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With the announcement that Steve Sarkisian, Alabama Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator, is now the 31st head football coach of the Texas Longhorns, the focus is on how Sarkisian will build his first staff on the Forty Acres.
As Sarkisian has grown and matured over the years since several alcohol-related incidents led to his dismissal from USC, he has increasingly emphasized the value of his assistants.
Sarkisian compared being a head coach for the first time to a fire hose and admitted that he first tried to solve all the problems on his own.
“Sometimes you don’t put enough trust and confidence into the staff you hire,” Sarkisian said on a Zoom presentation call with reports on Saturday. “But I think after spending some time in the National Football League, having obviously spent the last two years with Coach Saban here in Alabama, you realize that the value of the staff that you hire such a great staff for. is to put people in place to do what you ask them to do. I think it takes some of the burden off you as a head coach and allows you to manage people and not overreact to some of the other things that are going on and allow these people to do what ‘they do. And I think it keeps you focused, I think it keeps you grounded.
Building a first coaching staff is an area that has confused Charlie Strong and Tom Herman.
Strong was forced to fire two of his assistants after his first season, including Bruce Chambers, the only holdover from the Mack Brown era, and then fired his offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Strong simply did not receive the necessary support from the administration to make better hires or simply made the wrong choices diminished in importance because he repeatedly made off-season decisions during the season.
Herman believed bringing most of his Houston staff with him would provide the program roster he was looking for, but development failures and a disappointing regular season forced Herman to fire both coordinators and replace five other assistant coaches. Last year.
The substitutes hired by Herman have had some success this season, especially defensive coordinator Chris Ash and his team, so Sarkisian’s first challenge will be deciding if he wants to keep one of Herman’s assistants.
Ahead of meeting the media on Saturday, Sarkisian held an initial call with assistants and will conduct one-on-one interviews over the next few days, although those talks may be put on hold until Sarkisian completes his training for Alabama in the game. national championship.
According to Bruce Feldman, Sarkisian has not made a decision regarding support staff.
Beyond the social media team, which has done a great job in recent years, two potentially easy decisions for Sarkisian would be to retain director of high school relations Bob Shipley and director of recruiting Bryan Carrington. Several current and former players have already argued for Carrington and his retention would allow some continuity in the 2021 and 2022 roster. Shipley has long-standing ties to Texas high school football coaches that would benefit Sarkisian, who has never been a coach in the state.
Ash’s return, with a young assistant on the rise like cornerback coach Jay Valai or longtime defensive-line coach Oscar Giles, could provide key continuity on the pitch and help avoid transfers. on that side of the ball after Ash’s defense improved dramatically throughout the season and played. well in the bowl game despite losing four starters to retire.
However, there is a big name in the market which is already logged in to work and already has ties to Texas – former Florida and South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp, who was appointed head coach pending Mack Brown several lifetimes ago. Although Muschamp failed as a head coach in his previous two saves, he is still highly regarded as a defensive spirit.
FootballScoop also mentioned one of the former Muschamp Texas players, Ole Miss special teams coordinator Blake Gideon, who has coached defensive backs in the past and looks like a young, up-and-coming coach. He has moved from West Carolina to Georgia State, Houston and now Ole Miss over the past four years. When Muschamp spent a season as Auburn’s defensive coordinator between his head coaching jobs in Florida and South Carolina, he hired Gideon as a graduate assistant.
Sarkissian could also choose to bring one or more assistants with him from Alabama.
The main name is Kyle Flood, the former Rutgers head coach who worked with Sarkisian with the Falcons before joining him at Tuscaloosa. It was Flood who helped convince the Brockermeyer brothers to reject their ties with Texas and sign with Alabama. As an offensive line coach, Flood would represent a home rookie, but he could also serve as Sarkissian’s offensive coordinator, a title he held at Rutgers before taking over the program.
Another scheming aide from Alabama could create recruiting ties with the state. Jeff Banks is currently the tight end coach and special teams coordinator for the Crimson Tide after spending five years with the Aggies. As a scout, Banks was instrumental in helping Alabama land former Texas quarterback Jalen Milroe and consensus five-star running back Camar Wheaton in the recruiting class of 2021.
Banks isn’t the only high-profile recruiter initially logged into Sarkisian, with FootballScoop floating around the name Tosh Lupoi. In 2019, Lupoi made the jump to the NFL with the Clevaland Browns and moved to the Atlanta Falcons this season adding the title of Defensive Running Game Coordinator. It’s unclear if Lupoi would consider returning to varsity gaming, but he has experience working with Sarkisian in Alabama and Washington.
However, Sarkisian chooses to bring his staff together, his previous experiences and the experiences of his two predecessors make it clear how important these initial decisions will be in determining whether Sarkisian succeeds or fails in Austin.
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