2021 Texas Offseason: Sark Attacks Austin

[Machinator 32,103]

8 minutes ago, LurkingHorn said:

Do you really need to post the same quote from 3 separate accounts?

If it were the same quote, I'd post it once. The reporters usually post parts of a quote, so when I post multiple tweets, it's to provide context and allow people to piece what Sark said together.

[TexasEx 1,697]

11 minutes ago, LurkingHorn said:

Do you really need to post the same quote from 3 separate accounts?

Don't question the Machinator. Respect the Machinator. 

[LurkingHorn 1,093]

6 minutes ago, Machinator said:

If it were the same quote, I'd post it once. The reporters usually post parts of a quote, so when I post multiple tweets, it's to provide context and allow people to piece what Sark said together.

 

5 minutes ago, TexasEx said:

Don't question the Machinator. Respect the Machinator. 

Fair enough. 

[South Austin 53,222]

28 minutes ago, LurkingHorn said:

Do you really need to post the same quote from 3 separate accounts?

Don’t quibble with a bot.

[UncleSonny 6,798]

39 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

Weird that it’s comforting to hear that our new coach is watching film of the team he’s now in charge of but here we are. 
 

 

[Lou_Sassle 2,995]

2 hours ago, LurkingHorn said:

Do you really need to post the same quote from 3 separate accounts?

 

[Don Hornleone 530]

who dis be?

[Acropora 864]

12 minutes ago, Don Hornleone said:

who dis be?

Eman naghavi.   OC at ULM.  Former OL coach.  Don't see that he was fired so seems strange

[satyanash 15,596]

(Scipio Tex) Sarkisian's RB History: Get Ready For The Bijan Bell Cow

Quote

A few things strike an analyst when one evaluates Sarkisian's use of running backs.

1. Sark is not shy about having a #1 bell cow. He seems to prefer it.

2. He wants to throw the ball to receiving capable running backs. A lot. That desire is limited by the ability of his running backs (or his QB). If his best pure runner can't catch, other guys will earn snaps. The RB passing game is central to his beliefs.

3. When he has rotated backs in a true job share (rather than just spelling a guy for a series or two), it's because a single starter didn't take the job, because they offer complementary skill sets (the best pure runner can't catch), or the #1 runner suffered injuries.

I'll confine my analysis to the schools where he was either the head coach or offensive coordinator. There's no question that his upbringing at BYU influenced his perception of RBs in the passing game and he got to see the lethal Bush/White combo first hand early in his career at USC, but he wasn't determining snaps, playing time, or offensive direction. Sark's college RB track record:

In 2007/2008 at USC, Sarkisian had three man rotations at RB featuring a mix of Chauncey Washington, Joe McKnight, and Stafon Johnson. Necessity more than preference. In 2007, Sark threw the ball 66 times to running backs despite lead back Chauncey Washington only catching 7 balls. In 2008, Sark threw the ball 62 times to USC running backs despite lead back Stafon Johnson being a similarly negligible pass catcher. Over those two years, nifty tough guy fullback Stanley Havili caught an impressive 58 passes. Texas won't play much true fullback, but Sark likes dependable sure-handed guys on play action and in the red zone.

At Washington, Sark had two bell cows over 5 years: Chris Polk and Bishop Sankey. They combined for five consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons in Seattle. Why did Chris Polk trend up as a pass catcher in the last of his three years? Because heady Keith Price replaced Jake Locker at QB. Locker had the short passing game feel of a Highland Games competitor. Sarkisian worked Bishop Sankey like a draft horse in Central Park: in 2013, Sankey had 8 games with 25+ carries, including 40, 35, and 34 carry efforts. He had more than 20 carries in 11 of 13 contests, logging only 4 carries against Idaho State.

USC's Javorius Allen continued the bell cow tradition, amassing over 1400+ yards rushing while catching another 40+ balls out of the backfield. When Sark has an effective runner and pass catcher, those are the kinds of numbers one can expect. In 2015, Sarkisian coached only half of the season, but it's worth noting that Justin Davis also provided 900+ rushing yards in a 1-2 punch with Ronald Jones.  USC came very close to having two 1,000 yard rushers.

