Steve Sarkisian gives his perception of where Texas stands as a program

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is going into his fourth season as the head coach in Austin. By now, he has a pretty good understanding of his program and recently shared that it’s his belief this team should be competing for championships.

The expectation at Texas is that teams win national championships. That’s something that Sarkisian has embraced since he first got to Texas.

“I think the first part is you have to understand when you take the job at the University of Texas what you’re signing up for,” Steve Sarkisian said. “Everyone talks about expectations here, but the reality of it is we had those same expectations or we wouldn’t have taken the job. I didn’t want to be a head coach again just to wear the hat. We’re trying to win championships. We’re chasing it every day.”

Texas last won a national championship in 2005 and has struggled to find consistency since then. During the Steve Sarkisian era, there’s been a build-up, culminating in the Longhorns going to their first College Football Playoff last season.

Now, as the Playoff expands to 12 teams and Texas moves to the SEC, expectations are only going to get higher for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football team.

“I think that the trajectory that we’re on is a very good one. Obviously, this year poses new and different challenges like every year does, but one of the challenges as always is, as we’ve recruited this talented roster, which I do think we’re very talented, we have to remember at our core what has made us unique and special,” Sarkisian said.

“A, you talked about the development of our players, on and off the field. And B, our culture. So, as much as we love the talent we have, we’re still grinding away at our culture to make sure we play really well as a team and not take the field as individuals, which you see throughout the years teams fall prey and fall into that trap. So, if we can do that and if we can, knock on wood, stay healthy at some key positions, I think we have a chance to do something special.”

Now, despite the fact that Texas is moving to the SEC, Steve Sarkisian still wants to lead the Longhorns to a conference championship and, ultimately, a national championship.

“But the expectations haven’t changed. We went into last season trying to win a national championship, and win a conference championship,” Sarkisian said.

“We were able to win the conference and get into the Playoff. This year’s no different. We want to compete for an SEC Championship and get into the College Football Playoff with an opportunity to try and win a national championship.”