Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has done a lot of things right in Austin. He’s won 48 games in five seasons. He took the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2024. He won the Big 12 in their final year before leaving for the SEC. But according to one ESPN analyst, there’s still a pretty big question mark hanging over him.
Adam Rittenberg didn’t exactly torch Sarkisian, but he didn’t fall over himself praising him either. In a recent assessment of coaches heading into 2026, Rittenberg laid out the case for why Sarkisian still has something to prove — and why this coming season might be the one that defines him.
“He ultimately must show he can do more with more at a Texas program that spares no expense,” Rittenberg wrote. “Sarkisian deserves credit for recording consecutive playoff appearances at Texas, and winning the Big 12 in the team’s final season in the league. But he has had only two top-10 finishes despite holding two A-list jobs (Texas and USC). He’s a very gifted playcaller who has grown as a head coach, but others on my list have accomplished more with less and have done so more consistently. A massive season for Sark awaits in 2026.”
That last line is the one that stings a little. Because even if you think Sark has done a solid job rebuilding the program from the ground up, the numbers don’t lie. Two top-10 finishes across two blue-blood jobs is underwhelming. And at Texas, where the resources are essentially unlimited, the standard isn’t just making the playoff. It’s winning once you get there.
The 2025 season was a step back
Here’s the thing about Sark’s tenure so far: it’s been a steady climb, but 2025 was a reminder that climbing isn’t the same as arriving. The Longhorns went 10-3 in the regular season, which is fine. But in the SEC, fine gets you sixth place. Texas finished with a 6-2 conference record, which wasn’t good enough to make the 12-team playoff field.
They did beat Michigan 41-27 in the Citrus Bowl to close out the year. That’s a nice win. But a bowl game against a Michigan team that was clearly not at full strength isn’t the kind of thing that moves the needle for anyone paying attention.
And now the program has to deal with the weight of expectation. The roster is loaded. The facilities are elite. The NIL operation is as good as any in the country. Sark has no excuses left, basically. If he can’t get Texas back into the playoff mix and make some noise once he gets there, the conversation about him is going to shift from “is he elite?” to “is he the guy?” pretty fast.
What’s coming in 2026
Texas opens the 2026 season at home against Texas State on September 5. That’s a tune-up, sure. But the schedule gets real quick after that. The SEC slate includes road trips to Georgia and Alabama, plus home games against LSU and Oklahoma. There’s no easing into anything.
Sark is entering year six at Texas with a 48-20 overall record and a 30-13 mark in conference play across the Big 12 and SEC. Those are not bad numbers. But they’re not special either, not for a program that expects to be playing for national championships every few years.
Rittenberg’s point isn’t that Sark can’t get there. It’s that he hasn’t yet. And in 2026, with a roster full of his own recruits and a schedule that offers plenty of chances for statement wins, the Longhorns basically have to show up. If they don’t, the questions are only going to get louder.
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