Steve Sarkisian, Texas Agree to Four-Year Contract Extension

The 49-year-old led the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff last season.

Texas football has signed coach Steve Sarkisian to a four-year contract extension through 2030, the school announced on Saturday.

“Coach Sark is an incredible coach, a first-class person, and a tremendous leader of men,” Chairman of the UT System Board of Regents Kevin Eltife said in a statement. “We knew he was the man for the job when we hired him three years ago, and the way he stuck to the plan he laid out for us, stayed the course in putting everything in place, and got our football program back among the best in the nation has been phenomenal.”

It's a great day on the Forty!

UT and @CoachSark have agreed to a 4-year contract extension 🤘

📝 https://t.co/D5C9wLtKwx pic.twitter.com/6buelEP3xU

— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 13, 2024

Sarkisian was hired prior to the 2021 season, and Texas football has gotten better each season he’s been at the helm. After a five-win first season, the Longhorns won eight games last year before totaling a 12–2 record this year, which included a Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff appearance.

The 49-year-old Sarkisian was briefly considered a candidate for the Alabama job, but that died down on Friday when he announced his intention to stay in Austin. Texas is Sarkisian’s third head coaching job, as he led Washington and USC previously, and his 12-win 2023 was his first double-digit win season as a head coach.

“I said it when I came here three years ago, this is a dream job for me. It’s a destination job, and I’m fired up every day to be the head coach at The University of Texas,” Sarkisian said in a statement. “We’re thrilled with what we’ve been able to accomplish and proud of the culture we’ve built and the way our players have grown — on and off the field. But we’re just getting started.”

Sarkisian will lead Texas into a new era, as the Longhorns are set to join the SEC starting next season.