A surprising report emerged on Saturday morning with the No. 22 Texas Longhorns in Starkville for an afternoon matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs — the senior NFL insider for The Athletic, Diana Russini, wrote that Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian’s representatives have informed organizations that he’s interest in openings, including the Tennessee Titans.
The timing is surprising and notable coming in the midst of conference play following a week in which Sarkisian was asked about whether he has considered giving up play-calling duties with the Longhorns — he has not — and whether he thought about benching redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning, which he has also not considered.
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It’s the first significant criticism of the Texas head coach since early in his tenure, as a Big 12 championship and back-t0-back appearances in the College Football Playoff semifinals resulted in back-to-back extensions for Sarkisian that made him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football.
That contract now runs through 2031 and pays Sarkisian $10.8 million in 2025 before reaching $12.3 million at the end of the deal, a level of compensation and job security that certainly doesn’t exist in Nashville, where the Titans fired Brian Callahan earlier this month after 23 games as the head coach. Callahan was reportedly making around $3 million this year.
Half of the NFL’s coaches are making around Sarkisian’s salary, but the report raises questions about the motives behind the leak from Jimmy Sexton, the super agent who represents the Texas head coach and numerous other high-profile clients.
Is it meant to signal Sarkisian’s continued value? Put pressure on the Longhorns administration to maintain the status quo or offer let another raise despite the disappointing season?
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The strange timing makes it all the more difficult to understand.
From the Texas side, a source told OnTexasFootball that there’s no truth to the report.
When Sarkisian signed his contract extension this year, he did so while reportedly turning down two interviews from NFL teams.
Sarkisian has previous NFL experience after serving as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons in 2016 and 2017 and as the quarterbacks coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2004.
[10/25 2:03 p.m. Central update]: Sarkisian’s agency released a strong statement on Saturday:
