Steve Sarkisian has embraced his time with Texas football and is ready for more

Texas football a program with a rich background in the sport’s history. Only so many teams present themselves in the way Texas does. From the burnt orange to the “hook 'em Horns” slogan, the Longhorns have become a national treasure.

However, there has been much displeasure through the struggles that ensued over the past decade. Many Texas fans will remember Vince Young and Mack Brown as the catalysts to the once “glory days” in Austin, Texas. As the Longhorns look to reshape those profound memories, the new bandwagon now stores fresh faces. 

At the head of the helm is Steve Sarkisian, current head coach for the Texas Longhorns. “Coach Sark” is a name that holds great significance to the recent success of the Texas. Upon his arrival to Austin, Sarkisian formerly coached at Washington, USC, Alabama (two stints), and with the Atlanta Falcons. In Sark’s first season (2021) with Texas, his team greatly disappointed following a 5-7 overall record. 

Sarkisian’s second year consisted of just as much disappointment. With one season under his belt, an 8-5 record would not cut it for the Longhorn faithful. This record came with a roster that featured the likes of star running back Bijan Robinson, along with quarterback Quinn Ewers. 

Coach Sark spoke on his drastic turnaround from his first two seasons at Texas, to the last season which called for a playoff appearance—this rapid ‘breakthrough’ season, shifted the fandom greatly in favor of Sarkisian, with much belief in his abilities to lead Texas to a National Championship. 

“Well, I think part of it was our culture,” Sarkisian said at SEC media day via On3. “We had to keep building our culture, the things that were important to us, and that takes time. It takes time to learn the schemes. You bring in coaches and you have an idea of what you want to run, and that’s nothing against a previous staff, but maybe they didn’t recruit the types of players that fit what we wanted to be and how we wanted to play. So that takes time, too.” 

Prior to Texas’ vast success in 2023, Sarkisian made major moves including the signing of five-star quarterback recruit Arch Manning in 2022, as well as signing former Georgia wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, who fit seamlessly. Following the subpar 2022 season, Texas was ranked as the preseason eleventh team in the country. From there, the flight took off. 

“There’s development of players in your program, so hey, I’ll tell you this much, 5-7 in Austin, Texas, sucks. That was hard. That was hard on me. That was hard on players. That was hard on a lot of people. 8-5 was a little more palatable for people. But as you continue to stay committed to who you are and you stay committed to your course of action, you stay committed to what you believe in, over time you start to reap the benefits of that.” 

Sarkisian obviously came a long way in his short amount of time in Austin. His success was built through the years as it took a wave of development, patience, and time to get Texas football back to where it needed to be. In just three years, Steve Sarkisian took his football team from a losing record to playing in the playoff. Texas fell to the Washington Huskies in the Sugar Bowl, with a dramatic 37-31 finish. 

There’s nothing like building something from the ground up, and that is essentially what coach Sark has done. With the passion and determination that lay at the heart of Texas football, Sarkisian has embraced every moment thus far. Sarkisian has made it well known that he is only ready for more challenges, and enjoyment to go along with the ride.

“That’s my challenge as a coach is to get our team in that frame of mind but, yet still enjoy the experience. There’s nothing like playing college football. It’s the greatest sport in the world. I know we’re going through all sorts of different changes right now, but the popularity and the excitement around college football right now is bigger and better than it’s ever been.”