.jpg) Sarkisian in 2024 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Texas |
| Conference | SEC |
| Record | 46–20 |
| Annual salary | $10.3 million[1] |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1974-03-08)March 8, 1974 (age 51) Torrance, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1993–1994 | El Camino |
| 1995–1996 | BYU |
| 1997–1999 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| Position | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2000 | El Camino (QB) |
| 2001–2003 | USC (QB) |
| 2004 | Oakland Raiders (QB) |
| 2005–2006 | USC (QB) |
| 2007–2008 | USC (AHC/OC/QB) |
| 2009–2013 | Washington |
| 2014–2015 | USC |
| 2016 | Alabama (OA/interim OC) |
| 2017–2018 | Atlanta Falcons (OC) |
| 2019–2020 | Alabama (OC/QB) |
| 2021–present | Texas |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 92–55 (.626) |
| Bowls | 4–5 |
| Tournaments | 2–2 (CFP) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| As a head coach:As an assistant coach: | |
| Awards | |
As a player:
| |
Stephen Sarkisian (/sɑːrˈkiːʒən/; born March 8, 1974)[2] is an Americanfootball coach and former player who is the head football coach at theUniversity of Texas at Austin. He previously was the head football coach at theUniversity of Washington from 2009 to 2013 and theUniversity of Southern California (USC) from 2014 to 2015.
Sarkisian playedcollege football as aquarterback atBrigham Young University (BYU) and professionally with theSaskatchewan Roughriders of theCanadian Football League (CFL). Sarkisian was theoffensive coordinator for theAtlanta Falcons of theNational Football League (NFL) from 2017 to 2018 and at theUniversity of Alabama from 2019 to 2020.
After a standoutbaseball and football career atWest High School inTorrance, California, Sarkisian's size (6'0" and 165 lb) did not attract any college football offers. He began his collegiate athletic career in 1992 at theUniversity of Southern California (USC) as a non-scholarship middleinfielder on theTrojans baseball team. He struggled playingNCAA Division I baseball and transferred after a semester toEl Camino College, a two-yearcommunity college adjacent to his hometown of Torrance, where he playedshortstop.
At the urging of El Camino head football coach John Featherstone, one of his instructors, Sarkisian restarted his football career.[3] As aredshirt freshman in 1993, Sarkisian earned All-Mission Conference honors. In his sophomore season, he was named ajunior collegeAll-American after setting national junior college records inpasser efficiency rating of 203.8 andcompletion percentage (72.4%).[4]
As a junior, Sarkisian transferred toBrigham Young University inProvo, Utah, for the 1995 season.[5] He was recruited byDeWayne Walker, then an assistant coach for theBYU Cougars.[6] AlthoughKansas State andWashington State showed interest, Sarkisian chose BYU primarily because the school boasted more combined Davey O'Brien- and Heisman-winning quarterbacks in the last decade than any other had in the previous 50 years ofDivision I-A. The previous starting quarterback,John Walsh, was also from Torrance and a friend of Sarkisian. Walsh left school a year early to enter the1995 NFL draft, creating a void in the depth chart; Sarkisian accepted a scholarship with BYU in December 1994.
At BYU, Sarkisian was coached byoffensive coordinatorNorm Chow under head coachLaVell Edwards. As a junior, Sarkisian passed for 3,437 yards and 20touchdowns, earning All-Western Athletic Conference honors. Sarkisian finished the season by completing 31 of 34 passes for 399 yards and three touchdowns in BYU's 45–28 victory overFresno State. His completion percentage in the game (91.2 percent) set anNCAA record at that time.
As a senior, Sarkisian opened BYU's 1996 season by passing for 536 yards and six touchdowns in the Cougars' 41–37 upset victory overTexas A&M in thePigskin Classic. The 536 yards passing were the most ever by a player against Texas A&M. Sarkisian finished the game with a 46-yard touchdown pass to K. O. Kealaluhi to seal the victory.[7]
BYU finished the regular season with a 13–1 record, defeatingWyoming, 28–25, in theWAC Championship Game. Sarkisian passed for 4,027 yards and 33 touchdowns during the regular season. His 68.8%completion percentage and 173.6passer rating led the entireNCAA.[8] For his efforts, he was namedWAC Offensive Player of the Year[9] and second-teamAll-American byThe Football News.[4] Sarkisian was also awarded theSammy Baugh Trophy as the nation's top passer, making him the seventh BYU quarterback to win the honor. He was also featured on the cover ofTV Guide in December 1996. BYU finished the season with 19–15 win overKansas State in theCotton Bowl Classic. Sarkisian threw a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to lead the Cougars to a come-from-behind victory. BYU finished the season with a 14–1 record and ranked fifth in the nation in both theAP Poll andCoaches' Poll. The Cougars became the first Division I-A team in NCAA history to win 14 games in a single season. Sarkisian's 162.0 career passing efficiency rating is 18th on the all-time NCAA list.[10]
Sarkisian earned abachelor degree insociology from BYU in 1997 after receiving anassociate degree in general studies from El Camino in 1994.
