Steve Sarkisian Pleased With New Additions To Texas Longhorns Staff

Steve Sarkisian talks new additions to the Longhorns' coaching staff

Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian before the College Football Playoff semifinal against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

In the first media availability of the spring, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian talked about the new additions to his coaching staff.

Texas lost several coaches in the offseason but reloaded with the best of the best, including a legendary coach. Not only did he add to his coaching staff, but he secured an extension for himself.

"Coming off of the length of the season that we had some attrition on our roster, some attrition on our coaching staff, some new hires, some new faces player-wise," Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian added legendary defensive backs coach Duane Akina, the creator of DBU, to his staff as the defensive passing game coordinator and safeties coach. He was part of Mack Brown's staff that led Texas to its most recent national championship in 2005 and coached two Thorpe Award winners. Akina previously coached at Arizona.

Oct 8, 2011; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns assistant head coach Duane Akina and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz on the sidelines during the second quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners for the red river rivalry at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images / Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

"We brought back Duane Akina, which is great to have him back," Sarkisian said. "His presence has already been felt. The veteran that he is, the expertise that he has, has been a great addition for us."

To go along with Akina in the secondary, Sarkisian hired Mark Orphey as the cornerbacks coach. Orphey came to Texas from Rutgers where he was in the same position.

"We brought in Mark Orphey to coach our corners, he's a guy who we've got a ton of respect for, and somebody we actually tried to hire my first time around," Sarkisian said. "But he's worked with some great defensive minds from Will Muschamp to Coach Saban to Greg Schiano. I think he's got a bright, bright future in the profession."

On the offensive side of the ball, Sarkisian added Chad Scott to coach the running backs, replacing Tashard Choice, who left for a position with the Detroit Lions.

"(I have a) ton of respect for Chad (Scott) and what he's done at Kentucky, North Carolina and West Virginia," Sarkisian said. "He was actually the offensive coordinator and running back coach at at West Virginia, I think he's going to add some some really nice things to to us, from not only a schematic standpoint, but his presence with our running backs, and what he can do in recruiting in the regions that he's comfortable in recruiting, I think will be, will be great for us."

Due to the new NCAA rules, Sarkisian doesn't have a limit on the number of assistants he can have, but still has regulations on how many coaches can be involved in recruiting. As college football becomes more of a business, many schools are adding general managers and CEOs, and Texas is one of those schools building its front office staff.

While Sarkisian is functioning as the CEO and head coach of Texas football, he has also added lots of support staff to make Texas feel like a professoinal environment.

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