Steve Sarkisian Coaching History & Bio

Steve Sarkisian Teams Coached	Years Coached	Steve Sarkisian Coaching Record
Washington	2009-2013	34-29
USC	2014-2015	12-6
Texas	2021-Present	38-17 (7-1 SEC, 17-10 Big 12)

• 2000: El Camino College — QB coach
• 2001-03: USC — QB coach
• 2004: Oakland Raiders (NFL) — QB coach
• 2005-06: USC — QB coach
• 2007-08: USC — Assistant head coach/offensive coordinator/QB coach
• 2009-13: Washington — Head coach
• 2014-15: USC — head coach
• 2016: Alabama — Offensive analyst/interim OC
• 2017-18: Atlanta Falcons (NFL) — Offensive coordinator
• 2019-20: Alabama — Offensive coordinator
• 2021-present: Texas — Head coach

Steve Sarkisian Coaching History

Steve Sarkisian is a second-chance success story. A head coach with an uncertain career path less than 10 years ago now has one of college football’s most prominent programs, Texas, officially “back” to contending for national championships.

Fans who have followed college football since the turn of the century might be surprised that Sarkisian only turned 50 in March 2024. It feels like the college football community has known “Sark” for ages.

He has been a rising star. He has hit rock bottom. He’s now a coach who has reached the College Football Playoff in back-to-back seasons.

Five years after his college playing career ended, Sarkisian joined Pete Carroll’s staff at USC, where he once played college baseball, to work under Norm Chow, his former position coach and offensive coordinator from his football playing days at BYU.

In his second stint at USC, after one year in the NFL, Sarkisian started to climb the coaching ladder. He became the Trojans’ offensive coordinator, and that led to his first head coaching opportunity.

Coming off a winless season, Washington showed immediate improvement under Sarkisian. A 5-7 campaign in 2009 would be the only losing season under Sarkisian. Over the next 4 seasons, Washington would go to 4 bowl games under Sark. The fourth of those bowl bids, however, would not include Sarkisian on the sidelines.

It was back to USC again. He sought to return the storied program to its glory days with NCAA sanctions ending, but his brief tenure did not go as planned.

USC posted a 9-4 record and won the Holiday Bowl in 2014, Sarkisian’s first season. The Trojans would begin the 2015 campaign ranked in the top 10, but Sarkisian would only be around for part of the season.

Amid a 3-2 start to the season, Sarkisian took a leave of absence. There were reports Sarkisian showed up intoxicated to a pre-practice staff meeting and players smelled alcohol on his breath. Reports of other alcohol-related incidents surfaced upon the news of Sarkisian stepping away from coaching the Trojans.

Sarkisian’s leave turned into termination, putting his coaching career in jeopardy. Sarkisian sought two kinds of rehabilitation to save his career: an out-of-state treatment facility and Nick Saban Coaching Rehab.

Saban turned heads when he brought in Sarkisian ahead of the 2016 season. The former head coach joined the Alabama staff as an analyst, a low-paying off-field position on the coaching staff. It wasn’t about salary, though. Sarkisian wanted to learn from the best and get his career back on track.

At first, this looked like a rare Saban misstep. Sarkisian was the interim Alabama OC for the 35-31 loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Playoff for the 2016 season. The off night for Jalen Hurts & Company did not help Sarkisian’s standing with the Alabama fanbase at the time.

It appeared Sarkisian would just be a footnote in Alabama football history, as he left to be offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons. He was fired in his second season with the club. In a move that surprised many college football fans, it was back to Tuscaloosa.

Under Sarkisian, Alabama was a juggernaut in 2019. Tua Tagovailoa was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate before a season-ending hip injury. Running back Najee Harris rushed for over 1,000 yards, while standout wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and DeVonta Smith earned All-SEC recognition.

Alabama posted an undefeated 13-0 season en route to a CFP national title in 2020. Sarkisian’s unit was virtually unstoppable. Sarkisian’s offense posted 541.6 yards per game, ranking No. 4 in the nation. The UA offense had Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith (117 catches, 1,856 yards, 23 touchdowns) and fellow finalist Mac Jones (311-of-402 passing, 4,500 yards, 41 TDs, 4 interceptions).

Sarkisian’s success in his second Saban stint led to another head coaching job. This time, Texas came calling. Unsatisfied with the ceiling under Tom Herman, the Longhorns brought in Sarkisian to get the program back to where it belonged. Once again, he proved to be the right man for the job.

Texas had its ups and downs to begin the Sarkisian era. In 2021, the Longhorns finished 5-7 and did not go bowling.

It did not take long, however, to see Texas was on the right track. The Longhorns hosted Alabama in Week 2 of the 2022 season, and took the No. 1 Crimson Tide to the wire, falling 20-19 on a late field goal. Many fans were left feeling that Texas could have pulled off the upset if not for the injury to QB Quinn Ewers. The 2022 team was led by Bijan Robinson, winner of the Doak Walker Award and No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The following season, Sarkisian got his first statement win at Texas in a major way. The Longhorns capped the Alabama home-and-home nonconference series with a 34-24 win in Tuscaloosa. Not only did Texas win a big game, but Sarkisian showed that he had already built an SEC-ready roster, focusing on toughness in the trenches and big-play capability at the skill positions.

The 2023 win over Alabama was just the start of a season to remember. The Longhorns would go on to notch 12 victories, win the Big 12 in their final year and earn their first College Football Playoff bid in program history.

Sarkisian’s squad proved that 2023 was no fluke. The ’24 Longhorns posted an 11-1 regular-season record, earning spots in the SEC Championship Game and College Football Playoff.

FAQs About Steve Sarkisian

What is Steve Sarkisian's Salary?

Sarkisian received a significant pay bump after leading Texas to its second straight national semifinal. He’s now due to make $10.8 million in 2025, making him the third-highest-paid college coach in the country behind only Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. Sarkisian also has an automatic escalator that increases his pay by $250,000 each year. He will be making $12.3 million by the end of the deal.

What is the Length of Steve Sarkisian's Contract?

Sarkisian’s new contract, approved by the Texas Board of Regents in February 2025, runs through the end of the 2031 season.

What is Steve Sarkisian's Buyout?

According to information obtained by InsideTexas.com through an open records request, Sarkisian’s buyout would pay him 85% of his remaining contract if dismissed without cause. That would come out to be approximately $45.4 million in 2025.

Is Steve Sarkisian a New Father?

Sarkisian and his wife Loral announced the arrival of a son, named Amayas, on April 5, 2025. Sarkisian missed the Longhorns’ spring practice session to attend the birth. The 51-year-old coach has 3 other children by a previous marriage. His oldest son, Brady Sarkisian, is a junior linebacker who saw limited action for the Longhorns in 2024.

Why Does Steve Sarkisan Credit Nick Saban for Saving His Life?

Saban helped resurrect Sarkisian’s career by hiring him first as an analyst, and then as offensive coordinator after Sarkisian was fired at Southern Cal because of several alcohol-related incidents. But it was Saban’s insistence that his staff members undergo annual physicals that revealed a cardiac aneurysm doctors termed as “a ticking time bomb.” Sarkisian underwent open-heart surgery as a result of the diagnosis and has since made a full recovery while also making a recovery from his admitted alcoholism.