Jones wasn't utilized as a pass catcher due to a condition called "skillet hands." Davis job shared in part because he was a better asset as a pass catcher. Najee Harris' impressive two year run at Alabama demonstrates what happens when Sark gets his hands on a talented multipurpose back. Despite sitting out a lot of 4th quarters in Alabama blowouts, Harris caught 70 balls over two years and had 11 receiving touchdowns in addition to scoring 39 rushing touchdowns. That's 50 total touchdowns in two years.

The Texas Takeaways

Keaontay Ingram was wise to transfer. Sark is going to tighten up the rotation and create a feature spotlight.

Bijan Robinson is a dream running back for the Sarkisian offense. While I expect Bijan's overall workload to more resemble Najee Harris than Bishop Sankey, Sark will want Robinson to catch 35-45 balls and touch the ball 20 total times a game against top tier Texas opponents. Like a cross between Reggie Bush and Najee Harris, Robinson has the ability to split out, excel in the screen game, or hunt linebacker match ups releasing from the backfield. Unlike Reggie Bush, Robinson does that with a 220 pound frame and top tier tackle breaking ability.

Sark will also like the skill set of Roschon Johnson, who has always demonstrated pass catching ability, never-say-die tackle breaking, as well as a willingness to block. RoJo can not only spell Bijan and act as a late game volume finisher, but he might also offer some Stanley Havili-like attributes. Bottom line: Sark likes bell cows. Get ready to hear some ringing.

 

 

[satyanash 15,596]

Chip Brown: Steve Sarkisian feels 'pretty good' about current Texas quarterback situation

Quote

While Steve Sarkisian said Wednesday he still has four scholarships available for 2021 that he wants to keep handy following spring football (which will begin March 23), it sounded like Sarkisian wasn't planning on using one of those scholarships on a graduate transfer quarterback.

Currently, Texas has three scholarship quarterbacks on campus: Casey Thompson,  Hudson Card and early enrollee freshman Charles Wright. Thompson is coming off an 8-of-10 passing performance with four touchdowns on five straight scoring drives after relieving an injured Sam Ehlinger in the second half of UT's 55-23 Alamo Bowl victory over Colorado. Card also saw action in that game.

“I feel pretty good (at quarterback) at this point,” Sarkisian said after signing 23 newcomers in UT’s 2021 class. “I mean I haven’t seen them live, which is concerning for me, considering I’m the quarterback guy. But I do like the maturity of Casey (Thompson). I like what he brought in the (Alamo Bowl) game. You got a pretty good feel. We’ve obviously dug into a lot of practice tape. I like the skill set of Hudson Card. I think he’s a really talented player, and you see that when you dig into the practice tape. I think we’ve got two kind-of frontline guys to start the process, and then bringing Charles (Wright) here. And then we’ll see what we end up doing moving forward in the ’22 and ’23 class.”

Clearly, Sarkisian wants to see how his current evaluations of Thompson and Card play out in the spring. But Sarkisian added that the days of having four and five scholarship quarterbacks on a roster are probably over.

“With the transfer portal now at that position, the guys just don’t stick around as long,” Sarkisian said. “So, you’ve got to be prepared to work with two or three, really develop them and get ‘em to a point where you feel good about it. Looking around the country at where we’re at, I feel good about the position. But I’ve got to wrap my head around the fact that it’s not six or seven years ago, when you’d have four or five guys on your roster at that position. They just don’t stick around. You’ve got to be ready to work with two or three.”

In terms of how Sarkisian will approach recruiting the quarterback position in future classes, he said the staff will do its evaluation and have a very small number of quarterbacks they’ll recruit. “I don’t recruit a million quarterbacks at a time,” Sarkisian said. “We do our evaluation and pare it down pretty tight, so we have a pretty good idea of the guys who we’re really considering, and if they decided to come, we’d be excited to have them and move forward.”

Sarkisian said the key to recruiting the quarterback position is being honest with everyone. “That’s something we try to pride ourselves on being with all of our recruits, and quarterbacks are no different,” Sarkisian said. “When you’re upfront and honest and you tell them your plan, then I think everybody can get on a common ground and understand what you're doing. I think being honest with them, with the numbers you have, so they're aware of the situation, is the key to the drill.”

