Steve Sarkisian’s Agents Shut Down ‘Wildly Inaccurate’ NFL Reports

AUSTIN -- That didn't take long.

The speculation surrounding Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian leaving Austin for the NFL lasted all but a few hours, as the original report from NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic on Saturday was quickly shut down by Sarkisian's agents.

According to Jimmy Sexton and Ed Marynowitz at CAA, the reports of Sarkisian being interested in heading to the NFL -- potentially for the Tennessee Titans head coach vacancy -- are "wildly inaccurate."

Steve Sarkisian "Solely Focused" on Texas

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks on before the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Cotton Bowl. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

"Any reports regarding communications on coaching opportunities with NFL teams are patently false and wildly inaccurate," CAA said in a statement, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. "Sark is solely focused on coaching the University of Texas football team.”

Sarkisian is in his fifth season at Texas, bringing the program back to national relevance while posting a 42-19 overall record.

He has prior NFL experience, previously as the quarterbacks coach of the then-Oakland Raiders in 2004 and then the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 and '18. But that's it.

The Reports Never Had Much Substance to Begin With

Sure, Sarkisian and the Longhorns haven't quite met their championship-level expectations this season, but those expectations were there to begin with due to what Sarkisian has done since arriving at Texas in 2021.

It wouldn't make much sense for him to suddenly drop everything and head to the NFL where he could potentially earn less than the $10.8 million he's making this season on a contract that's good through 2031.

In February, the University of Texas System board of regents approved a raise and contract extension for Sarkisian, which gave him an annual raise of up to $12.3 million by the final year of his deal.

After a 5-7 debut season, Texas went 8-5 in 2022 before following that up with back-to-back trips to the College Football Playoff Semifinals, where the Longhorns were only a few plays away from a berth in the National Championship in each season-ending loss.

The Arch Manning era has been a bit rocky, but Sarkisian has proven he is still one of the best coaches in college football.

While all this is going on, Sarkisian and the Longhorns are looking to pick up their third straight SEC win on Saturday in Starkville against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Texas is 5-2 so far this season with a 2-1 mark in conference play.

Fans will be waiting eagerly to see what Sarkisian has to say about the whole ordeal after the game is over.