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STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI – OCTOBER 25: Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns before the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium on October 25, 2025 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
The rumors of a potential NFL job have long been tagging Steve Sarkisian along for quite a few months, and this offseason, he finally had enough of them. The Texas head coach put all rumors to rest with his recent statement.
Speaking at the National Football Foundation Touchdown Club, Sarkisian doubled down on the Longhorns, putting an end to the guessing game for every anxious Texas fan.
“This is the longest I’ve been at a job in my career. Six years. I couldn’t be more excited and grateful for that,” Sarkisian said, per Texas Longhorns On SI.
“I mean this when I say this, I hope I retire at the University of Texas.”
This is the ultimate promise a coach can make—and it’s a level of commitment you rarely hear, even in the world of coach-speak.
Steve Sarkisian’s Coaching Career Makes His Promise Look Solid
GettyHead coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns arrives prior to the game against the San Jose State Spartans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 06, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Sarkisian took over the head coaching reins at Texas in January 2021, and since has delivered results that crush every doubt about his interest someplace else.
As he mentioned, his time with Longhorns is also one of his longest in his tenure,
Sarkisian has long had ties to the NFL, since he spent just five seasons as head coach at Washington, less than two full seasons as the head coach at USC and only one year as an offensive coordinator at Alabama.
And that is also a commitment after he has seen the highs and lows of coaching in the NFL for himself. He worked as the quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders in 2004 and later served as offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons from 2017-18 before returning to college football at Alabama as the interim offensive coordinator.
Among all these, Sarkisian’s stint with Texas has by far been the most successful ones. 38-17 record, 34 NFL Draft picks under Sarkisian, including six first-round selections in four seasons. On3‘s Class of 2027 composite rankings have them at No. 13 overall with one 5-star and four 4-star commits, suggesting just how much of a hotspot they are among recruits.
Texas has a roster robust enought to make a solid championship run, with one of the top-rated QBs this season in Arch Manning. Plus, Sarkisian just signed his contract extension with the Longhorns following the 2024 season that keeps him at Texas through 2031.
Sarkisian Aiming to the Longhorns Getting Better Sooner
“I’m not shy in saying we think we’ve got a great football team,” Sarkisian further mentioned during his appearance.
Last year made it obvious where Texas needs to get better, and Sarkisian isn’t wasting any time retooling those areas this offseason.
“We’re not a finished product, I think we’ve got a lot of work to do this summer. We’ve got a lot of work to do this fall camp. I think the challenge for us this year is we want to be better sooner. We want to be better earlier in the season. And thatg’s something we’ve taken the challenge on as a staff.”
With the countdown to kickoff officially hitting the 100-day mark, the real work begins now for Sarkisian and the Longhorns coaching staff.
Pankti Parmar Pankti Parmar is an Ahmedabad-based writer and editor who has spent more than a four covering sports, with a deep focus on college football. She has worked for publishing houses like The Sporting News and FanSided, where she reported, wrote, and edited coverage across the gridiron: from Saturday Night news and analysis to larger stories shaping the College Football Playoff.. More about Pankti Parmar
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