New York Giants defensive line coach Andre Patterson revealed to ESPN that he coached this season while undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
Patterson, 65, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Montana in 1982. He shared a simple message:
“Make sure you get checked.”
According to ESPN, Patterson’s prostate cancer was diagnosed early in the 2025 calendar year, and several players learned of it in the spring. He told ESPN his health outlook was positive.
Patterson, who has had a distinguished career coaching many great defensive linemen, came to the Giants in 2022.
Patterson coached through a health crisis in 2022 that caused him to spend eight days in an Intensive Care Unit, miss several weeks of work, and coach practices from a cart when he did return.
Patterson told ESPN he has used lessons from throughout his life to teach players.
“Stuff happens in life,” he said. “Learning those things as a young man is going to help them down the road as they deal with other things that happen to all of us in life’s journey. So that is the way I approach it. I tell my guys all the time, if all I do is teach you how to be a good football player, I’m cheating you. I have to help you with life’s journey. So we talk about things other than football a lot because my job is to also prepare them for what life is going to give them when they are no longer a football player.”
In an exclusive interview with Patterson before the 2023 season, I asked him why he kept going.
“Because I love it,” he said, adding with a laugh, “You sound like my wife.”
“When my feet hit the floor in the morning, I’m still excited about going to work,” Patterson said. “I’m excited about being around my players and seeing my players every day and the camaraderie with the coaches. It’s what I love to do. It’s what makes me tick.
“It’s more of that than I would say chasing the dream of winning a Super Bowl. Don’t get me wrong, I want to do that, and I’ve got a burning desire. And I want to try to achieve that and help our team reach that goal. But it’s more that I love what I do, and it’s a huge, huge part of who I am. And I guess I’m just not ready to let it go.”
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