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Official Coach Sark Thread of Dominance—haters back off

SimkinsMan

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Deej
Deej

aggy will still have a year left of paying Jimbo when Sark's extension expires. Lulz

SimkinsMan
SimkinsMan

I really, really like this hire. To fill its job opening, Texas needed someone with experience, who can coach, and who can recruit like a fiend. Sark is all three. Yes, Sark has made mistake

Hank Kingsley
Hank Kingsley

Pinch me right now as I couldn't be happier with Sarkisian and his staff. It's a long season and we haven't really faced any adversity yet on the field, but I want to express my appreciation after we'

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49,141

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Love not a "Destination Day" and 'All Gas No Brakes’  

Five years after hitting rock bottom, Steve Sarkisian explains how he got back on top

By Zach Barnett -   January 12, 2021

Hard to believe it was just five years ago Steve Sarkisian was fired as USC’s head coach. Just past his 40th birthday, Sarkisian was in place at his dream job, then lost it in just about the most public, most painful way possible.  Half a decade later, he’s back in a top-10 job, a transformation that makes five years feel both so recent and so distant in equal measure.  

The new head ‘Horn held his introductory press conference in Austin on Tuesday and was asked about his climb back to the peak of his profession.  “When you experience that, a lot of coaches go one of two ways. It really drove me just to be the best coach I could be,” he said. “I wasn’t worried about if I was going to be a head coach again, I just wanted to be the best version of Steve Sarkisian every day. How can I get better? Is there a better way to run this play? Is there a better way to recruit? I just kept looking for ways to get better and better and better.”

You can see the parallels there with in his battle with alcoholism. Sarkisian said in 2017 that battling that disease is “something I have to work on every single day.” You can also see Saban-ism there, a devotion to The Process and being where your feet are — two prized Saban sayings.  Either way, Sarkisian kept his head down and continued working, and becoming the head coach at Texas isn’t a signal that it’s time to change the approach that re-made his personal life and saved his career. On the contrary, it’s proof that he needs to double down on it.

“This isn’t a destination day for me,” he said. “This is a stop on the road for me to say, okay, this is where I am now but the mindset’s not going to change for me. We’ve got to keep going to work. That’s the adage ‘All Gas No Brakes.’ I want our players to feel that mentality that this isn’t a destination day — now I can relax I’m the head coach at Texas. This is an opportunity day, now what are we going to do with it?”

https://footballscoop.com/news/five-years-after-hitting-rock-bottom-steve-sarkisian-explains-how-he-got-back-on-top/

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immamac

immamac 42,833

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14 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

You want sunshine? I’ll give you sunshine. 
 

The hiring of Sark will turn out better than Meyer ever would have. Yup. Sark has been exposed to both Carroll and Saban’s greatness. His offense is a way better scheme than Meyer’s. According to a friend who knows him well he’s a great guy. He’s younger. He’s going to be better. 

lol I just read your Jan 3 post and it's eerie how similar our feelings have evolved. 

My body is ready. All Gas and NO BRAKES

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MrPhlegm

MrPhlegm 3,413

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I'll be in the cautiously optimistic but burned before section, but at least winning won't be hard anymore.
He checks a lot of boxes and we weren't getting UM.
I'll be all in when he beats ou sucks.


repeately. one and done aint gonna get it. beat ou many times in a row. decisively.
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MrPhlegm

MrPhlegm 3,413

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You want sunshine? I’ll give you sunshine. 
 
The hiring of Sark will turn out better than Meyer ever would have. Yup. Sark has been exposed to both Carroll and Saban’s greatness. His offense is a way better scheme than Meyer’s. According to a friend who knows him well he’s a great guy. He’s younger. He’s going to be better. 
and he took Washington and made them win.


has sark ever had a losing season.
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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49,141

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Rat Poison ??  😋

 

Saban in Oct 2017

"I'm trying to get our players to listen to me instead of listening to you guys. All that stuff you write about how good we are, all that stuff they hear on ESPN, it's like poison. It's like taking poison.

"Like rat poison."

 

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49,141

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Rat Poison ???   😋

Nick Saban calls Steve Sarkisian 'one of the finest coaches on Alabama staff'

By TAYLOR ESTES     25 min ago

One of the marquee non-conference games of the 2022 college football season will go down Week 2 in Austin, Texas when the Longhorns host Alabama at 11 a.m. CT as part of FOX's Big Noon Kickoff. There are a lot of ties between Texas and Alabama entering the Week 2 matchup with Texas coach Steve Sarkisian being Nick Saban's former offensive coordinator with the Crimson Tide on the 2020 College Football Playoff national championship team, in addition to several members of Sark's staff at Texas also being former assistants for Saban, including special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Jeff Banks, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Kyle Flood and quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee.

