Report: During search to replace Nick Saban, Alabama knew Steve Sarkisian wasn't going to leave Texas

Back in January on the heels of Nick Saban‘s retirement at Alabama, the college football world was thrown into a frenzy trying to figure out who would replace the seven-time national champion coach.

[Join Inside Texas and get ONE MONTH of Longhorn intel for just $1!]

A number of names became associated with the vacant position. Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Florida State’s Mike Norvell, and Washington’s Kalen DeBoer were quickly thought to be candidates for the position.

And at least in the minds of members of the college football public and maybe a number of media members as well, so too was Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Sarkisian had just completed a 12-2 season with a Big 12 Championship and a close loss to Washington in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Sugar Bowl. After showing incremental improvement from a 5-7 debut season in 2021 to a 8-5 2022 campaign, Sarkisian’s Longhorns exploded and reached the heights of the college football world in 2023.

So when Saban retired on January 10, it made sense that Sarkisian would be a name associated with the Alabama search. During the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Sarkisian coordinated historic Alabama offenses and boosted wide receiver DeVonta Smith to the 2020 Heisman Trophy.

The reality of it is (as Sarkisian himself likes to say), Sark was not seen as obtainable by Alabama.

ESPN’s Chris Low published a story on Wednesday chronicling the 49-hour coaching search that saw Crimson Tide athletic director Greg Byrne land on DeBoer as Saban’s replacement.

Within the article, Low described Sarkisian’s place in the whole ordeal.

Byrne said there were conversations in his circle about a handful of candidates, but sources told ESPN that neither (Clemson head coach Dabo) Swinney nor (Ole Miss head coach Lane) Kiffin was seriously in the mix. Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, who, like Kiffin, is also represented by (Jimmy) Sexton, was another prominent name mentioned in media reports, but Alabama’s leadership knew Sarkisian wasn’t going to leave Texas, especially with the Longhorns moving to the SEC next season, sources said.

As expected, Sarkisian sent out a social media post at 11:50 p.m. ET that Thursday saying it was a great day to be a Longhorn with a “Horns up” image. A day later, ESPN reported that Sarkisian was nearing a deal for a contract extension with Texas.

#hookem #allgasnobrakes 🤘🏽 pic.twitter.com/EVa3Cm80ME

— Steve Sarkisian (@CoachSark) January 12, 2024

Before Low even published his story, Sarkisian had previously dispelled the notion he was a candidate for Alabama.

“I think the speculation in the outside world was probably just that,” Sarkisian said recently on Keyshawn Johnson’s All Fact No Brakes podcast. “We were in the process of developing and getting my new contract here done. I think we’re just on the cusp of doing some special things here at the University of Texas. Fortunate, but no, that was not really a reality.”

Texas announced that Sarkisian and the school agreed to a four-year contract extension on January 13, two days after the above social media post.

“I said it when I came here three years ago, this is a dream job for me. It’s a destination job, and I’m fired up every day to be the head coach at The University of Texas,” Sarkisian said in January. “We’re thrilled with what we’ve been able to accomplish and proud of the culture we’ve built and the way our players have grown — on and off the field. But we’re just getting started. I’ve said it all along, we’ve been building this program for long term success. We’re here to chase greatness, win championships, and be one of the best in the nation year in and year out. And we’re so lucky to have an awesome group of players, a great staff, an unbelievably supportive administration, and the power of Longhorn Nation behind us to help us do that. I can’t thank (athletic director Chris Del Conte), President (Jay) Hartzell and Chairman (Kevin) Eltife enough for their commitment to our mission from day one, and I’m grateful for their continued support.”

[Subscribe to the brand new Inside Texas YouTube channel!]

DeBoer was announced as the new head coach of Alabama on January 12.

Sarkisian is 71-49 overall as a head coach and 25-14 at Texas.