Texas and Steve Sarkisian seek a successful rebirth together | Launderer report

It’s understandable to be skeptical. After more than a decade of largely unfulfilled expectations, it’s only reasonable to assume that new Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian will follow in his predecessors’ footsteps.

The news alone will take some time to process. In the aftermath of the college football playoff semifinals – a day that saw Sarkisian help bring Alabama to a national championship appearance as the team’s offensive coordinator – the 46-year-old was abruptly named head coach of a school of seemingly endless resources.

It’s daring. Surprising. Expensive. And while it elicits strong and mixed opinions, it has a chance of being exactly what a program that is still trying to find itself needs at precisely the right time.

“This is a unique and compelling opportunity to take this legendary program to the next level, once again competing among the best in college football,” Sarkisian said in a statement released by the school.

Tom Herman, after being told a few weeks ago he would still be in Texas in 2021, no longer the coach of the Longhorns. Instead, he will reportedly collected a $ 15 million buyout after Texas announced it was making a head coach change. If his coaching staff is fired as well, it could cost Texas $ 24 million to restart its football program.

Texas, despite the occasional signs of a return, is not back. In the past 11 years, the Longhorns have only won double-digit games once. To a certain perspective, Syracuse has the same number of 10-game winning seasons during that span. Arkansas has done it twice.

For such a resource-rich program as the Longhorns – the kind of resource-rich resource that can make such a move possible – these results are simply unacceptable.

Along the way, there were moments. In fact, Herman’s perfect 4-0 score in bowling matches has inspired optimism for the future every offseason. Even this year, after Texas completely dominated Colorado with young players showing off attacking flashes, we slowly started crawling through the same rabbit hole.

The decision to fire Herman came as a surprise. Not because of his resume and a 22-13 conference record in Austin, a record that speaks volumes about the program’s inability to regain its status as one of the Big 12’s most important programs. instead, after suing Urban Meyer at the end of the year, it felt like Herman might have another shot just because another candidate didn’t show up.

But this is not currently the case. And once the national championship is played on January 11, Sarkisian, who will lead Alabama’s attack during that game, will be asked to do what Herman and Charlie Strong couldn’t.

The trip to Texas, of course, is filled with incredible highs and uplifting public lows for Sarkisian. A former Washington and USC head coach, Sarkisian was sacked by Trojans in 2015 following a series of alcohol-related events.

After entering rehab, Sarkisian resurfaced in Alabama, first as an analyst and then as the team’s offensive coordinator. He spent time in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons as an offensive coordinator before returning to Alabama in the same role.

This season, Sarkisian was named the winner of the Broyles Prize, awarded to the best assistant coach in college football.

In Sarkisian, Texas will inherit one of the sport’s best and most creative offensive callers. While having an arsenal of talented players has undoubtedly helped Sarkisian in recent seasons in Alabama, his work has nonetheless been extraordinary. In back-to-back seasons, the Crimson Tide has the No. 2 offense in the country.

Perhaps his most impressive feat in those two seasons is how he turned quarterback Mac Jones into a Heisman finalist in 14 months. Texas have had some success with Sam Ehlinger under center, but Sarkisian’s presence should provide an immediate jolt to the position and the offense.

Quarterback Casey Thompson, who came in to replace injured Ehlinger in the team’s bowling game and responded with an electric performance, could be a fascinating player to watch in 2021. Much like rookie Bijan Robinson, the running back star of the team, which flourished during the second. half of 2020.

Where Sarkissian could have his biggest impact in the coming months is recruiting. While he was able to make Jones one of the sport’s elite QBs, Sarkisian also recruited and landed 5-star QB Bryce Young. The California native is widely seen as the future of the program.

“Sark was definitely a catalyst,” Craig Young, Bryce’s father, told Bleacher Report earlier this year.

For Texas, this part is vital. Having to compete with Texas A&M, the SEC and beyond, securing the state’s elite talent has been a problem for Herman in recent years. And given the unknown surrounding his future, Sarkissian will have to run to the ground.

Having just produced three of Heisman’s top five attacking finishers in Alabama, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Sarkissian land an elite class in no time on his arrival. This part has always come naturally to him no matter where he has coached, and the vision is likely to be extremely appealing to many in the months to come.

In 2021, these are the ingredients for sustained success. Offense and recruitment. This is where the Longhorns’ main competition, Oklahoma, flourished under Lincoln Riley. This is where a program like Texas, with so many advantages, could flourish under the proper direction.

He’s not Urban Meyer. And given her history and spinoff at USC, it’s understandable that some aren’t completely embracing this hire. Fortunately, Sarkisian seems to be in a good position both emotionally and physically. And while it’s natural to be obsessed with the biggest names in the sport – a road Texas has come many times before – the Longhorns have hired someone other coaches at the conference will fear.

It will still take some time. Sarkisian will not inherit DeVonta Smith or Najee Harris or perhaps the best offensive line in college football. Texas, while not without excellent soccer players, will always be a work in progress. But Sarkissian will provide a spark, and the impact could be immediate.

What happens next, of course, remains to be seen. For Herman and Charlie Strong, the success was not sustainable. When they were first hired, there was optimism that they would be the ones to “bring back” Texas.

Over a decade later, and Texas is still looking. The Longhorns will look to a coach who has enjoyed his own football and personal renaissance over the past 10 years, a coach with the characteristics to lead a major college football program in 2021 and beyond.

It wasn’t the move we expected or the one we saw coming, and maybe that is exactly what this program needs.