Steve Sarkisian Predicted as Next College Football Coach to Leave for NFL Job

Steve Sarkisian remains one of the most recognizable and accomplished head coaches in college football, and in the last few seasons has helped Texas return to the national spotlight as one of the sport’s contenders.

But that hasn’t prevented his name from being bandied about as a candidate to step away from his current post and entertain a head coaching position in the NFL.

Sarkisian to the pros? It’s not the first time it’s been a subject of conversation.

And likely won’t be the last given modern college football’s ongoing challenges, according to a national analyst.

A ‘very real chance’

“There is a very real chance Steve Sarkisian is no longer the head coach at the University of Texas in the next two to three years,” OU Insider’s Parker Thune said to On3 Sports.

“That might not be a bad thing. That might not be because he gets kicked to the curb. That might not be because Texas just decides ‘Yeah, we have to go in a different direction.’ What if Steve Sarkisian gets an NFL job? That’s very much on the table.”

Is it so far fetched?

The idea of a college football head coach bolting for the NFL sounds like a more enticing proposition now perhaps than it ever has.

All the obligations of the modern game, particularly around the confusing NIL marketplace and the pressure the transfer portal places on annual roster building, make running an NFL franchise seem like a simpler, more rewarding experience.

“If he gets an NFL job, I mean, let’s face it, guys: with the recent trend that we’ve seen in college football, even just over the last few weeks, more and more high-profile college coaches [are] jumping to the professional ranks because their lives are a lot easier at the pro level than they are at the collegiate level,” Thune added.

It’s been discussed, and denied

Sarkisian’s name was notably the center of an NFL coaching rumor as recently as this past college football season.

And as soon as it went public, it was furiously denied.

Back in October, The Athletic reported that Sarkisian’s representatives established contact with NFL decision makers to let them know that he was interested in any potential head coaching vacancy that may come available.

Then came the pointed response.

“Any reports regarding communications on coaching opportunities with NFL teams are patently false and wildly inaccurate,” they said in a joint statement.

They added: “Sark is solely focused on coaching the University of Texas football team.”

Sure, but for how long?

Those denials won’t stop the speculation that the changes around college football still don’t make the idea of running away from it all sound like a good idea.

“I think it’s pretty likely that the NFL comes calling for Steve Sarkisian at a certain point,” Thune said.

“And if that happens, given all of the tasks and responsibilities that are on the table for a collegiate coach in general, let alone a collegiate head coach at a place like the University of Texas, there may be an opportunity within the next few years that is really, really difficult for Steve Sarkisian to turn down.”

(On3)

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