Steve Sarkisian Fires Texas Coach After Missing College Football Playoff
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Steve Sarkisian reportedly made a change to his Texas Longhorns coaching staff on Tuesday.
Texas fired running backs coach Chad Scott, as first reported by On3's Pete Nakos. The move occurred two days after the Longhorns missed the College Football Playoff cut following a 9-3 season.
Scott lasted just one season on Sarkisian's staff, but the head coach will look to improve his team's underwhelming ground game in 2026. He'll reportedly dismiss Scott, who previously coached running backs at Troy, Texas Tech, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
The Mountaineers exceeded 30 points per game in each of Scott's two seasons as offensive coordinator, and he served as interim head coach in their Frisco Bowl loss to Memphis last year.
Running game struggled in 2025
Texas has boasted dominant rushing attacks under Sarkisian behind Bijan Robinson and Jonathon Brooks, but the SEC squad settled for 129.7 rushing yards per game this season. Chip Brown of 247Sports noted that it marked the program's lowest average since 1944.
Quintrevion Wisner and CJ Baxter each missed time with injuries, but the backfield wasn't too effective all year long. The Longhorns averaged a pedestrian 3.9 yards per carry, and that rate dipped to 3.3 in SEC play.
Those struggles badly hurt Texas when the team mustered 23 yards on 17 carries in a 35-10 road loss to Georgia. They also settled for 52 rushing yards in a stunning Week 5 loss at Florida.
Wisner saved his best game for last, tallying a season-high 155 rushing yards in a 27-17 win over Texas A&M to conclude the regular season. The ranked victory wasn't enough to save Scott's job or salvage Texas's CFP hopes.
Texas misses CFP
Texas placed No. 13 in the final CFP rankings, a jarring outcome for a program that started No. 1 in the AP preseason poll with national title aspirations behind quarterback Arch Manning.
The Longhorns defeated three teams ranked inside the top 10 at the time they played, but they're not among the five teams still vying for a championship.
Texas will face Michigan in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Eve at 3 p.m. ET on ABC.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Dec 10, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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