Steve Sarkisian faces a crucial year three as Texas’ head coach this upcoming season.
Expectations are high after taking a step forward in the right direction with a three-win improvement in 2022. Sarkisian has now had time to build a culture and fill the roster with players he recruited.
ESPN writer Adam Rittenburg lists Sarkisian as a “coach to keep an eye on” regarding the 2023 season.
Sarkisian is 13-12 at Texas, continuing a head-coaching tenure — no 10-win seasons, only one nine-win season — that hasn’t come close to what he accomplished as a coordinator. He’s signed through 2026 and would be owed $12.6 million if fired this year, but Texas has the funds if the team backslides this fall. The arrival of decorated quarterback recruit Arch Manning helps Sarkisian’s chances of coaching in 2024. What could hurt him: two attractive replacement candidates within the state in Sonny Dykes, who just took TCU to the national title game, and UTSA’s Jeff Traylor.
Texas returns 17 of 22 starters from the 2022 campaign, along with a talented group of newcomers. Pressure is on Sarkisian and Texas to have a big season ahead of the impending move to the SEC in 2024.
The 2023 slate may say a lot about how the Steve Sarkisian era at Texas is going to go.
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