Texas' Steve Sarkisian Named Finalist for George Munger College Coach of the Year

The Texas Longhorns have had another historic season with head coach Steve Sarkisian at the helm, making their second College Football Playoff appearance and going 12-2 in back-to-back seasons.

Sarkisian stands as the most successful Longhorns head coach since 2009, and his accomplishments have led him to become a finalist for the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award. The honor was announced on Tuesday by the Maxwell Football Club and is given to the highest-rated Division 1 college football coach in the nation, and this year marks the second consecutive time that Sarkisian has been named a finalist.

Coach Sark is a finalist for the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award 🤘#HookEm | #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/aISYRvQxKe
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) December 24, 2024

Within just four years with the Longhorns, Sarkisian has brought them to a Big 12 championship title in 2023, an SEC championship berth this season, two College Football Playoff games, including their most recent first-round victory over the Clemson Tigers, and a 37-16 overall record.

The former offensive coordinator also manages an offense that ranks No. 6 in college football in first-down offense with 317 yards, No. 14 in completion percentage at 66.5%, and No. 15 in total offense with 448.9 yards per game. Texas has rushed for over 100 yards in all but two games so far this year and has passed for over 3,800 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Sarkisian was put on the watch lists for the Dodd Trophy, an honor he unfortunately missed out on making the final list, and Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year awards earlier this season. He now looks to bring home the George Munger Award after getting beat out by the Washington Huskies' Kalen DeBoer last year.

Among the eight finalists for the award, one winner will be selected and announced on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, and the formal presentation will be held at the College Football Hall of Fame on Friday, March 14, 2025. Other coaches in contention include Georgia's Kirby Smart, Oregon's Dan Lanning, Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman, and Arizona State's Kelly Dillingham, who Sarkisian and the Longhorns will face off against in the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff.

Texas continues its Playoff run against the fourth-seeded and Big 12 champions, the Arizona State Sun Devils, in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Jan. 1, 2025, with kickoff set at Noon CT.

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