Texas Football Head Coach Steve Sarkisian Reflects on Working Under Pressure

Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian didn’t come to Austin unexperienced. From head coaching positions to NFL offensive coordinator, Sarkisian had basically done it all.

“I was fortunate to be a head coach before, right?” Sarkisian said on ‘Big Noon Conversations’. “Having been at, what that was and trying to resurrect that program. Having been an assistant at USC under Coach Carroll. Then being the head coach there – what that felt like and what that looked like. Then having been an assistant at Alabama under Coach Saban. I’ve always tried to kind of observe and watch but then also take in my own experiences along the way.”

Nonetheless, his first season at Texas wasn’t a fairytale.

The Longhorns started the season ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll, but for the first time since 1956, the program lost six consecutive games. Sarkisian’s first season ended on a disappointing 5-7 record.

In season two things started to get better. From starting unranked to wrapping up the season at No. 25, Texas finished up the season with an 8-5 record, a big improvement from the year prior.

What everyone talks about though, is the 2023 season. Heading into the program’s last year in the Big 12 Conference, the Longhorns started with a No. 11 ranking. After a stunning victory over No. 3 Alabama in week two, the team moved up to No. 4.

Sarkisian’s Longhorns ended the regular season with only one loss in a thrilling Red River Showdown against Alabama and were ranked No. 3 with a spot in the College Football Playoffs after defeating Oklahoma State in the conference tournament. Texas fell to Washington in the semifinals 37-31.

When Chris Del Conte, Jay Hartzell, and Chairman Eltife offered him the job, he had to reflect on what he was signing up for. The expectations others had for him? He had it much higher for himself.

“Once you kind of come to that realization that you know what you’re signing up for and you understand what the expectations are – why am I taking this job? Is it just to be a head coach again? Or is it to strive to be a champion? Then can you do it again and again and again?”

Going into the Southeastern Conference, there is a massive target in Texas and Sarkisian’s back. But for the head coach, he has the best job in college football.

“Do what you love, love what you do,” Sarkisian said. “This is the greatest job in America. I get to come into this building every single day. I get to try to serve others as best I can, to try to lift them up to be the best that they can be.”