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Steve Sarkisian turned down NFL interviews to stay at Texas: "We've got a lot of unfinished business"

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Steve Sarkisian
Steve Sarkisian (Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

During the early stages of the offseason, Brett McMurphy reported that Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian declined interviews with two NFL teams ahead of receiving a one-year contract extension that keeps him in Austin until 2031.

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On Monday, Sarkisian was asked if those reports about declining NFL interviews was true. While he didn’t provide a direct answer, he did explain why he decided to stick around Texas to make $10 million+ per year.

“I came to the University of Texas, and I’ve said this numerous times but I want to be really clear: I didn’t come here to put on a hat to say I’m a head coach again,” Sarkisian said. “It was a long journey to get back to this seat. I came here, I was very clear in my opening press conference and I’ve been very clear along the way, to win championships. We’ve got a lot of unfinished business.”

Later on in his answer, Sarkisian seemed to admit there was some interest in the NFL on his end, but what he had in Austin was too good to leave behind.

“I wasn’t entertaining anything that was beyond making sure I had a really good job here, that I could solidify the job here, that I could hire the best people I could here, that I could recruit the best players I could here to go try to go do that,” Sarkisian said. “I’m proud of the work that we’ve done.”

Sark has often met with connections in the NFL, including last year when he took in a Los Angeles Rams OTA and was spotted with Sean McVay.

Steve Sarkisian, Sean McVay
Steve Sarkisian, Sean McVay at Rams OTAs in 2024 — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Meeting with the NFL is nothing new, but an interview would have been a major change. It would have had a number of effects on the program, recruiting, and more, as NFL teams typically announce their head coaching interviews.

Maybe with that in mind, Sarkisian turned down those opportunities from unnamed teams so as to ensure his time in Austin could result in successful championship pursuits.

“A ton of pride in what we’ve done, but the mission is not complete,” Sarkisian said. “I didn’t ever want to be a program that was a one-hit wonder, that was able just to do it one year then would fall off. I think we’ve built this thing in a way that we’ve been consistently growing, and that we’ve been growing not only off the field but on the field.”

The time may come some day when Sarkisian and one of the NFL’s 32 franchises meet at the right time and go on their own journey together. But for Sarkisian, 2025 was not that time.

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“We’re not done yet,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got plenty of work to go do.”

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