Longhorns Coach Sark Already on the Hot Seat? Not So Fast

Some national media outlets believe Steve Sarkisian is already on the hot seat. That, however, is premature.

Matt Galatzan | Apr 18, 2022

The Texas Longhorns are coming off of a disappointing first season under Steve Sarkisian. Included in that disappointment was a loss to the lowly Kansas Jayhawks and four separate blown leads (three of which were double-digit) to ranked opponents.

The Longhorns’ 5-7 record certainly didn’t match up to Sarkisian’s expectations for his first year as head coach.

So, when should Sarkisian be on the hot seat? Most rational pundits believe that putting pressure on a coach before his second season begins, especially after he just closed on his first full recruiting as the head coach, would be premature.

However, CBS Sports believes that Sark is already on the hot seat and that his job status is 'tenuous' at best.

It's safe to say that after a great run as the offensive coordinator at Alabama, Sarkisian was expected to at least be competent in 2021. Instead, Sark posted a 5-7 record in his debut which included a six-game losing streak and an embarrassing home loss to lowly Kansas. As if that wasn't enough to get the natives restless in a program starved for success, Sark reeled in the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation during the most recent recruiting cycle and lured former hot-shot quarterback prospect Quinn Ewers away from Ohio State after one season. A little bit of improvement will go a long way for Sark, but his tenure is a bit tenuous at the moment.”

Fortunately for Sarkisian and Texas fans alike, these things are not up to CBS Sports, or any other media outlet.

Even if the Longhorns finish 0-12 in 2022, the cost of buying out the remainder of Sarkisian's contract would be far too costly for even the University of Texas to undertake. Not to mention the rest of his staff.

Either way, the Longhorns just finished with a top-5 recruiting class-- one that has the talent to reshape the future of the program.

Gary Patterson and Steve Sarkisian — USA Today Sports

The Horns also had one of the best transfer hauls in the entire country this past offseason, landing difference makers at key positions, including quarterback, with more transfers potentially on the way.

In short, despite the rough start in Year 1, things are heading in the right direction in Austin.

Going forward, Sarkisian will still need to turn this situation around, however. Last spring, athletics director Chris Del Conte touted hiring Sarkisian as a long-term play to transform the program.

Next season, Sarkisian will get another chance to prove himself and put Del Conte’s plan to the test.

And with Oklahoma on the decline due to the departure of Lincoln Riley, anything is possible for the Longhorns in 2022.

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Published Apr 18, 2022

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.