 

[LTtxfan 50,000]

35 minutes ago, Acropora said:

Eman naghavi.   OC at ULM.  Former OL coach.  Don't see that he was fired so seems strange

If true, he's worked at TEXAS before...

"Naghavi previously spent two years as an offensive line assistant at Texas under head coaches Mack Brown (2013) and Charlie Strong (2014). During his tenure with the Longhorns, he helped develop All-Big 12 linemen Trey Hopkins (first team) and Donald Hawkins (second team) in 2013 while also working with the tight ends."

[satyanash 15,596]

3 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

If true, he's worked at TEXAS before...

"Naghavi previously spent two years as an offensive line assistant at Texas under head coaches Mack Brown (2013) and Charlie Strong (2014). During his tenure with the Longhorns, he helped develop All-Big 12 linemen Trey Hopkins (first team) and Donald Hawkins (second team) in 2013 while also working with the tight ends."

if nothing else, at least he'll have better talent to work with than Marcus Hutchins and NCAA.

[RaysBoomBoomRoom 5,742]

 

[satyanash 15,596]

The coaching staff thread was locked way too prematurely...

(Mike Roach) Sources: Texas to name Chris Gilbert Director of High School Relations

Quote

Texas made a move to solidify relationships with high school coaches, especially those in the DFW area. Sources tell Horns247 that Lancaster head coach Chris Gilbert is expected to be the next Director of High School Relations at Texas. The longtime south Dallas coach is a pillar of the Texas High School Coaches Association and one of the most respected leaders in the state of Texas.

After playing his high school ball at South Oak Cliff, Gilbert played and graduated from San Angelo State University. Following assistant stints at Greenville and Bryan High School, Gilbert got his first head coaching gig at South Oak Cliff. In 2007, Gilbert led the Golden Bears to the Regional Semi-Finals on their longest playoff run since 1970.

Gilbert moved on Terrell High School where he took the Tigers to the playoffs ending a five year drought and improved win totals. Gilbert next landed at Lancaster and has been overseeing the program for 10 years. During that time, Gilbert went 83-30 helping to bolster his 121-58 record as a head coach. He's 16-7 in the playoffs and holds the all time wins total for the Lancaster program. Gilbert took his team to the regional finals three times in his tenure and reached the state title game once.

Gilbert was named District Coach of the Year in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2020. An established member of the THSCA, Gilbert currently serves on the Region 3 Board of Directors for the coaches association.

This move signifies a desire to strengthen high school relations in south Dallas where the Longhorns have struggled over the past few years. That said, Gilbert is well-known enough and has enough reach to build relationships with coaches in every corner of the state. With Jeff Banks expected to recruit DFW for the Longhorns and Gilbert in place with a Rolodex full of big-time names, the Longhorns should help their efforts in Dallas.

The high school relations role was first created by Mack Brown at Texas when Major Applewhite was hired in 2008. Mack Brown created the position to transition long time running back coach Ken Rucker into an off-field role. Rucker served until Herman's dismissal and Charlie Strong chose not to utilize the position.

In the final year of his tenure, Mike Perrin placed former Texas coach Hardee McCrary into the role. When Tom Herman arrived in Austin, he named longtime coach Bob Shipley to fulfill the role. Steve Sarkisian addressed Shipley's role during his signing day press conference when he said that Shipley will remain a part of the program following the transition. Sources tell Horns247 that Gilbert is still going through the initial paperwork and NCAA approval stages, but once cleared he can begin work. That is expected to happen as early as next week.

 

[ForTheCorner 51]

Hey, don't know where to post this, but figure I might get some answers on the football board-

 

My friends and I (current students) are thinking about going to Fayetteville from Austin to watch the game against pig next year. Never tried to buy tickets for any large game besides Red River before, does anyone have any tips about when to try to get tickets, or about going to Fayetteville more specifically? I hear the place is a shithole.