Sarkisian played professionally for three seasons, 1997 to 1999, for theSaskatchewan Roughriders in theCanadian Football League (CFL). He was a starter in the1999 season, finishing with 16 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions. His team finished with a dismal 3–15 record, prompting Sarkisian to end his playing career.
| Season | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| 1998 | 52 | 92 | 56.5 | 604 | 6.6 | 4 | 4 | 72.9 | 6 | 32 | 5.3 | 0 |
| 1999 | 175 | 290 | 60.3 | 2,290 | 7.9 | 16 | 21 | 73.5 | 39 | 169 | 4.3 | 1 |
| Career[11] | 227 | 382 | 59.4 | 2,894 | 7.6 | 20 | 25 | 73.4 | 45 | 201 | 4.5 | 1 |
Sarkisian's coaching career began in 2000 when he returned toEl Camino College as its quarterbacks coach.
The following season, Sarkisian joined his former coach,Norm Chow, at USC. Chow was hired as USC'soffensive coordinator by new head coachPete Carroll. Sarkisian worked as an offensive assistant in2001 and then as quarterbacks coach in2002 and2003. In2004, Sarkisian moved to the professional ranks as quarterbacks coach for theOakland Raiders of theNFL. Oakland compiled more than 4,000 passing yards, ranking eighth out of 32 NFL teams in passing yardage.[12] Sarkisian returned to USC for the2005 season with the title of assistant head coach added to his duties as quarterbacks coach. In January 2007, Sarkisian interviewed with the Raiders for their vacant head coaching position, but pulled himself out of the running to stay at USC.[13] Sarkisian was named to replaceLane Kiffin as USC's offensive coordinator when Kiffin took the head coaching job with the Raiders.[14]
Following the completion of awinless 2008 season, theUniversity of Washington introduced Sarkisian as its 23rd head football coach during a press conference in the Don James Center atHusky Stadium on December 8, 2008.[15] Sarkisian signed a contract that paid him $1.75 million in 2009, with a salary increasing to $2.3 million by 2013.[16] Down inLos Angeles,John Morton succeeded Sarkisian as offensive coordinator at USC.[17]
In Sarkisian's first year as head coach in2009, Washington scored a huge upset of Sarkisian's former team, defeating #3USC 16–13 with a last second field goal. Washington then lost six of their next seven games, but finished the season in strong fashion, dominating rivalWashington State, 30–0, to claim theApple Cup, and scoring another upset with a rout of #19California, 42–10. Washington finished the year with a 5–7 record, a dramatic improvement over theprevious season, a winless 0–12.
With Pete Carroll's departure from USC to coach theSeattle Seahawks on January 9, 2010, Sarkisian was discussed in the media as a potential replacement, but Sarkisian stated that he had not received an offer to become head coach of the Trojans.[18][19] Despite his public comments, Sarkisian was still considered a top candidate for the position by USC athletic director Mike Garrett. However, Sarkisian expressed reservations about leaving Washington after one year, and decided not to pursue the position.[20] Ultimately,Lane Kiffin was hired for the position.
In Sarkisian's second season as head coach of Washington, the Huskies went 6–6 in2010. The Huskies defeatedUSC again with a game-ending field goal, this time in Los Angeles. At mid-season, UW had alternated losses and wins and was 3–3, then were outscored 138–30 in the next three games, all losses againstArizona,Stanford, andOregon. They fell to 3–6, but finished the year on a high note with three consecutive wins and were bowl eligible for the first time since the2002 season. The Huskies concluded the season with a stunning 19–7 victory over #18Nebraska in theHoliday Bowl, avenging a 56–21 blowout home loss to the Huskers in September. It was their first winning season in nine years.
With star quarterbackJake Locker departing to the NFL, many expected the Huskies to regress in the 2011 season, Sarkisian's third. The Huskies started out a surprising 6–2 and were undefeated in conference play at the halfway point of the season; at one point, they were ranked in all major polls for the first time during his short tenure. However, they then went 1–3 in their remaining conference games, with blowout defeats to Oregon, USC, and Oregon State. The Huskies subsequently lost in the Alamo Bowl to Baylor, 67–56, to finish 7–6 on the season.
In 2012, the Washington Huskies finished 7–6 yet again following a 28–26 loss toBoise State in theMaaco Bowl Las Vegas. As his previous campaigns had gone, Sarkisian's 2012 Washington team defeated most of the lower-level Pac-12 teams but were blown out by the upper-level ones. Sarkisian's consecutive seven-win seasons earned him the mocking nickname "Seven Win Steve".[21] Sarkisian would go on towin eight games in 2013 before taking the head coaching job at USC prior to Washington'sbowl game.
Sarkisian's original contract in 2009 was for five years and paid $1.75 million in guaranteed money for the first year, rising to $2.0 million in2011 and $2.3 million in 2013. Following the 2010 season and bowl victory, he signed a new five-year contract that paid $2.25 million in guaranteed money in 2011, rising to $2.85 million in 2015.[22]
On December 2, 2013, Sarkisian chose to return to USC, accepting the head coaching position.[23] Sarkisian's goal was to get USC back to its winning ways with NCAA sanctions finally ending. Like Lane Kiffin, Sarkisian called all plays on offense and served as the de facto offensive coordinator.