There are also a handful of familiar faces on the Texas roster with the Longhorns landing a trio of former Alabama players, including running back Keilan Robinson, tight end Jahleel Billingsley and wide receiver Agiye Hall since Sark took over as head coach of the Longhorns.

But all competition aside, there's no denying the level of respect both Sarkisian and Saban have for one another, as the two head coaches discussed during their conference media days interview sessions.

Saban was the latest to sing the praises of his former head coach when he was asked about Sarkisian Tuesday at SEC Media Days.

"Sark is one of the finest coaches that we ever had on our staff," Saban said of his former offensive coordinator. "He did an outstanding job and does a good job with player relations. He's very well organized, a very good play caller on game day and just did a fantastic job. Really excited for him and his family that he got the opportunity to go to Texas and I know they're going to have a really challenging team for us (to face on Sept. 10).

"It's going to be a very competitive game, which I'm sure their players are looking forward to and our players are looking forward to, which is what makes college football great. But I have a really good relationship with Sark.

"He was always very, very respectful of the head coach, our relationship, the principles and values of the organization that he sort of instilled in the players and reinforced in a positive way, so I can't say enough good things about Sark and how he contributed to the program and the success that I think he'll have at Texas."

Sarkisian had a lot of glowing remarks to make about his former boss when he was asked about what Saban meant to him and his career last week at Big 12 Media Days.

“I have an unbelievable amount of respect for Coach Saban and that program. Without Nick Saban, I wouldn't be sitting here today in front of y'all. I owe a great deal to him. I owe so much to him, and I will never, ever forget that he and Ms. Terry have been tremendous in my life and my wife's life and what they've done for us on and off the field, I owe them a great deal.

“With that being said, I can't wait to play them because I know what he puts into it. I know the work ethic. I know the discipline that he has personally. I know what he instills into his organization, into that team.

“I think ultimately that's what you try to take when you leave Alabama, because you can't try to be Nick Saban; there's only one. You have to be a Steve Sarkisian. But the discipline and commitment that he has personally to that program that then he instills into his team and into his own organization is something that you try to emulate.

“I cherished my time there with him. I loved my time there with him, and looking forward to playing him in Week 2.”

The Longhorns and the Crimson Tide will kickoff at 11 a.m. CT on Sept. 10 with game coverage available on FOX.

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49,141

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This will be an interesting thread bump... 😋

Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian says Alabama's Nick Saban 'saved my career'

8:30 AM CT  Chris Low ESPN Senior Writer

Quote

AUSTIN, Texas -- Steve Sarkisian hasn't forgotten, and he won't forget.

There's no way he could, especially not this week with Nick Saban and the No. 1 Crimson Tide coming to town.

To most in the college football world, Saban is the guy who has led Alabama to a staggering six national championships, the guy who has transcended college football in myriad different ways and the guy who has built a dynasty the likes of which the sport may not see again any time soon.

But for Sarkisian, Saban is, simply, the guy who "saved my career."

As big a game as it will be for Texas when Alabama visits DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday -- and as big a game as it is for Sarkisian to show that the Longhorns are on the right trajectory after suffering through a losing season in his first year at the helm -- he says he will forever be indebted to his old boss.

"I've said this numerous times, but I would not be the head coach at Texas if it weren't for Nick Saban," Sarkisian told ESPN. "He gave me a chance when I had a hard time getting an interview, never mind a job. There were days that I thought, 'Man, I'm never going to be a head coach again. I'm never going to be an offensive coordinator again. I'm never going to get another job.'

"But Coach Saban took a chance on me when I needed somebody to believe in me again."

Sarkisian's issues with alcohol have been well chronicled and led to his firing at USC five games into the 2015 season when then-athletic director Pat Haden said Sarkisian's "conduct did not meet USC's standards" and that Sarkisian was "not healthy." Sarkisian has talked openly about his alcoholism and says he hasn't held anything back from his players at Texas.

"I'm really transparent with my players. I'm really open. I'm really honest," Sarkisian said. "I share my story about where I was in my career at 33 or 34 years old as head coach at the University of Washington, then being fired publicly on national television at USC and then going to a treatment facility for 30 days."

Sarkisian needed a chance to rebuild his career, and there was no better place to do that than at Alabama under Saban, who has helped to resurrect more than a few coaches' prospects.

"Sark is the one who did the work," Saban told ESPN. "We supported him and made sure there were the right resources and people in place to help him, as we have with many others. But, listen, he saved his own career by doing a great job for us and rehabbing himself professionally, and I'm not just talking about personally, but professionally in a really, really positive way that impacted our program greatly and helped us be successful here."

Saban actually took two chances on Sarkisian, whose Longhorns opened the season with a 52-10 victory over Louisiana-Monroe. The first came when Saban hired Sarkisian as an offensive analyst just before the start of the 2016 season, which was a complete surprise to Sarkisian. In fact, he had already committed to being a part of Fox's broadcast team that season and had no plans (or opportunities) to coach.

He was on Alabama's campus that summer as part of his own mini-tour where he spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons on the NFL side and Florida and Alabama on the college side.

Tuscaloosa just happened to be his final stop.

"I was spending three to five days at every spot, just trying to tap into where my friends were coaching and try to stay connected to the game," Sarkisian said. "I'd never had an August where I wasn't in training camp." One of the main reasons he went to Alabama at all was to reconnect with old pal Lane Kiffin, the Tide's offensive coordinator. They were together at USC as co-offensive coordinators under Pete Carroll and have remained close.

During Sarkisian's visit to Alabama, Saban had Sarkisian watching tape and drawing up plays on the whiteboard.

"Every day, it was like, 'Watch this, watch that and tell me what you think of this, what you think of that,'" Sarkisian recounted. "Coach Saban doesn't miss anything. He's always picking your brain."

Ultimately, Sarkisian said it was Kiffin who was "kind of the champion behind a lot of it" and tossed out the idea of joining Alabama's staff as an analyst. Sure enough, Saban offered him a position, but Sarkisian was unsure if he wanted to take it.

"I went back and forth and back and forth and agreed to take the job at Alabama, and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made," Sarkisian said.

Little did he know that he would be calling plays in the national championship game later that season after Saban parted ways with Kiffin following a 24-7 win over Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Kiffin had planned to stay on for the championship game after agreeing to take the Florida Atlantic head job, but Saban had other ideas after seeing the Tide struggle on offense in the win over the Huskies.

Steve Sarkisian unexpectedly filed the offensive coordinator role for Nick Saban against Clemson in the 2017 national title game. Tom Pennington/Getty Images

"Definitely one of the more unique experiences of my career," Sarkisian said of the 35-31 national championship game loss to Clemson.

Sarkisian had already been hired as Kiffin's successor, but his first stint as Alabama's offensive coordinator lasted less than two months. He left Feb. 7 to be the Falcons' offensive coordinator, replacing Kyle Shanahan, who was named the San Francisco 49ers' head coach. But after two years with Atlanta, Sarkisian was fired as part of a shakeup on the Falcons' staff.

Saban admittedly wasn't pleased Sarkisian bolted so quickly, but took a second chance on him after Mike Locksley left to take the Maryland head-coaching job following the 2018 season and then Dan Enos left abruptly to be Miami's offensive coordinator. Sarkisian was all set to stay in the NFL and take a job as the Arizona Cardinals' offensive coordinator when Saban called again.

"In my mind, I was staying in the NFL, but had to take a step back and look at myself and say, 'You know what? Here's a man that offered me a job when no one even wanted to interview me,'" Sarkisian said. "'Here's a man that entrusted me to call a national championship game when I had been an analyst all year long. Here's a man that hired me as offensive coordinator and I left a few months later ... and he's still calling me to come back?'

"I felt like at that time I owed him. He extended me an olive branch, and I don't know how much I really appreciated that and how much I acknowledged that."

Under Sarkisian's tutelage, Alabama's offense put up record-setting numbers. The Tide averaged 47.2 points per game in 2019, second only to national champion LSU.

After that season, Sarkisian turned down head-coaching opportunities at Colorado and Mississippi State to stay at Alabama.

"I thought to myself, 'You know, I think there's a better job out there for me, and I've got unfinished business,'" Sarkisian said. "We didn't win a national championship. We were good enough. We were talented enough. I didn't do a good enough job. It was the right thing for me, for the program and for Coach Saban to stay another year."

Sarkisian became an even hotter commodity in 2020 as the Crimson Tide rolled through the season unbeaten on their way to a national championship, and did so while playing an all-SEC schedule during the COVID-impacted regular season. The Tide again finished second nationally in scoring offense (48.5 points per game) with first-year full-time quarterback Mac Jones playing his way into being an NFL first-round draft pick and receiver DeVonta Smith winning the Heisman Trophy. They scored more than 40 points in 10 straight games.

As the College Football Playoff approached, Sarkisian turned down an opportunity to interview for the Auburn head-coaching job.

"There were a couple of opportunities, but they weren't the right ones for me," Sarkisian said. "But then Texas came ... very late."

And very quickly.

Texas announced Sarkisian's hiring Jan. 2, 2021, about five hours after announcing that Tom Herman was out as coach.