[Herbie Hancock 7,489]

Hi Carl

[Machinator 32,103]

 

[Droopy 2,639]

17 minutes ago, ForTheCorner said:

Hey, don't know where to post this, but figure I might get some answers on the football board-

 

My friends and I (current students) are thinking about going to Fayetteville from Austin to watch the game against pig next year. Never tried to buy tickets for any large game besides Red River before, does anyone have any tips about when to try to get tickets, or about going to Fayetteville more specifically? I hear the place is a shithole.

Welcome, but negging in case of being the dipshit, Carl. No offense... unless you’re Carl. 

[Machinator 32,103]

His writing style isn't anything like Carl's.

[Droopy 2,639]

Just now, Machinator said:

His writing style isn't anything like Carl's.

True, which is why I went with “no offense”, and with my low peen ass he’ll survive. 😁

[Droopy 2,639]

On a side note, I just hope this staff develops the kids and puts them in the best position to succeed. We’ve seen well coached teams come in and whip our talent’s ass fundamentally and athletically. Time to get back to workman football and put teams on their heels. 🤘🏼

[clapclapclap 9,000]

 

15 minutes ago, Machinator said:

His writing style isn't anything like Carl's.

Carl's Jr?

Edited February 4, 2021 by clapclapclap

[Reese Bennett 3,663]

Sark looks the same from one appearance to another. That seems like a good change.

[LTtxfan 50,000]

1 hour ago, clapclapclap said:

Carl's Jr?

 

[ForTheCorner 51]

2 hours ago, Droopy said:

Welcome, but negging in case of being the dipshit, Carl. No offense... unless you’re Carl. 

Nah, but understandable though - I joined after lurking the Urban thread last month.

2 hours ago, Machinator said:

His writing style isn't anything like Carl's.

If nobody else got me, I know Machinator got me 🙏🙏

Edited February 4, 2021 by ForTheCorner

[pacman 7,505]

Do you know what today is?

 

Today boys, today, we begin the first day of the rest of ours lives as Longhorn football fans.

[horn_of_the_morning 999]

Sark on Bruce Feldman's podcast.

https://pca.st/episode/08c6dce3-9ada-47a0-bd61-b7e722d6cdb2

[LTtxfan 50,000]

11 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

If true, he's worked at TEXAS before...

"Naghavi previously spent two years as an offensive line assistant at Texas under head coaches Mack Brown (2013) and Charlie Strong (2014). During his tenure with the Longhorns, he helped develop All-Big 12 linemen Trey Hopkins (first team) and Donald Hawkins (second team) in 2013 while also working with the tight ends."

 

[Jack Wilson 313]

9 hours ago, clapclapclap said:

 

Carl's Jr?

Carl's Corner.

[LTtxfan 50,000]

1 hour ago, horn_of_the_morning said:

Sark on Bruce Feldman's podcast.

https://pca.st/episode/08c6dce3-9ada-47a0-bd61-b7e722d6cdb2

Thx for posting this link !!!

Really good 20min segment with SARK starting in the 14min area.  Good discussion late on how SARK developed his offense, and how developing all 85 players is critical to long-term success of the TEXAS program...

[Lou_Sassle 2,995]

12 hours ago, satyanash said:

(Scipio Tex) Sarkisian's RB History: Get Ready For The Bijan Bell Cow

Sark will want Robinson to catch 35-45 balls and touch the ball 20 total times a game against top tier Texas opponents.

 

[Machinator 32,103]

 

[DanTheHorn 5,079]

This morning on ESPN I heard Tua Tagovailoa say he is working on "Being the best version of myself". This reminded me of yesterday when Sark said he would teach his team to be the best version of themselves regardless of opponent and moment. I always thought this was missing in Herman's philosophy which was 1-0 and Winning is Hard! which to me is completely focused on the opponent in front of you not just on being as good as you can be and therefore playing to the competition. As I remember it Mack created Not our Standard after the Stanford loss and after that he made winning against lesser opponents look easy.

So did Sark bring this here from Alabama or has he been using it for some time. I am thinking it is from Alabama since I did a search between 2009 to 2015 ["Steve Sarkisian" "Best version of yourself"] and got no results but I did a search for the phrase and Saban and got many of his players saying it. I am excited about the new mission statement and I hope Sark knows how to make it happen.

