Updated tracker of Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas

As Steve Sarkisian assembles his coaching staff at Texas, Longhorns Wire compiled a tracker to easily keep up with the latest news.

Rumors continue to whirl on who will join Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas. Continue reading “Updated tracker of Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas”

Why to be excited about Steve Sarkisian calling the plays at Texas

Steve Sarkisian has doubled down on his ability as a play-caller.

Monday night’s national championship game between Alabama and Ohio State was a glimpse of the future for Longhorn fans. Continue reading “Why to be excited about Steve Sarkisian calling the plays at Texas”

Social media reacts to Alabama’s offensive explosion under Steve Sarkisian

Texas players, coaches, media members and fans were ecstatic to witness the mastermind behind Alabama’s offense last night.

Texas players, coaches, media members and fans were gushing over Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian’s game plan in the national championship against Ohio State. Continue reading “Social media reacts to Alabama’s offensive explosion under Steve Sarkisian”

Alabama quarterback Mac Jones breaks Colt McCoy’s record

Former Longhorns QB held single-season completion percentage record for 12 years until being eclipsed by Jones.

In 2008, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy set the bar very high in regard to completion percentage. Continue reading “Alabama quarterback Mac Jones breaks Colt McCoy’s record”

Big 12 Morning Rush: Men’s basketball postponement, Lincoln Riley to NFL?

It was a wild Monday for Big 12 news surrounding the basketball and football programs.

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Tuesday Big 12 Morning Rush

The latest news surrounding the Big 12 involve a COVID-19 postponement in men’s basketball as well as several coaching updates within the Texas and Oklahoma football programs.

No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 13 West Virginia postponed

CBS Sports reported on Monday that Tuesday night’s Baylor vs. West Virginia game has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues for the Mountaineers. This is important to keep an eye on as Texas recently traveled to Morgantown to battle West Virginia three days ago.

Cornerbacks coach Jay Valai tweets goodbye to Texas players

Newly hired head coach Steve Sarkisian is expected to finalize his support staff in the coming days. Although the defensive coordinator has yet to be announced, a few names have already been reported to join Texas’ defensive staff. You’d have to assume that Sarkisian has someone in place for that role if other position coaches have been agreed upon.

It’s looking more and more likely that we will see an entirely new defensive staff in Austin under Sarkisian. Valai confirmed that he wouldn’t be returning to Texas on Monday.

Lincoln Riley rumored to be a target for Philadelphia Eagles job

It’s possible that Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley could be headed to the NFL. Shortly after the Philadelphia Eagles parted ways with head coach Doug Pederson on Monday, Riley was instantly linked as their top target.

It would likely take a hefty amount of money to lure Riley away from Oklahoma, but it’s certainly possible that it could come to fruition considering his strong relationship with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman.

Report: Former NFL coach Bill O’Brien expected to be Alabama’s next offensive coordinator

Just before Alabama and Ohio State kicked off in the national championship game, Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports dropped a report that the Crimson Tide may already have their next offensive coordinator. According to Feldman, former Houston Texans and …

Just before Alabama and Ohio State kicked off in the national championship game, Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports dropped a report that the Crimson Tide may already have their next offensive coordinator.

According to Feldman, former Houston Texans and Penn State head coach, Bill O’Brien, is expected to agree to a deal sometime in the next few days to replace Steve Sarkisian as the offensive coordinator.

Sarkisian became the head coach at Texas earlier this month after two years as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. Sarkisian agreed to stay with Alabama through its preparations for the national championship before departing for Texas.

The 51-year-old O’Brien was fired in October, four games into his seventh season as head coach of the NFL’s Houston Texans. During his time at Houston, he compiled a record of 52-48 in the regular season and a 2-4 mark in the playoffs.

O’Brien helped lead the Texans to four AFC South division championships.

Before becoming the head coach at Penn State, O’Brien was a successful offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick.

O’Brien visited Tuscaloosa last week.

