Texas Longhorns Reportedly Eyeing Another Stellar Coach for Defensive Staff

The Texas Longhorns took many fans by surprise on Thursday with the announcement that the program will be parting ways with defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski after five seasons with the team.

Kwaitkowski will be replaced by Will Muschamp, who served as the defensive coordinator under Mack Brown for multiple seasons before making his rounds in the SEC.

However, Texas might not be done bringing back familiar faces to Austin.

Texas Reportedly Looking to Bring Back Blake Gideon

According to Eric Nahlin of Inside Texas, the Longhorns are targeting Blake Gideon as potential candidate to replace Duane Akina, who was also let go alongside Kwiatkowski.

Gideon, a former Texas safety, spent four years as the Longhorns' safeties coach under Steve Sarkisian before leaving last offseason to become the defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech.

Now, it appears his stay in Atlanta could have been shortlived, as Gideon has a chance to reunite with Muschamp.

Texas Players Have Spoken Highly of Blake Gideon

Gideon was highly regarded by both Sarkisian and Texas players during his time on staff, and his departure to Georgia Tech was one that many fans were upset about headed into the 2025 season.

"Knowing the foundation that Blake Gideon coached with was a foundation that got instilled in him from Coach Akina," Sarkisian said before the season. "And you know, initially, when Blake left, we obviously went the young route with Coach Orphey and Coach Hudson. When Blake moved on, I really felt like, Okay, we need to find a make sure that we have that, that veteran presence back there with experience."

Texas safety Michael Taaffe has also spoken highly of Gideon, who was instrumental in Taaffe's development from little-known walk-on to All-American.

"I think Coach Gideon is very honest and upfront, he said, 'I'm not going to favor anybody, you know, you're gonna have your shot if you make your plays,' and I really trusted that and I understood that."

During Texas' Pro Day in the spring, former Longhorns cornerback Jahdae Barron talked about how Gideon pushed him to be great during his college career.

"I got pushed by Coach PK, Coach Gideon. And it was a it was a lot of preparation," Barron said. "I took a lot of sweat and tears for it every single night, getting home at nine o'clock watching film, watching film, going to watch film with assistant coaches."

If Texas officially hires Gideon, he will help from both a schematic and developmental standpoint.