High school and college Patterson started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at
Montana. He then became an assistant coach at
Renton High School from 1983 to 1986 and
Saint Monica Catholic High School in 1987, where he also coached the varsity baseball team. He returned to the college football level in 1989 with
Western Washington university as a defensive coordinator. As head coach at
Cal Poly, newly an
FCS-level team, Patterson led the
Mustangs to one
American West Conference championship and recruited future pros including
Kamil Loud and
Antonio Warren. In 1997, he received his first opportunity to coach in the
National Football League.
NFL In 1997,
New England Patriots head coach
Pete Carroll brought Patterson in to be the defensive line coach. Patterson then became a defensive line coach for the
Minnesota Vikings,
Dallas Cowboys,
Cleveland Browns, and
Denver Broncos.
Return to high school level In 2007, Patterson returned to coaching high school football, becoming the offensive line coach at
Regis Jesuit High School, where his son was an incoming freshman.
Return to collegiate level Patterson became an assistant head coach and defensive line coach at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) from 2008 to 2009. He became the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at the
University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 2010 to 2012. His most recent college football stint was with
Florida International University (FIU) in 2013 as an assistant head coach and defensive line coach.
Return to the NFL Minnesota Vikings In 2014, Patterson returned to the
Minnesota Vikings as the defensive line coach under first-year head coach
Mike Zimmer. Patterson led a strong defensive line in 2015, when the Vikings won their first
NFC North Division title since 2009 and allowed the fifth-fewest points on defense. Patterson was given the title of assistant head coach, along with co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach, by the Vikings on April 14, 2021.
New York Giants On February 10, 2022, Patterson was hired by the
New York Giants to be the defensive line coach under head coach
Brian Daboll. During the
2025 NFL season, Patterson remained with the Giants as he battled
prostate cancer. On January 22, 2026, Patterson was fired by the Giants following the hiring of
John Harbaugh. ==Personal life==