College Football World Reacts To The Steve Sarkisian News

Steve Sarkisian as an Alabama assistant.

In a stunning move, Texas announced today it has fired head coach Tom Herman. Reports indicate Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will take over the reins in Austin.

Sarkisian is at the end of his second season of his second stint in Tuscaloosa. In between, he served as the offensive coordinator of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons for two years.

Overall, Sark has done a nice job rehabilitating his career after crashing and burning at USC in 2015. He’s dealt with his alcohol issues and showed the world he can coordinate an explosive college offense.

His next challenge will be something totally different, however. At Texas, Sarkisian will be in charge of trying to reach the expectations that his predecessors Herman and Charlie Strong couldn’t. He’ll have to do that while recruiting at a high level and dealing with impatient fans and boosters.

Much of the reaction to news of Sarkisian’s impending hire was people cautioning that this is a bit of a risk for the Longhorns, while also recognizing that Nick Saban has a magic touch for getting coaches’ careers back on track.

In head coaching stints at USC and Washington, Sarkisian compiled an overall record of 46-35. His best season was 9-4 with the Trojans in 2014, and his best bowl destination was the Holiday Bowl on two occasions.

If he can’t surpass those accomplishments at Texas, he won’t be in charge of the Longhorns for very long.

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