Steve Sarkisian opens up on what he learned from Nick Saban, Pete Carroll

Last football season Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian ended the year with the best record of his entire head coaching career. Leading Texas to a 12-2 finish, a Big 12 title, and the Longhorns’ first appearance in the College Football Playoff.

But before his standout season in Austin, Sarkisian had the opportunity to coach under two legends who both happened to retire earlier this year. Nick Saban and Pete Carroll. And in a recent conversation with Joel Klatt, Sarkisian was asked what he learned from two of the best coaches of this generation.

“The biggest thing I got from those two dramatically different personalities,” Sarkisian said. Here’s Pete Carroll. He’s bouncing around, he’s chewing gum, he’s playing catch every day, he’s got his gloves on, he’s creating an environment of energy, and the guys are flying around.”

“Here’s Nick Saban,” Sarkisian said. “It’s like the methodical regiment, the discipline of this is how we’re going to go about our business and this is the approach. But in the end they’re both striving for the exact same thing, which is being champions. They’re both highly competitive, two of the most competitive humans I’ve ever been around and they’re both extremely successful.”

Carroll and Saban may have different personalities and styles, but there’s no question that what they have in common is winning. With Saban ending his college coaching career with a 292–71–1 record, seven national championships, and 11 conference titles and Carroll retiring as one of the few head coaches to win a Super Bowl and a national championship in his career.

Sarkisian also pointed out that both Saban and Carroll had most of their success during the back halves of their career. And when he asked both of them why that was the case, he learned a valuable lesson that he’ll carry with him for the remainder of his time as a head coach.

“And so I asked him both the exact same question and really got the exact same answer, they figured out who they were,” Sarkisian said. “And then they coached who they were, rather than trying to be something that they’re not. Because when you try to be something you’re not, when adversity strikes, the real you comes out and then everybody around you is like, ‘Who the hell’s that guy?’ Like, that’s not who he was yesterday and the day before, but all sudden, here’s this guy that comes out.”

At the age of 34, Sarkisian got the first head coaching job of his career. Admitting that at the time he was more of a thermometer versus a thermostat, responding to the temperature of the program versus setting the temperature and having his culture be bought into or not. Also figuring out the balance of remembering the valuable lessons he’s learned while being his own authentic self as a head coach.

“I see so many coaches now that left those trees of those two guys that tried to be Pete Carroll, tried to be Nick Saban and failed miserably because they weren’t trying to be themselves. But still hold on to some of the premises of the things that were really good in that program,” Sarkisian explained. “And like I said, I feel like I’ve been fortunate to work for two amazing men in our sport that have been tremendous. And the life lessons I learned from them, well beyond football, that I’ve been able to apply, but apply in a way that that fits me. So there’s a consistency to the approach that I give every day.”

Sarkisian will look to follow in the footsteps of the coaches who’ve paved the way for his success. Now challenged with shepherding the Texas program into the unforgiving SEC this upcoming college football season.