 

[Eggo 4,026]

3 minutes ago, DanTheHorn said:

This morning on ESPN I heard Tua Tagovailoa say he is working on "Being the best version of myself". This reminded me of yesterday when Sark said he would teach his team to be the best version of themselves regardless of opponent and moment. I always thought this was missing in Herman's philosophy which was 1-0 and Winning is Hard! which to me is completely focused on the opponent in front of you not just on being as good as you can be and therefore playing to the competition. As I remember it Mack created Not our Standard after the Stanford loss and after that he made winning against lesser opponents look easy.

So did Sark bring this here from Alabama or has he been using it for some time. I am thinking it is from Alabama since I did a search between 2009 to 2015 ["Steve Sarkisian" "Best version of yourself"] and got no results but I did a search for the phrase and Saban and got many of his players saying it. I am excited about the new mission statement and I hope Sark knows how to make it happen.

 

Process > Goals

Those phrases have Saban written all over them.

[Sgt Hulk 14,431]

14 hours ago, satyanash said:

(Scipio Tex) Sarkisian's RB History: Get Ready For The Bijan Bell Cow

 

If he doesn’t win or come close to winning a heisman future man will fist his own ass

[Sgt Hulk 14,431]

16 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

The university of Texas in LA transformation is complete 

[Nope 3,151]

16 minutes ago, Sgt Hulk said:

The university of Texas in LA transformation is complete 

Guess we know where the rest of our portal guys will end up 

[Jack Wilson 313]

37 minutes ago, Machinator said:

 

In a perfect world, Sark would have done everything he could to keep BC. (He may have; who knows?) Dress it up any way you want, Carrington's going to SC  to recruit. We're going to miss him a hell of a lot. You can point to all the rainmaking coaches we hired, but why not couple them with a proven off-the-field guy like BC? Hate to lose him.

[Thiefery 5,108]

1 minute ago, Jack Wilson said:

In a perfect world, Sark would have done everything he could to keep BC. (He may have; who knows?) Dress it up any way you want, Carrington's going to SC  to recruit. We're going to miss him a hell of a lot. You can point to all the rainmaking coaches we hired, but why not couple them with a proven off-the-field guy like BC? Hate to lose him.

BC is a Herman guy

[Jack Wilson 313]

Just now, Thiefery said:

BC is a Herman guy

I was too. Until Maryland. The first Maryland.

[Machinator 32,103]

Spoiler

Newly hired Texas coach Steve Sarkisian ended his first Signing Day news conference Wednesday with an obligatory “Hook ‘em” hand sign, a surreal sight for those who still remember him as a head coach at Washington and USC in the first half of last decade. Even before that, in Jan. 2006, Sarkisian was on the opposite side of Texas’ last great football triumph, Vince Young’s epic national championship upset of USC.

But Texas hired the 46-year-old Sarkisian with the understanding he’s a much different coach than the one who was fired five games into the 2015 season at USC for issues related to alcohol abuse.

In an interview on The Audible podcast on Wednesday, Sarkisian discussed how he’s evolved personally and professionally the past five years during his climb back from rock bottom, first as an analyst for Nick Saban, then as offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons in 2017-18 and, most recently, as the play-caller for Alabama’s record-setting 2020 national championship offense. He has previously acknowledged undergoing addiction treatment that continued while at Alabama.

“Early in my career, I was the hottest thing cooking, man. I was on the fast track,” Sarkisian said. “I think my ego really took over who I was as a person and probably suppressed some better qualities and traits I possessed that got me to that point.

“When you get dealt that humble pie, and you don’t have a job, and you’re wondering, am I ever going to be a head coach again, or what’s my journey going to look like, and how am I going to get back to doing what I love to do? You have to just dig back into what got you there — and that’s just being the best person you can be every day.”

