Gary Patterson Reportedly A Candidate For Head Coaching Job

© Provided by The Spun FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 19: Head coach Gary Patterson of the TCU Horned Frogs leads the Horned Frogs against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium on November 19, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

College football's coaching carousel is spinning into overdrive after concluding the regular season.

Another vacancy surfaced Monday when UNLV fired Marcus Arroyo despite improving to 5-7 this season. The Rebels could potentially consider a prominent replacement.

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman speculated Gary Patterson as an "interesting name" to monitor.

Patterson went 181-79 in 22 seasons with TCU. He was college football's second-longest-tenured head coach behind Iowa's Kirk Ferentz when fired after amid a 3-5 start last year.

The Horned Frogs are 12-0 under Sonny Dykes and likely one win away from cementing a College Football Playoff bid. Meanwhile, Patterson spent the year as a special assistant to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. 

UNLV has only notched a winning record once in the last 20 years, going 7-6 with a Heart of Dallas Bowl loss in 2006. The Rebels went 7-23 in three seasons under Arroyo, losing his first 14 games as head coach.

Patterson started as TCU's head coach when UNLV last won a bowl game in 2000. He led the Horned Frogs to an 11-6 bowl record and was named AP Coach of the Year twice.

Hiring Patterson would be a big move for the Mountain West Conference program.