"Then, it felt right," Sarkisian said. "We were going to play for a national title, and I felt like I fulfilled what I owed to Coach Saban. Plus, it was Texas."

Saban's Alabama program has been something of a haven for coaches looking for second chances, whether they were fired at their previous stops for not winning enough or for other reasons. Saban said the ones who have received second chances all had one thing in common.

They were committed to helping themselves.

"I've given several people chances, and they've all done really, really well, whether it was Lane, who had lots of baggage, or Mike Locksley, who had a negative past, and then Sark," Saban said. "I think people learn a lot sometimes when things go badly, and it makes them aware that there are some changes that need to be made.

"It wasn't because I told them. They did it themselves, did a great job here and earned their opportunities."

Texas will have to earn its way back to national relevance after going 12 straight years without as much as a conference championship. The Longhorns have had almost as many head coaches (four) as they've had winning seasons (six) over the last decade. Sarkisian knows what the pinnacle of college football looks like. He's seen it up close.

"It's been Alabama for the last decade and a half," Sarkisian said. "And at the end of day, we should also be one of those teams at the pinnacle, and that's what we're striving to do."

 

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victory88

victory88 5,663

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1 hour ago, LTtxfan said:

Bama game was one of his best coaching performances at Texas.

Without Ewers, he has to follow today's effort with another good coaching effort -- gotta beat utsa.  

It’s frustrating watching great play calling but not having the players and depth to execute.  We saw glimpses of it last year and today with Quinn.  I’ve watched enough football to know which coaches have it and which don’t. Sark will always be an elite offensive mind.  He seems to have fixed the defense for now by bringing Patterson.  He is recruiting extremely well.  This fanbase needs to be patient bc we’re going to be very hard to beat when we have his guys here and they have experience.  We saw a glimpse of it today when Ewers threw for 138 yards and dropping dimes to wide open WRs against an elite defense in the first few drives.  Really happy we have Sark.

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Azbadlands

Azbadlands 109

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11 minutes ago, 40acredropout said:

Yeah.  Anybody calling for Sark's head (short of him falling off wagon) before this O-line matures and Quinn/Arch is settled in can suck my ballbag.  The guy can coach and attract elite talent and fuck you if you can't see that.

Definitely, we need some continuity...I think as long as the D keeps improving Sark will be successful here.  He can definitely improve the offense, and looks like he is getting a lot of the players in place to do it..

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Tex-19

Tex-19 2,872

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1 hour ago, victory88 said:

It’s frustrating watching great play calling but not having the players and depth to execute.  We saw glimpses of it last year and today with Quinn.  I’ve watched enough football to know which coaches have it and which don’t. Sark will always be an elite offensive mind.  He seems to have fixed the defense for now by bringing Patterson.  He is recruiting extremely well.  This fanbase needs to be patient bc we’re going to be very hard to beat when we have his guys here and they have experience.  We saw a glimpse of it today when Ewers threw for 138 yards and dropping dimes to wide open WRs against an elite defense in the first few drives.  Really happy we have Sark.

Yeah I was very encouraged by the playcalling while Ewers was in. I know it's what he's known for, but it's still great to see Sark and Ewers execute like that. That's what makes the Ewers injury so heartbreaking (if he misses much time) - we finally saw a glimpse of the offense we've been expecting to see and now it's potentially snatched from us for now. Hate to be that guy but next year is gonna be scary with the extra OL experience, Worthy and Neyor back, and Sanders. Bijan will be missed but still..

Like you said though, the defense was the biggest revelation today. Let's give PK some credit too, he's still the one calling those plays.

Edited by Tex-19
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Beantown Express 2.0

Beantown Express 2.0 6,559

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1 hour ago, 40acredropout said:

Yeah.  Anybody calling for Sark's head (short of him falling off wagon) before this O-line matures and Quinn/Arch is settled in can suck my ballbag.  The guy can coach and attract elite talent and fuck you if you can't see that.

This times a thousand.  Sark runs an offense that gets guys open but with a crappy QB there is nothing he can do.  Thompson was a shit QB and Card is also.  Card may be a great guy but as a QB he panics.  You can see him hold the ball over and over when he needs to let it go.  I don’t think that can be corrected either.  The college game may just be a little too fast for him.   That is why many good HS qb’s suck when they get to college.  I think Card falls into that camp plus he has a noodle for an arm.  He just can’t throw the ball over 20 yards consistently and you can’t win with that hamstringing your offense especially against talent like Bama has.  The future is bright for the Horns for the fist time in a long time.  In 1-2 more years the depth chart should be stocked 2 to 3 deep at every position and then 10 win seasons at a minimum every year will be the norm.

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