Steve Sarkisian explains struggles of building chemistry as first-year head coach

Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns are sitting a (2-4) in the Big 12 and (4-5) overall.

Earlier this week, Sarkisian was asked about the difficulties that come with building chemistry as a first-year head coach, no matter if the team is thriving or struggling.

“I think one thing we tried to do when we first got on board was to try to really develop the relationships with the players,” Steve Sarkisian said.

“When you didn’t sit in their home, when you didn’t have 8, 10, 18 months to recruit a young man and you just show up, we’ve got to get to know them. And we’ve got to get to know them on a lot of levels and not pass judgment early on. When I first took the job, I said it was going to be a clean slate for everyone in the program, and nobody would be judged, good, bad or indifferent, that occurred prior to us arriving.”

Sarkisian inherited a program hungry to win.

Texas had just broken ties with Tom Herman, who many believed would be the one to bring Longhorns’ football back to its winning ways when they hired the former Alabama offensive coordinator and the current regime.

Steve Sarkisian on getting team to buy in

The Texas front man says it has been key to give everyone associated with the 2021 Longhorns ample time to get acclimated with one another. Though it hasn’t been easy and the recent streak of losses can create hostile moments like the viral moment between offensive line coach Bo Davis and the team, it’s all part of the rebuild.

“With that, you have to allow people time to develop and earn trust,” Sarkisian said. Whether that’s trust from their coaches, or us trusting them. And that process takes time, because you don’t want to make snap decisions, or make decisions too soon, and ultimately maybe you didn’t give the kid the best chance.”

Over time, Steve Sarkisian has seen his players, coaches and staff mesh more and more. He believes it’s an ongoing process.

“I really kind of think, we get buy-in everyday,” Sarkisian added.

“As the process has been going from winter conditioning, through spring practice, through summer workouts, through training camp, through this season, and even through some of these tough ball games we have lost, I think we are seeing more and more buy-in.”

On Saturday, Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns will aim to break their 4-game losing streak on Saturday when they host Kansas.