Steve Sarkisian describes how he deals with the pressure of coaching at Texas

Texas Football has a head-coaching role that’s only like a few others at the collegiate level. It takes a certain person to be able to handle it and, thankfully for them, Steve Sarkisian knows that he’s the man for their job.

Sarkisian discussed the demand of being the head coach of the Longhorns during an interview with Joel Klatt. As far as being able to handle it, he began by referencing his resumé. In doing so, he listed the experiences and coaches that have helped him to be ready for this.

“I was fortunate to be a head coach before, right. Having been at the University of Washington, what that was and trying to resurrect that program. Having been an assistant at USC under Coach Carroll. Then been the head coach there – what that felt like and what that looked like. Then having been an assistant at Alabama under Coach Saban,” Sarkisian recalled on ‘Big Noon Conversations’. “I’ve always tried to kind of observe and watch but then also take in my own experiences along the way.”

Those years and connections taught him how to lead a program, especially a championship-level one. That’s why he felt confident taking the job on The 40 Acres because his goals are even more than what many others expect from him.

“In the end, when I accepted this job, when Chris Del Conte, President Hartzell, and Chairman Eltife offered me the job, I kind of had that moment to say, ‘Know what you’re signing up for,'” Sarkisian said. “Once you kind of come to that realization that you know what you’re signing up for and you understand what the expectations are – why am I taking this job? Is it just to be a head coach again? Or is it to strive to be a champion? Then can you do it again and again and again?”

“That made it pretty easy for me at that point to say, ‘I know why I’m taking the job,'” said Sarkisian. “The expectations that others may have for me? Mine are probably higher than what everybody else would think of.”

From there, Sarkisian also added that it doesn’t hurt being at the best job in college football. That makes all the additional aspects that come with it that much easier to handle considering how much he enjoys working for them each day.

“The second part that comes – and this is whatever you do, right? Do what you love, love what you do,” Sarkisian said. “This is the greatest job in America. I get to come into this building every single day. I get to try to serve others as best I can, to try to lift them up to be the best that they can be.”

Sarkisian has brought Texas back to a status that they always want to be at over his three seasons there. Now it’s about maintaining that in order to keep the pressure off in what he’s doing each season in Austin.