When it comes to head coaching jobs in college football, there’s a short list of programs that can rival the cache of the Texas Longhorns. One of the most iconic brands across all of college athletics and a staple in the fabric of college football history.
Steve Sarkisian became the 31st head coach of the Longhorns in January of 2021 and is now fresh off of his strongest season to date. Leading the team to an impressive 12-2 season and the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff appearance ahead of their transition to the SEC. And in a recent sit-down interview with Joel Klatt, Sarkisian was asked what the best part is about being the head man for Texas.
“I can get into any restaurant I want,” Sarkisian said laughing with Klatt. “The food in Austin is great.”
“No, you know what it is? Not being from, Texas and you hear so much about what it is like to be the Texas head coach, and having been fortunate enough to be at some great places. And then you get here and you kind of put the hat on, and myself, I feel like I work for everybody else and then I try to go about my day like that.”
Sarkisian made head coaching stops at Washington and USC prior to his tenure with the Longhorns. Making him accustomed to the responsibilities of the job that go beyond just X’s and O’s.
But at a program like Texas, Sarkisian revealed that the support is what stands out and separates Texas from other programs in the country.
“But man what comes out of it is how many people support you, want you to do well, are willing to help in any capacity that they can,” Sarkisian said. “Whether it’s the high school coaches, the Texas High School Coaches Association, what that means. And I feel like I’m their head coach because I’m coaching their kids. To our donors, our boosters, our student body, the other athletes on campus, and so I just try to do my best to support everybody.”
“But in reality, probably the best part is that everybody’s supporting me, knowing that being the flagship program in the state of Texas and being the football program here. We’re on the front line, and we represent everything that the Texas Longhorns are about,” Sarkisian concluded.
There’s no question that when it comes to a strong donor and alumni base, Texas has some of the best support in the country in an era of college football that could be potentially defined by a program’s ability to navigate in the NIL and recruiting space. And it will be fascinating to see how far that support can help take Sarkisian and the Longhorns this upcoming football season and beyond in the future.
