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SEC fans, sleep on Steve Sarkisian and Texas at your own peril
By David Wasson
Published:
Here is a random college football coach’s resume, attached without the name or the schools at which he has coached:
- W/L record: 71-49 over 10 years
- Top-25 finishes: 4
- Conference titles: 1
- Playoff appearances: 1
Sounds pretty good, right? There are probably 25-30 Power 4 programs right now that would dump their guy and take that coach without even thinking twice.
Why, then, does Steve Sarkisian not get more love?
The Texas Longhorns coach enters his 4th season in Austin armed with a fresh new contract to go with his always-fresh haircut. By all accounts, Sarkisian – who can and should flash those fresh new Big 12 and CFP rings at every opportunity – should be considered in the same breath as the greatest coaches in the sport as he steps into the ring in the greatest football conference in America.
Why, then, does Steve Sarkisian not get more love?
Sark has won a ton of games and either elevated or not downgraded any stop he has been at. He took a seemingly impossible-to-meet-expectations job at Texas and somehow met expectations. Yes, his second season at Southern Cal ended abruptly in 2015 when then-AD Pat Haden fired him for violating Haden’s zero-tolerance policy regarding alcohol abuse.
Instead of heading to the coaching scrap heap after one of the highest-profile firings imaginable and undoubtedly the lowest point of his life, Sarkisian pulled it all together. He got sober, he got on the Nick Saban Coaches Rehabilitation Program and slowly dug himself out of the hole he had dug for himself. Anybody, I don’t care their profession or talent, who can recover, stay clean and retain the remarkable talent it takes to be great at their job deserves a ton of respect.
Why, then, does Steve Sarkisian not get more love?
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It can’t somehow be residual stain from Saban, right? After all, the head coach at Alabama gave second chances to more scrap-heap coaches than just Sarkisian (we see you, Lane Kiffin, and we respect the skills) because they had redeeming qualities just beyond Xs and Os. Lots of fired coaches made their way through the Nick Saban Coaches Rehabilitation Program in Tuscaloosa over the years, picking up a national title ring or two and then jump-starting their careers all over again.
By all accounts, Sarkisian did it the honest way, too. Sark took over for Kiffin when the latter bolted for Florida Atlantic just before the 2016 national title game. The Tide lost on the final play to Clemson, but Sark would use that experience to not only latch on to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons for a season as their offensive coordinator before going back to Tuscaloosa for the 2019 season – one that saw him tutor future NFL quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones.
In other words, Sark paid his dues. So why, then, does Steve Sarkisian not get more love?
Texas saw the potential that Sarkisian had in January 2021, checked all the background that Southern Cal failed to when they took on Sark during his darker days in Washington, and gave their guy a six-year deal worth $34.2 million. The mission: Rebuild the Longhorns into a national power within 60 seconds after the ink dried on the contract.
And Sarkisian did it – albeit not quite as fast as some of the oil barons around Austin would have preferred. A 5-7 first season saw a lot of weeding out, which was followed by an 8-5 campaign in 2022 that offered much hope and promise to Longhorn Nation.
But 2023, that’s where it all came together. Sarkisian began the season (after the annual Rice whipping) by taking his team to Tuscaloosa and beating Saban’s No. 3-ranked Tide 34-24 – a stunning-to-some moment that signaled Sarkisian was no second-rate boss. Yes, the Red River Rivalry loss to Oklahoma a month later let a little air out of the Longhorns’ balloon, but Texas proved that Texas was indeed back by running the remaining table and winning the Big 12 title via a 49-21 whipping of Oklahoma State.
The ensuing College Football Playoff berth ended not with more bangs but with heartbreak, as Texas couldn’t overcome Washington in the Sugar Bowl/Playoff semifinals. Texas finished 12-2, its best season since the Mack Brown glory days. With a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Quinn Evers coming back in 2024, all that oil money rolling in via various NIL collectives, and the “what is your ring size” question now able to be confidently asked of recruits high school and transfer alike, Sarkisian parlayed his success into a blingy new extension worth $10.3 million this season.
Why, then, does Steve Sarkisian not get more love?
Is it the sly smile and expertly tailored coaching gear? Is it the dollops of hair product and high-flying-yet-fundamentally-sound offense?
Why does Steve Sarkisian not get more love?
He should, no question, and if the Texas trajectory continues unabated, Sarkisian will end up posing for a bronze statue outside Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium sooner than later.
What then will the excuses be for Sark to not get more love?
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
