Steve Sarkisian addresses NFL rumors from offseason

Steve Sarkisian has spent most of his coaching career in college but this offseason brought some interest from the NFL. Sarkisian did not take any formal interviews nor seemed to really entertain the idea. He will lead Texas into the 2025 season with some high expectations.

But Sarkisian did address receiving calls from NFL teams about potential head coaching jobs. From the moment he stepped foot in Austin, Sarkisian has been adamant Texas was a destination job for him. The goal was to win at the highest level.

“I didn’t come here to put on a hat to say I’m a head coach again,” Sarkisian said. “It was a long journey to get back to this seat. But I came here — I was very clear in my opening press conference and I’ve been very clear along the way — to win championships. We’ve got a lot of unfinished business. I wasn’t entertaining anything that was beyond making sure I had a really good job here and I could solidify the job here and I could hire the best people I could here and I could recruit the best players I could here to go try to do that. I’m proud of the work we’ve done.”

Texas has multiple accolades to its name since Sarkisian took over. A Big 12 Championship came back to the 40 Acres in 2023, breaking a long conference title drought within the program. Success in the College Football Playoff has ensued too, making two appearances while appearing in the semifinals this January.

Washington took Texas out in 2023 while Ohio State won the Cotton Bowl and eventually the national championship. A great run for Sarkisian but not how he ultimately wanted things to end.

More opportunities are expected in the future, especially with Arch Manning now taking over as the starting quarterback. If Sarkisian is going to complete his goal of winning at Texas, leaving for the NFL is not really in the cards for the head coach.

“The mission is not complete,” Sarkisian said. “I didn’t ever want to be a program that was a one-hit wonder that was able to do it one year and then fall off. I think we’ve built this thing in a way where we’re consistently growing… We’re not done yet. We’ve got plenty of work to do. Looking forward to the opportunities as they come to us in the near future.”