 

A Texas fan’s rooting guide for the national championship

Alabama and Ohio State will face off in Miami in the national championship game. Here’s a UT fan’s rooting guide for Monday night’s game.

Despite it being an odd year, the moment the college football season has been building towards is finally here. Alabama and Ohio State will travel down to Miami, Florida, to play for the College Football Playoff national championship. The programs will be meeting for the fourth time ever, with the Buckeyes winning the latest matchup in the 2014 Sugar Bowl.

From the perspective of a Texas fan, it’s going to be hard to watch two other major programs battle it out for glory. However, the Longhorns have connections to both. Their current head coach, Steve Sarkisian, will come directly from Tuscaloosa after Monday’s game. Tom Herman, the previous coach, has roots in Columbus as the former offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer.

At the very least, rooting for a great game will be at stake for Texas. If you want to have a reason to root for either Alabama or Ohio State, here is a rooting guide for Monday night’s national championship game.

How to watch, listen and stream Steve Sarkisian in the national championship

Witnessing how efficient Steve Sarkisian’s offense is will be a sneak preview. Here is how you can watch, listen and stream the game.

Steve Sarkisian’s final game as the offensive coordinator for Alabama will be Monday in the national championship against Ohio State. He will head to Austin the day after the game to continue wrapping up his coaching staff and begin recruiting.

Alabama took care of Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl, while Ohio State surprisingly blew out Clemson in the Sugar Bowl. Both teams will enter the game undefeated, although the Crimson Tide have played five more games.

For Texas fans, watching how efficient Sarkisian’s offense is will give a sneak preview for his tenure as the Longhorns’ head coach. Witnessing their next head coach win a national championship would bring that much more optimism for the future.

How to watch, listen and stream

Time: 7:00 p.m. CST

Location: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida

TV: ESPN

Stream: Watch ESPN

Radio: IMG Radio Network

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What Nick Saban said about Steve Sarkisian working with both Alabama and Texas

Nick Saban spoke with the media before the national title and mentioned how well Steve Sarkisian has been at balancing Alabama and Texas.

When Texas hired Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, it was quickly known he would coach in the national championship game against Ohio State.

However, Sarkisian cannot afford to take time off as the Longhorns head coach for a week; therefore, he has been trying to balance both roles.

Dealing with coordinator turnover around the national championship is nothing new for Alabama head coach Nick Saban. Kirby Smart, Jeremy Pruitt, Mike Locksley and Lane Kiffin each accepted different jobs before competing in the title game.

For Kiffin, he accepted the FAU job before the 2017 championship game against Clemson. Due to how poorly Kiffin handled doubling up, he was fired before traveling to Tampa, Florida.

The opposite has been true for Sarkisian. Saban spoke with the media before Monday’s matchup and mentioned how well he has been at balancing his workload. The head coach also said how excited everyone at Alabama is for Sarkisian.

“Well, I think our coaching staff has done a really good job working with our players,” Saban said. “Sark is the one guy that has shown great maturity, I think, in how he’s handled his situation, moving on to be a head coach, which is what he’s worked for, and we’re happy for him relative to the opportunity that he’s created for himself by the great job that he’s done for us here.”

There have been reports Sarkisian wants to take coaches from Tuscaloosa with him to Austin. Kyle Flood and Jeff Banks are the top names mentioned in those reports. Saban continued to comment on how the week of preparation has been with every coach.

“But I have no complaints at all with the way our coaches have sort of handled the situation, and I think everybody has sort of — wants to do the best job that they can for the players so that the players have the best opportunity to have success in the game against a very good team,” said Saban.

No matter the outcome of Alabama-Ohio State, Sarkisian is expected to join Texas on Tuesday. Wrapping up his coaching staff will be the top priority, but getting on the recruiting trail before the signing day is a close second.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

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Texas DE Marqez Bimage expected to return to the team

After opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, Texas defensive end Marqez Bimage is expected to return under Sarkisian.

Texas defensive end Marqez Bimage will return to the team for winter conditioning and spring football. Continue reading “Texas DE Marqez Bimage expected to return to the team”