Leading indicator: How staff continuity aids Texas' pursuit of the Big 12 Championship
This will be a six or seven part series discussing the myriad reasons why pundits and fans alike should be bullish on Texas for the 2023 season. Even before last season, 2023 appeared to be the year to get your hopes up if you’re a Texas fan. The 2022 season did nothing to dissuade that notion — both to the negative, as the program was not yet ready to win big in 2022, but also to the positive as the program made clear strides in numerous key aspects.
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The series will live up to the title and use leading indicators rather than lagging indicators. Using 1500 words, or 280 characters, to say Texas won’t win because it has squandered talent for so long under differing coaches is a lagging indicator.
‘Differing coaches’ is a good place to start because it has been an issue at Texas for so long, even longer than illustrated in the picture below. If it was still a problem, this piece wouldn’t exist, but it’s not a problem as evidenced by the table below.
The issues previous coaches had in Austin have nothing to do with Steve Sarkisian. Two coaches who left, Stan Drayton and Brennan Marion, became the head coach at Temple and the offensive coordinator at UNLV, respectively. Drayton was replaced by Tashard Choice, the best recruiter of the position in the country, while Marion was replaced by Chris Jackson who was previously the wide receivers coach for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
It’s beside the larger point, but it appears Sarkisian assembled a strong initial staff, and if so, continuity matters more.
One may question if the staff is good, why haven’t more coaches left for promotions? Not a bad question but it has a simple answer: This staff has not won enough yet.
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What’s the importance of continuity? To borrow a word from Tom Herman — alignment. It does matter. You want consistent and clear messaging from coaches so players understand what’s expected of them. That helps culture. You also want consistent and clear teaching so players understand schemes, the playbook, and techniques. The learning curve isn’t immediate for 18-year olds. Continuity breeds comfort in offensive and defensive systems. Reference last year to see what I mean.
Continuity also helps with relationship building in an era where it’s increasingly important given the turbulence associated with the portal. A player is less inclined to leave if he trusts his position coach and feels he’s being properly developed.
Sark’s original staff remaining largely intact heading into Year 3 is just one positive leading indicator Texas has in its favor going into 2023. It’s one that a lot of schools don’t have, especially when you extend continuity to include a returning quarterback.
We’ll have plenty of time to touch on the leading indicator of returning players like Quinn Ewers, but up next we’ll discuss improved culture. This team is a far cry from the Iowa Bus Tirade of 2021.
