Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian agrees to contract extension amid NFL interest.
While the 2024 season may not have finished in a manner that fans of the Texas Longhorns hoped, at least the people of Texas could sleep comfortably knowing that the Texas football program won’t have to undertake an unexpected coaching search this offseason. And that’s because, four years after joining the program and pulling the Longhorns out of the depths of irrelevancy, Steve Sarkisian has officially agreed to a contract extension to remain the head coach of the program.
Per Brett McMurphy of The Action Network:
“Steve Sarkisian agrees to a contract extension w/Texas after declining interviews with two NFL teams,” McMurphy tweeted on Saturday afternoon. “UT Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife & AD Chris Del Conte were key figures in getting the deal done, source said. Sarkisian has led UT to consecutive College Football Playoff semifinal berths and double-digit win seasons for 1st time in 17 years.”
McMurphy noted that a source added, “The fact Sarkisian did not take any NFL interviews shows his buy-in and commitment to the University of Texas.”
Pete Thamel, the ESPN college football insider, is to say the renewal agreement will keep Sarkisian in Austin for seven seasons, one more than the last contract, and the thing includes “a significant raise”, which makes his the 3rd highest paid coach in college football, at $10.6 million per annum.
These two NFL teams have not yet been disclosed, but Sarkisian has casually been perceived as a possible target of the Dallas Cowboys, who have been linked to different college coaches through the years, ranging from Lincoln Riley to Deion Sanders.
Sarkisian has not experienced any of that now, but at least he’d have a hint at what he’s missing since his past credit includes an NFL gig, where he served as Oakland Raiders quarterbacks coach in 2004 and later as Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator from 2017 to 2018. Certainly not as memorable as his time in Texas, thus it only makes sense that as such, with the end of offering a new deal worth much more, he’d want to stay within college football’s historic programs.
