The University of Texas is grateful to football coach Steve Sarkisian for his efforts in bringing them – back – to the land of respectability.
Very grateful.
Very. Very. Grateful.
They’re so grateful, in fact, that the university’s board of regents is set to give Sark a contract extension through 2030 that will raise his salary – more than double it, in fact – to about $10 million a year, ESPN is reporting (Texas set to approve extension, raise for coach Steve Sarkisian).
The Longhorns finished 12-2 last season and in the top four nationally after winning the Big 12 Conference (in their final year of actually being a member of said conference) and then reached the College Football Playoff, losing to Washington in the semifinals. If the deal is approved this coming week, it’ll make Sark one of the top 10 highest-paid coaches in college football – it’s actually a four-year extension, by the way. He’s already been there three seasons, coming there after rebooting his career as Alabama’s offensive coordinator, something that now-retired ‘Bama coach Nick Saban often did (see Lane Kiffin, for one).
Sark, 49 years old, is 25-14 as Texas’ head coach.
“I said it when I came here three years ago, this is a dream job for me,” Sarkisian said in January. “It’s a destination job, and I’m fired up every day to be the head coach at The University of Texas. We’re thrilled with what we’ve been able to accomplish and proud of the culture we’ve built and the way our players have grown – on and off the field. But we’re just getting started. I’ve said it all along, we’ve been building this program for long term success.”
The Longhorns will enter the Southeastern Conference this coming season, and they’ll also play defending national champion Michigan – sans coach Jim Harbaugh, now with the L.A. Chargers – in an early-season non-conference game in Ann Arbor.
Oh, and there’s that Thanksgiving weekend game against an “old friend.” (Texas AD hopeful Texas A&M rivalry can return to Thanksgiving on annual basis with Longhorns moving to SEC).
