Staff: Strong and Herman failed before they played their first games at Texas. Presumably, this is why we hired Sarkisian so he needs to nail this.
Recruiting: If we lose the top players in the state to OSU and Bama next year, we picked the wrong guy.
Record: Anything less than 10-2 is a disappointment and two losses would depend on context. This isn't a rebuild so we shouldn't see a down year like Stoops had his first season at OU or Saban had at Bama. Great coaches make an immediate impact. Even guys like Osborne who took a long time to win a title won a lot of games immediately. We have talent. It's not Bama/Clemson talent, but it's better than everyone on our schedule next year other than OU.
Adjustments: This really falls at the end of year one. If we underperform in a given area, I want to see an adjustment whether that is adapting scheme to the current players or replacing an assistant. Mack Brown recognized the need for a change, but executed them badly at the end of his tenure. Herman waited too long to replace coaches and still had significant issues on the offensive side (maybe it wasn't the assistants...). Saban is the master of self scouting and making corrections. This, more than any other feature, is what sets him apart. He reacts more strongly to losses, but makes changes even when he's winning. If Sark learned anything from his time with Saban, I hope its this and that we see the same pattern here.