Steve Sarkisian has “zeroed” in on Washington’s Pete Kwiatkowski as next Texas DC

According to TFB Texas, the Longhorns have zeroed in on Pete Kwiatkowski, the current defensive coordinator at Washington.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian continues to fill his coaching staff. Arguably the most important position on his staff will be defensive coordinator. Candidates such as Will Muschamp, Barry Odom, Pete Golding and Zach Arnett have been rumored to be in consideration.

Now, a name has come out of left field from the West Coast.

According to TFB Texas, the Longhorns have zeroed in on Pete Kwiatkowski, the longtime defensive coordinator at Washington. He has been in Seattle for seven seasons working for both Chris Petersen and Jimmy Lake.

During his seven-year stint with the Huskies, Kwiatkowski has produced some of the top defenses in the Pac-12. Only twice did Washington’s defense give up more than an average of 20.0 points per game with Kwiatkowski running the show. His best scoring defense came in 2017 when opponents only averaged 16.1 points per game.

Developing players and turning them into high NFL draft picks has been a staple at Washington. Since Kwiatkowski took over in 2014, nine Husky defenders have been taken in the first round. Zero from Texas have been selected.

An announcement is expected soon according to TFB. At first glance, this seems like a huge win for Sarkisian and the Longhorns. Kwiatkowski was destined to be at Washington for as long as he wanted. Instead, Texas pulled one of the top defensive coordinators in the country to Austin.

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