Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Wednesday that the possibility of leaving the Longhorns to replace Nick Saban at Alabama crossed his mind – but not for long.
“Naturally, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it,” Sarkisian told ESPN’s Chris Low. “But it took me all of about 60 seconds to say, ‘Yeah, I’m not doing that.’ I had an awesome two years at Alabama and loved my time under Coach Saban, but ultimately you want to reap what you sow.”
Saban – widely considered the greatest college football head coach of all time – retired in January after 17 years coaching the Crimson Tide. Alabama won nine SEC titles and six national championships under his watch. Former Washington sideline boss Kalen DeBoer was hired to replace him.
Texas – which officially moved to the SEC in 2024 – is entering its fourth season under Sarkisian, who’s helped the team improve significantly. The Longhorns made their first College Football Playoff appearance last season and won their first Big 12 championship since 2009. The 50-year-old joined Texas after serving as Alabama’s offensive coordinator between 2019-20.
“We’ve poured a ton into this program for three years, and we’re on the cusp, I think, of going on a run that will be epic. I believe that. Our staff does, and our players do, too, just the support we have and the culture we’ve created here. Why leave something like that?” Sarkisian said of the Longhorns ahead of the 2024 season.
Texas ranked 15th in points both scored and allowed in 2023. Sarkisian’s outfit has also been successful at adding talented transfers, and the school’s last two recruiting classes ranked in the top five in the nation, according to Low.
“We have to continue to build the team, and when I say team, I mean culture,” Sarkisian said.
He added: “I think we have the best culture in college football, but we have to recreate it every year. Culture doesn’t just carry over from one year to the next.”
Sarkisian has posted a 25-14 record at Texas.
