Steve Sarkisian opens up about his extensive history with Lane Kiffin

The Texas Longhorns are making the jump to the SEC this season. The conference is a very familiar place for somebody like their head coach, Steve Sarkisian. He’s got many old colleagues in the SEC, including Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. They worked together under Nick Saban at Alabama. And Kiffin also served a critical role in helping Sarkisian’s professional rise from “rock bottom”.

Wednesday evening at SEC Media Days in Dallas, Texas, Sarkisian explained his extensive past history with the Ole Miss head coach.

“We do. We worked together. We fought together. We fought against each other. We’ve coached against one another. And when I went to Alabama as the analyst, he was the offensive coordinator. It’s just a lot of this. And Lane’s done a great job at Ole Miss. I can’t give him enough credit. The job that he’s done. They’ve got a very good football team. He’s recruited really well. He’s got the right pieces in place. And they’re poised for a heck of a run for sure,” Sarkisian explained.

Last year in a SEC coaches teleconference, Kiffin took some time to talk about Sarkisian’s inspirational story of overcoming adversity over the years.

Lane Kiffin on Steve Sarkisian overcoming adversity

“Sark’s story is amazing of overcoming adversity,” Kiffin said during Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference. “Not to put words in his mouth but something like the rock bottom from a professional standpoint and retraining himself. Now, to be the head coach of Texas. Recruiting at the highest level, a top-10 team.”

Kiffin brought Sarkisian onto the Alabama staff during the 2016 season, where he served as an offensive analyst. It was the first job offered to him following his infamous departure from USC. The opportunity grew even further when Sarkisian was the offensive coordinator in the national championship game against Clemson when Kiffin left in favor of the FAU gig.

Sarkisian and the Longhorns are expected to be a popular pick to contend for the national championship this year. They return quarterback Quinn Ewers and a stable of speedy and explosive running backs like CJ Baxter and Jaydon Blue. The Longhorns also raided the portal for a number of receivers, such as Isaiah Bond of Alabama, Matthew Golden of Houston, and Silas Bolden of Oregon State.

Texas opens up the 2024 campaign against the Colorado State Rams. That one is slated for Saturday, August 31st. Kick is set for 3:30 PM EST.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.