Steve Sarkisian Sets Long-Term Goal as Texas Longhorns Head Coach

Steve Sarkisian laid out some long-term goals as he enters his fifth season as the Texas Longhorns head coach.

Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

It should be a secret to nobody that the Texas Longhorns football team has flourished splendidly under head coach Steve Sarkisian ever since he replaced Tom Herman as coach before the 2021 season.

Since his hiring, the Nick Saban protege has led the Longhorns to a 38-17 record, and most recently an appearance in the SEC Championship game and back-to-back appearances as one of the final four teams in the College Football Playoff.

And if it was up to Sark as to how long he would remain at the helm in Austin, well, let's just say he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, as the former quarterback has no signs of slowing down and plans on finishing his career where he's currently at.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian leads warm ups prior to the Cotton Bowl Classic College Football Playoff semifinal game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Jan. 10, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"My goal is to retire here. I'm 51 today, and I hope that I can coach for a long, long time," Coach Sarkisian said in an interview with ESPN. "The only way to do that is to have continued success because here, the standard is a standard. Either you compete and win championships, or you don't. There's not a lot of gray area. So to do that, you got to have the right amount of energy, you got to have the right people around you and allow them to do their jobs."

Sarkisian, who is currently under contract with Texas through the year 2030, also spoke on when he first took the job in Austin, longing for consistent success with the team rather than one-off seasons of success, slightly like what he experienced as a coach at USC and also at Washington.

"When I got here, I didn't want to be a one-hit wonder. I didn't want to live in the portal of one year we're good and the next we're not," Sarkisian said. "We wanted to build something that could sustain and that, in my opinion, is high school recruiting. We surely have tapped into the free agent market through the transfer portal to fill our needs, and I think we've had really good balance there."

Based on the fact that Sarkisian took the Longhorns from being a five-win team one year to being a championship contender the next, Texas fans should take no issue to Sarkisian hoping to finish out his working years in the state capital.