The 2024 season had been indeed, a walk on the roses for Steve Sarkisian. After all, it has been the Texas Longhorns’ first year joining the SEC. And surprisingly, it wasn’t as tough as they expected it to be. They could rack up thirteen victories at the cost of only three losses. So, it’s obvious that Sarkisian is living within that one bubble. However, here comes a pin to burst it. While Sarkisian must be in his own dream world considering himself too lucky to get the HC position in Texas, two more programs handed him a bitter reality check.

Last December saw the Longhorns’ squad fighting with Texas A&M for their chance at the SEC title. Now, most of the CFB fans thought that the Aggies would be taking the title home, after all, they had 13 years of experience. And what a surprise! Mike Elko’s boys tapped into a completely dormant mode. Whereas the newcomers, dominated in the Lone Star Showdown 17-7 in one of the most rigorous environments in college football. Even before Texas entered the SEC, Sarkisian was no stranger to the intensity that the conference brings. However, this experience came off as a boost in the HC’s conference making him send a prayer of gratitude to the universe. But turns out that two other program headcoaches are more fortunate than Sarkisian. That’s Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes. 

On March 24, former Penn State TE turned analyst Adam Breneman posted a video on the top jobs in college football right now. He starts with the No.3 position that went to Sarkisian’s Longhorns. “Everything is bigger in Texas. Including the resources. Unlimited NIL money, top-tier facilities. The recruiting pool is as deep as it gets in that state.” Right now, Sarkisian’s QB Arch Manning leads the On3 NIL valuation rankings with $6.5 million. The Texas 2025 recruiting class was named the best in the country per the finalized rankings from Rivals.com. They hold four top-ranked players, 16 four-stars and five three-stars. However, there is a big turndown in Sarkisian’s squad. 

“But the reality is the Texas High School football politics make this extremely tough to navigate. If you can handle it and the high school coaches there they got a chance to recruit really well like Steve Sarkisian.” Then who’s next on Breneman’s list? Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs are at No.2. The analyst dished out a platter of gold stars in the Bulldogs’ way. “Georgia is stacked with everything a coach could ever dream of from donor support, facilities, a great recruiting base in the south,  back-to-back national tiles. Georgia is a phenomenal place to be a head coach.” Smart’s tribe is running strong with 4 national titles and 17 conference titles. Now, no brownies points for guessing who is holding the top spot. That’s none other than Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes. Breneman calls the job “bulletproof.” 

“The Buckeyes have a national brand. SEC-caliber recruits want to go to Ohio State. You also have a good recruiting base in the Midwest with Ohio, Pennsylvania, the DMV. They’ve dominated the Big Ten year after year. But with all those advantages comes sky-high expectation and the pressure is always on.” This season, the Buckeyes won their ninth national title. So, will Sarkisian finally wake up from his dream?

How Texas Longhorns sweetened the deal to keep Steve Sarkisian

As soon as the 2024 season dropped curtains, suitors tried to lure Sarkisian away from Texas. And this time it was not from college, but the NFL giants had eyes on him. However, they finally failed to implement the plan. That’s because Sarkisian himself became the biggest roadblock who had shut all the doors. He refused to entertain any offers. Rather he claimed, he has a “good job here.” But that was not enough. The Longhorns whipped up a master plan to keep Sarkisian locked up. 

Top Comment by Kickemneirz

Absolutely, texas has been in the playoffs the last two seasons. Nuff said

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They offered him a seven-year new deal. The new contract raised Sarkisian’s salary by 3.85%. Under its terms, Sarkisian will earn $10.8 million in guaranteed compensation in 2025. This further has set him up to earn $12.3 million in 2031, the final year of the deal. So, the enthusiasm for the coaching position increased 10x for Sarkisian. On the March 19 episode of the Off the Edge podcast, the Longhorns HC poured his heart out. His job in Texas has been the best among his two other head coaching stints with Washington and USC.

“It’s been, it’s been an amazing experience. You know, I am. I’ve been a head coach three times now at three really pretty incredible places—University of Washington, USC, and then to get this opportunity to be at Texas, which, in my opinion, is the best job in the country, hands down.” Now can he really call his job and the Texas program the ‘best’ without the national championship trophy in hand? While his other competitors like Ryan Day and Kirby Smart have brought home multiple trophies, Steve Sarkisian is yet to plant his flag.