Steve Sarkisian Explains Decision Behind Surprising Personnel Changes

Texas football recently made a surprising coaching move, firing defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and rehiring Will Muschamp as his replacement.

Having previously worked as the Longhorns' defensive coordinator from 2008 to 2010, Muschamp returns to bring new life to the Texas defense.

Why did Texas choose to turn away from Kwiatkowski and return to Muschamp? Head coach Steve Sarkisian recently explained what went into the coaching change.

Why Texas Decided to Make A Coaching Change

Pete Kwiatkowski Will Muschamp Texas Longhorns — 11. (tie) Pete Kwiatkowski, Texas defensive coordinator, $1.7 million. | Ricardo B. Brazziell / USA TODAY NETWORK

"An opportunity to go hire Will Muschamp, the guy who's done it at the highest level. I mean, this guy's 31 years old. He's a defensive coordinator for Nick Saban at LSU," Sarkisian said Friday. "They go on to win a national championship. You look at his stints at Auburn, you look at his stint here at Texas, and what he was able to do, obviously, his history in the Southeastern Conference, and knowing what it takes in this conference, I think, is something that is invaluable to us."

Muschamp began his work in the SEC in 2001 as the LSU linebackers coach under then-head coach Nick Saban. A year later, he was promoted to defensive coordinator for the Tigers and won a national championship with the team in 2003. After a brief stint in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, Muschamp returned to the SEC.

After working with Auburn and Texas, Muschamp was given head coaching opportunities with Florida and South Carolina, while most recently working with Georgia as a defensive analyst.

"Even in his time over the past few years at Georgia and working with Coach [Kirby] Smart there, and the great successes they've had, not only as a team, but on the defensive side of the ball," Sarkisian said. "And I just think his style, his style of coaching, his style of play and the way we're going to play defense, is something that makes sense to me of what is needed in this conference."

Though Texas is being praised for its hiring of Muschamp, the firing of Kwiatkowski came as a surprise. The Longhorns also fired defensive passing game coordinator Duane Akina and running backs coach Chad Scott. Akina and Scott were in their first season with Texas, while Kwiatkowski had been with the Longhorns since 2021.

"I can't thank [Kwiatkowski], coach Akina and coach Scott enough for their contribution to our football program and to this organization," Sarkisian said. "They're great coaches, and those guys worked extremely hard. They're good men. They were great mentors."

"We did a lot of really good things in their time here, but as always, you know, when you get a chance to really evaluate your program and where you're at and also where you're headed and what you're trying to accomplish, you know, sometimes change is needed, and sitting in my chair, sometimes you got to make the tough call."

Texas had a middle-of-the-pack defense this season, ranking ninth in total yards allowed per game, 12th in passing yards allowed per game, but third in rushing yards allowed per game. The team was sixth in points allowed per game to opponents as well. Not the defensive performance the team expected, Sarkisian thought it was time for a change.

"There were issues that we didn't fix that kept rearing their ugly head... [and] it was uncommon for us, for the amount of explosive pass plays that we had given up, especially in the second half of the season," Sarkisian said. "That was going to be something that had a spotlight on it ... And so, you know, I feel good about that, that we were able to identify issues in our organization, and we've attacked some of them through changes. We've attacked some of them on the field. We've attacked some of them with personnel."

Now with Muschamp, the team hopes to return to the College Football Playoff after missing out on a postseason berth, finishing 9-3 in the regular season.