Steve Sarkisian Proves Mettle With Longhorns Win Over Nick Saban
On January 2, 2021, the Texas Longhorns hired Steve Sarkisian as the 31st head coach in program history, replacing Tom Herman.
It was a decision that many fans, given his past, questioned a great deal.
However, on Saturday night with his 34-24 win over Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Sarkisian not only proved each and every one of those detractors wrong, but he proved himself right.
To be fair, it was a risky move for the Longhorns. Not only were they coming off of yet another disappointing season in a long line of disappointing seasons, but they were investing in a coach who was trying to resurrect his career.
Sark's tenure started rocky, finishing his first season 5-7, with a slew of blown double-digit leads. He was able to secure a top-end recruiting class, but as will happen when you're leading the University of Texas, the hot seat was already a conversation.
And in Year 2, things took another step forward, with the Horns finishing 8-4, and securing an elite class, along with the most highly publicized recruit in the modern era in Arch Manning.
More importantly than that, however, he had successfully begun to completely change the culture of the Texas program.
Before his arrival, the Texas program was in shambles, with over a decade of disappointment and frustration resulting in a culture of entitlement and complacency.
Meanwhile, family and buying into the culture was always Sark's main message to his team. And through recruiting, coaching staff changes, the transfer portal, and his relationship with his players, that change could be felt.
The biggest example of this came after the Horns' embarrassing loss to to Iowa State in Ames in 2021.
Does everyone remember the Bo Davis bus video? That team, and that program, no longer exists.
Flash forward to his third season, and the program is unrecognizable - in all of the right ways.
Suffice it to say, that all came full circle in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.
Not only did Sarkisian take down his former boss Nick Saban, but he became the first former assistant ever to do so at Bryant-Denney Stadium, breaking a 57-game non-conference win streak for the Tide in Tuscaloosa.
And with that, he has emphatically secured his spot as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns and proved his mettle.
Does that mean Texas is back? Or that the Horns' job is over? No.
They still have Big 12 Title and College Football Playoff aspirations.
But for now, for the first time in a long time, Longhorns fans can rest easy knowing that they have finally found the right man for the job - Steve Sarkisian.