When Saban and then-Alabama OC/former colleague Lane Kiffin brought him on as an analyst in 2016, a humbled Sarkisian said he mostly tried to be a resource for others. He then took the same approach in Atlanta working with head coach Dan Quinn and star QB Matt Ryan. “I told myself, every day I walk into that building, I’m going to be the best version of Steve Sarkisian I can be,” he said. “How can I get to that point every single day, to be a great resource for these guys? And as I worked my way through it, I thought they really latched onto that about me, and it kind of permeated through the building. I was making a real impact on professionals.”

By the time Saban called with the opportunity to return as offensive coordinator, Sarkisian believed his new perspective would put him in a better position to mentor college-age players than during his up-and-comer days. And it certainly showed in his development of players like QB Mac Jones and Heisman winner DeVonta Smith.

Now, he’s taken his “All Gas, No Brakes” mantra to Austin, where he inherits a program not lacking for talent but in desperate need of a culture overhaul after so many years of underachieving.

“To have this opportunity now, I’m in a different space as far as it’s more about others than it is for me,” he said. “It’s more about what I can do to help them, and in return, (I) get something greater in return for me personally at that point. … And the end result is, if you develop really good relationships, you have people that want to try to emulate the same thing you bring — and that’s the best version of themselves every day. So that ultimately, you end up with a better version of a team every day.”

Perhaps most excitingly for Texas fans, the 2020 Broyles Award winner will continue calling plays. Sarkisian said the explosive offense Alabama ran last season was essentially a greatest-hits compilation of his previous 18 years of coaching — West Coast passing concepts that date to Carson Palmer-era USC and his one season as the Oakland Raiders’ QB coach under Norv Turner; zone-read and no-huddle elements he began using with QBs Jake Locker and Keith Price at Washington; RPO plays he’d been dabbling with for a decade before going all-in on them at Alabama; and play-action facets of former Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

“We think we’ve put something together that’s’ a lot of fun — for the players, for us,” he said. “We definitely call a very aggressive style of offensive football, and you get to that point by earning and gaining the trust of the players that they’re going to make good decisions and execute the calls.”

 

[BurntOrange&White 41,856]

35 minutes ago, Jack Wilson said:

In a perfect world, Sark would have done everything he could to keep BC. (He may have; who knows?) Dress it up any way you want, Carrington's going to SC  to recruit. We're going to miss him a hell of a lot. You can point to all the rainmaking coaches we hired, but why not couple them with a proven off-the-field guy like BC? Hate to lose him.

you're literally all brakes no gas

[Tex Pete 21,486]

59 minutes ago, Jack Wilson said:

In a perfect world, Sark would have done everything he could to keep BC. (He may have; who knows?) Dress it up any way you want, Carrington's going to SC  to recruit. We're going to miss him a hell of a lot. You can point to all the rainmaking coaches we hired, but why not couple them with a proven off-the-field guy like BC? Hate to lose him.

This may not be a popular take, but I don't give a shit. 

I think Carrington was part of the problem with some of our players and The Eyes mess. All was fine until we played like shit and then the Sam post-OU shit. I am guessing when CDC put his foot down, that put him and Carrington at odds with one another. Our players essentially got every single thing addressed that they spoke up about except The Eyes, and that should have been enough. For those who feel differently, adios. 

[texifornia 59,013]

1 hour ago, Jack Wilson said:

In a perfect world, Sark would have done everything he could to keep BC. (He may have; who knows?) Dress it up any way you want, Carrington's going to SC  to recruit. We're going to miss him a hell of a lot. You can point to all the rainmaking coaches we hired, but why not couple them with a proven off-the-field guy like BC? Hate to lose him.

There's people who do what he does. It's an established job at this point. And you can get a guy that's not going to feel stifled not having coaching input.

[Not a Sock 2,366]

1 hour ago, Jack Wilson said:

In a perfect world, Sark would have done everything he could to keep BC. (He may have; who knows?) Dress it up any way you want, Carrington's going to SC  to recruit. We're going to miss him a hell of a lot. You can point to all the rainmaking coaches we hired, but why not couple them with a proven off-the-field guy like BC? Hate to lose him.

This production mistake drives me crazy and the amount times I see managers make it makes me want to pull out my hair out. Having 2x times the employees and equipment doesn’t mean that you are going to be 2x productive or do things in half the time.

