Texas Athletic Director Not Happy With ESPN 'College GameDay' Star
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Desmond Howard may anticipate a major shakeup in Texas, but the athletic director thinks otherwise.
The Longhorns, who opened the 2025 season as the nation’s No. 1 team, are in danger of missing the College Football Playoff after falling to 7-3. Following Saturday’s 35-10 loss at Georgia, Howard posted a video in which he speculated that the SEC program could move on from head coach Steve Sarkisian.
“Don’t be surprised if that Texas job opens up at the end of the season,” Howard said. “You guys were shocked when LSU opened up. Imagine how you’re going to feel if that job in Austin pops open. I’m not calling or saying anyone’s going to get fired. Maybe a mutual parting of ways, you dig?”
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte responded to the “College GameDay” pundit’s theory on social media.
“This is news to me,” Del Conte wrote. “Thanks for the insight.”
Texas is in trouble
The Longhorns righted the ship after an Oct. 4 loss at Florida by winning four straight games, including massive triumphs over Oklahoma and Vanderbilt. Yet they had no answers for the Bulldogs in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game rematch.
Georgia scored 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points to run away with a victory at Athens. Sarkisian’s team mustered 274 total yards and committed nine penalties in a costly conference loss.
Sarkisian previously argued that a three-loss SEC team could warrant CFP consideration, but it didn’t work out for Alabama last year. Wins over Arkansas and Texas A&M may not be enough for Texas to make the 12-team field.
Sarkisian defends team
Sarkisian pushed back when asked Monday about Texas falling short of preseason expectations, per Cory Mose of KVUE News.
“This team has competed their tail off,” Sarkisian said. “They’ve been faced with a lot of different adversity and injuries, and a lot of stuff has come across this team’s plate. I’m very proud of their resiliency.”
Sarkisian is now 45-20 since taking the prominent job in 2021. He acknowledged the program’s elevated expectations while also noting a demanding schedule with five top-10 opponents at the time of their matchups.
“We have an opportunity at the end of the regular season to do something that nobody’s done since 2019, and that’s beat three top 10-ranked teams in the regular season,” Sarkisian said. “… Have we been faced with a pretty difficult schedule? Have we been faced with high expectations? Sure, but that’s why we came here. So we’ll be OK.”
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Nov 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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