When news of Nick Saban’s retirement broke and Alabama was in need of a new head coach — some initial names hit the rumor mill, which included Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Sarkisian, who spent two seasons at Alabama as their offensive coordinator, has now revealed how much he truly considered the job.
“Naturally, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it,” Sarkisian told ESPN. “But it took me all of about 60 seconds to say, ‘Yeah, I’m not doing that.’ I had an awesome two years at Alabama and loved my time under Coach Saban, but ultimately you want to reap what you sow.
“We’ve poured a ton into this program for three years, and we’re on the cusp, I think, of going on a run that will be epic. I believe that. Our staff does, and our players do, too, just the support we have and the culture we’ve created here. Why leave something like that?”
It’s hard to blame the Longhorns’ head coach, who took Texas to its first College Football Playoff this past season, for at least letting the thought creep into his head. After all, being the successor to Nick Saban, largely considered to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, as Alabama’s next football coach is something that not many coaches would shoot down.
However, it appears that Sarkisian feels as though he’s building something special on the 40 Acres. Now officially heading into the SEC later this summer, the Longhorns are now conference foes with the Crimson Tide. However, the two teams will not match up during the 2024 regular season. Both are expected to contend in the newly expanded 12-team playoff format — so a meeting in the division-less SEC Tournament isn’t out of the question.
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