ESPN analyst pumps brakes on Texas Longhorns’ Steve Sarkisian as truly elite coach
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One ESPN analyst provided a hesitant outlook on the Texas Longhorns’ potential under head coach Steve Sarkisian ahead of the 2026 college football season.
Sarkisian is going through the 13th year of his head coaching career in college football, his sixth with the Longhorns. He has made the effort to elevate the program back to serious contention for the College Football Playoff. He led them to the CFP semifinals in 2024, but saw the team slightly regress by being absent the following year.
Sarkisian is looking forward to how his Longhorns squad performs this time around. However, ESPN analyst Adam Rittenberg was pessimistic about his thoughts on the team’s ceiling in 2026 with Sarkisian.
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“He ultimately must show he can do more with more at a Texas program that spares no expense. Sarkisian deserves credit for recording consecutive playoff appearances at Texas, and winning the Big 12 in the team’s final season in the league. But he has had only two top-10 finishes despite holding two A-list jobs (Texas and USC). He’s a very gifted playcaller who has grown as a head coach, but others on my list have accomplished more with less and have done so more consistently. A massive season for Sark awaits in 2026,” Rittenberg wrote.
What lies ahead for Steve Sarkisian, Texas
Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns have a lot of heavy expectations to achieve. For the program’s hopes, they look to get back into the CFP mix.
Sarkisian has enjoyed elevating the Longhorns program to great heights within five seasons. He boasts a 48-20 overall record, going 30-13 in their conference matchups across the Big 12 and SEC.
After finishing with a 13-3 record and a semifinal appearance in the 2024 CFP, they took a few steps back this past season. Texas went 10-3 in the regular season, which wasn’t enough for them to secure a place in the CFP. They finished at sixth place in the SEC standings with a 6-2 display to show for it, ending the year by beating the Michigan Wolverines 41-27 in the Citrus Bowl.
Texas starts the 2026 campaign by hosting the Texas State Bobcats on Sept. 5.
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