Edited February 4, 2021 by Not a Sock

[Dijon Robinson 1,511]

Probably the kool aid talking, but man I am really picking up what Sark's putting down up to this point. Here's hoping it translates to on-field results.

[texifornia 59,013]

 

[texifornia 59,013]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CK4O3FXHAtB/?igshid=p3r0r0uq34xr

https://www.instagram.com/p/CK4YNKlHhhp/?igshid=13me7omhxvzzj

[LTtxfan 50,000]

1 hour ago, Machinator said:

  Hide contents

Newly hired Texas coach Steve Sarkisian ended his first Signing Day news conference Wednesday with an obligatory “Hook ‘em” hand sign, a surreal sight for those who still remember him as a head coach at Washington and USC in the first half of last decade. Even before that, in Jan. 2006, Sarkisian was on the opposite side of Texas’ last great football triumph, Vince Young’s epic national championship upset of USC.

But Texas hired the 46-year-old Sarkisian with the understanding he’s a much different coach than the one who was fired five games into the 2015 season at USC for issues related to alcohol abuse.

In an interview on The Audible podcast on Wednesday, Sarkisian discussed how he’s evolved personally and professionally the past five years during his climb back from rock bottom, first as an analyst for Nick Saban, then as offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons in 2017-18 and, most recently, as the play-caller for Alabama’s record-setting 2020 national championship offense. He has previously acknowledged undergoing addiction treatment that continued while at Alabama.

“Early in my career, I was the hottest thing cooking, man. I was on the fast track,” Sarkisian said. “I think my ego really took over who I was as a person and probably suppressed some better qualities and traits I possessed that got me to that point.

“When you get dealt that humble pie, and you don’t have a job, and you’re wondering, am I ever going to be a head coach again, or what’s my journey going to look like, and how am I going to get back to doing what I love to do? You have to just dig back into what got you there — and that’s just being the best person you can be every day.”

When Saban and then-Alabama OC/former colleague Lane Kiffin brought him on as an analyst in 2016, a humbled Sarkisian said he mostly tried to be a resource for others. He then took the same approach in Atlanta working with head coach Dan Quinn and star QB Matt Ryan. “I told myself, every day I walk into that building, I’m going to be the best version of Steve Sarkisian I can be,” he said. “How can I get to that point every single day, to be a great resource for these guys? And as I worked my way through it, I thought they really latched onto that about me, and it kind of permeated through the building. I was making a real impact on professionals.”

By the time Saban called with the opportunity to return as offensive coordinator, Sarkisian believed his new perspective would put him in a better position to mentor college-age players than during his up-and-comer days. And it certainly showed in his development of players like QB Mac Jones and Heisman winner DeVonta Smith.

Now, he’s taken his “All Gas, No Brakes” mantra to Austin, where he inherits a program not lacking for talent but in desperate need of a culture overhaul after so many years of underachieving.

“To have this opportunity now, I’m in a different space as far as it’s more about others than it is for me,” he said. “It’s more about what I can do to help them, and in return, (I) get something greater in return for me personally at that point. … And the end result is, if you develop really good relationships, you have people that want to try to emulate the same thing you bring — and that’s the best version of themselves every day. So that ultimately, you end up with a better version of a team every day.”

Perhaps most excitingly for Texas fans, the 2020 Broyles Award winner will continue calling plays. Sarkisian said the explosive offense Alabama ran last season was essentially a greatest-hits compilation of his previous 18 years of coaching — West Coast passing concepts that date to Carson Palmer-era USC and his one season as the Oakland Raiders’ QB coach under Norv Turner; zone-read and no-huddle elements he began using with QBs Jake Locker and Keith Price at Washington; RPO plays he’d been dabbling with for a decade before going all-in on them at Alabama; and play-action facets of former Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan’s offense.

“We think we’ve put something together that’s’ a lot of fun — for the players, for us,” he said. “We definitely call a very aggressive style of offensive football, and you get to that point by earning and gaining the trust of the players that they’re going to make good decisions and execute the calls.”

 

 

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Not everyone is sad to see BC go