldn't translate it (2003 Conference Championship) into better recruiting because his asst coaches were the dregs left over after all his really good assts had all gone on to their own gigs. BTW, their recruiting class was supposed to be a very good offensive line class but I guess Rivals blew that, along with several issues with those kids.
Look, tcu is a great school but it is not in a BCS conference and is a small, private college ($$$), which can hinder recruiting because of higher academic requirements. KSU is in the Big 12 north (weaker division) of a very good, well-respected conference. Patterson's recruiting ties in Tx would be excellent for the KSU job. He's from KSU, which has excellent ties to the JuCo's in the state, providing another talent base.
Patterson is not going to sit at tcu and wait to see if Fran can rebuild it because Fran wouldn't leave KSU if he got the job and rebuilt it. Simple truth is, after where Fran has been, he would settle in at KSU if he got the job, and got the job done....and Patterson knows that. Patterson has been at tcu long enough to know his value probably won't get much higher (unless he has a magnificent returning group of players for next year), and that KSU is a great fit for him.