'Complacency Is Like The Devil': Steve Sarkisian Reveals Obsession With Bringing Championship to Texas
AUSTIN, TX -- Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns got their first taste of the College Football Playoff as a program in 2023, narrowly falling to the Washington Huskies in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day.
The Huskies would go on to be blown out in Houston by the Michigan Wolverines in the national title game, leaving the Longhorns and their fans to wonder what could have been.
And now, Sarkisian's sole obsession is doing everything he can to help get the Longhorns back to the CFP and bring home that national championship.
Aaron E. Martinez-USA TODAY NETWORK
“I came here to win a championship," Sarkisian said. "If I can get one, I want to get two. I’m borderline obsessed with it at this point. I know what it tasted like last year. I know how close we were, and I couldn’t wait to get back. Hopefully, that’s what our team really starts to exude, is this obsession with being the best.”
That obsession that Sarkisian is referencing is the kind of trait that has separated programs like Alabama, Georgia and Clemson over the last decade, which has of course resulted in those three programs winning seven of the last 10 national titles.
Another reason for the success of those teams is the lack of entitlement and complacency throughout their programs - something that Sarkisian is keenly aware of and wants to continue to emphasize throughout this offseason and beyond.
“Complacency is like the devil. I cannot afford anybody in our building to feel like they’ve arrived. This is a new team. This team now has to develop their culture. This team has to develop their strengths. I have to identify their weaknesses and how we can improve upon those things.”
That said, thanks to the way the season ended against the Huskies, and the disappointment that echoed throughout the roster and coaching staff, the Longhorns remain hungry.
Sure, winning a Big 12 title was one of their goals - a goal they accomplished emphatically. Just like winning the SEC will be next season.
But simply winning a conference championship is no longer the standard of the Texas program. Sarkisian has made sure of that.
For the majority of other programs across the country, it that would be enough. But in Austin, that is no longer the case.
“One of my biggest things in the locker room was I understood the disappointment — we were all disappointed," Sarkisian said. "In the end, we came into the season to be champions and they were Big 12 Conference champions, something that hadn’t been done here in a long, long time.”
“It was almost good enough, but it wasn’t good enough.”
