Steve Sarkisian Reveals Texas' Interim Defensive Coordinator vs. Michigan

Steve Sarkisian has named his defensive staff member that will be calling plays on New Year's Eve.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian reacts after beating the Mississippi State Bulldogs in overtime at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns will head into the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl versus Michigan as head coach Steve Sarkisian's team undergoes an era change defensively.

On Thursday, Sarkisian fired defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and defensive pass game coordinator Duane Akina, quickly replacing Kwiatkowski with Will Muschamp, who returns to the Forty Acres for another stint after coaching under Mack Brown.

The Citrus Bowl is under two weeks away, and with Muschamp a newcomer to the personnel present on Sarkisian's roster, the turnaround is just too quick to give him the reins on New Year's Eve. Therefore, Sarkisian has chosen inside linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen as the team's defensive play-caller against Michigan.

Sarkisian on Johnny Nansen

Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns linebackers coach Johnny Nansen against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"Coach Muschamp will observe, but Coach Nansen will call the defense," Sarkisian said in his press conference on Friday. "I don't think that would be fair to coach Muschamp to come in and call somebody else's defense, and we just don't have quite enough time to get that thing installed, so Coach Nansen will call it. "

Nansen is in his second season at Texas, though he has over 25 years of experience coaching at the collegiate level. Before the Longhorns, he coached at Arizona in 2022-23 as the Wildcats' defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach.

Nansen worked on Sarkisian's staff at both Washington and USC from 2009-15, serving as the assistant head coach under Sarkisian for the final two years in Washington and the two years at USC. Now at their third school together, their mutual background clearly contributes to Sarkisian's trust in Nansen taking over defensive playcalling duties, even though it's just for the bowl game.

"(Nansen's) got a great staff around him, with Coach (LaAllan) Clark, Coach (Kenny) Baker, with also Coach (Mark) Orphey and Coach (Keynodo) Hudson. So we got plenty equipped to get that done, but excited about a future and where we're headed with those guys being on board with us," Sarkisian said.

During the press conference, Sarkisian also mentioned Muschamp's ability to combine a "demanding nature" of coaching with a culture of "connection that he gets from his players," which defines the way he runs and calls his defense. Nansen may help transfer the sentiment Muschamp wants to apply from this to next year through the bowl game.

"I think the passion, the energy, the intensity (brought by Muschamp) is real, and that's something that I really have felt like I've wanted and needed," Sarkisian said. "And Coach Nansen provides that, and we got it. But man, in this league, you got to have it all, and you got to have it every week, as we know, because there's challenging games that week in and week out that you got to get yourself ready for."