Sarkisian dealt with some controversy before his first game as head coach, when defensive captainJosh Shaw told the team he suffered two high ankle sprains when he jumped from a balcony to save his drowning nephew. After numerous calls questioning the authenticity of the story, Shaw admitted he lied to the athletic department. Sarkisian suspended Shaw indefinitely.[24]
On September 8, 2014, Sarkisian and USC athletic directorPat Haden were reprimanded by Pac-12 Conference commissionerLarry Scott for attempting "to influence the officiating, and ultimately the outcome of a contest" during the September 6 game with Stanford. Haden was fined $25,000.[25]
On October 11,2015, Haden announced Sarkisian would take an indefinite leave of absence. Haden contacted Sarkisian after he learned that Sarkisian had not shown up to a scheduled practice on October 11. During his conversation with Sarkisian, Haden said he became aware that Sarkisian was "not healthy" and asked Sarkisian to take an indefinite leave of absence. Offensive coordinatorClay Helton would serve as interim head coach in Sarkisian's absence.[26][27]ESPN later reported that Sarkisian came to a pre-practice meeting, only to have his assistants tell him to go home when he appeared to be intoxicated.[28] Scott Wolf, the USC beat writer for theLos Angeles Daily News, reported on Twitter that several players smelled alcohol on Sarkisian's breath.[29]
On October 12, Haden announced that Sarkisian had been fired and named Helton as interim head coach for the remainder of the season (the "interim" tag was removed after the season).[30] He subsequently revealed that he had tried to call Sarkisian to notify him personally, but by then Sarkisian was on his way to an out-of-state rehab facility and could not be reached.
According to ESPN, Haden had placed Sarkisian on azero-tolerance policy regarding alcohol use after Sarkisian claimed to have mixed alcohol with medication, despite the fact that he appeared simply to have drunk far too heavily before giving a drunken and profanity-laced speech at a booster club event (Sarkisian apologized after the incident before the 2015 season began). The apparent intoxication at practice would have been grounds for termination.[31] However, multiple reports said that Sarkisian's assistants believed he was drunk during a game againstArizona State.[30]
Hours before Sarkisian's firing, theLos Angeles Times reported that Sarkisian had been involved in numerous alcohol-related incidents while at the University of Washington.[32] Haden admitted that he had not done a public-records check on Sarkisian prior to hiring him.[33]
Sarkisian filed a $30 million wrongful termination lawsuit against USC, but later agreed to move it to private arbitration.[34][35] He eventually lost the suit and did not appeal, stating that he would respect the result and move on.[36]
In September 2016, Alabama hired Sarkisian as an analyst for their football team.[37]
Following Lane Kiffin's departure to become the head coach atFlorida Atlantic, Sarkisian was promoted to the Alabama offensive coordinator position on January 2, 2017.[38] He stepped into the role in the national championship game against Clemson. The Tide would lose narrowly to the Tigers in his first and only game of the 2016 season as offensive coordinator.
On February 7,2017, Sarkisian was hired as offensive coordinator for theAtlanta Falcons, taking over for the recently departedKyle Shanahan who left to become the head coach of the49ers. The offense's scoring output, under his guidance, dropped from 33.8 points per game (leading the NFL in 2016) to 22.1 points per game in 2017. In 2018, the offense's scoring improved to 25.9 points per game. On December 31, 2018, he was fired as offensive coordinator.
In January2019, Alabama re-hired Sarkisian as the offensive coordinator.[39] In2020, Sarkisian served as interim head coach for Alabama's42–13 victory overAuburn afterNick Saban had to be quarantined due toCOVID-19 protocols.[40]
During his second stint at Alabama, Sarkisian coached quarterbacksMac Jones andTua Tagovailoa.[41] He won theBroyles Award, given to the nation's top coaching assistant, for his coaching during the 2020 season.[42] He also won the FootballScoop Offensive Coordinator of the Year award, voted on by previous winners of the award.[43]
On January 2, 2021, Sarkisian was named the 31st head football coach at theUniversity of Texas at Austin.[44] His initial contract at Texas was for six years and $34.2 million.[45]
At the beginning of Sarkisian's first season as the head football coach at Texas, the Longhorns were ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll. Sarkisian began the year by leading the Longhorns to a 38–18 victory over the No. 23 rankedLouisiana Ragin' Cajuns.[46] In Week 2 of the 2021 season, the Longhorns were defeated 40-21 by theArkansas Razorbacks, in the first matchup in theArkansas–Texas football rivalry since the2014 Texas Bowl. In the following weeks, Sarkisian led the Longhorns to a 58–0 victory overRice, a 70–35 victory overTexas Tech, and a 32–27 victory overTCU. The Longhorns then proceeded to lose six consecutive games, which the program had not seen since the1956 season.[47] Though Sarkisian and the Longhorns finished the season with a disappointing 5–7 record, some bright spots included the second best offense in the Big 12 with 35.3 points per game and wide receiverXavier Worthy receiving True Freshman All-American honors as well as being electedBig 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and earning a spot on the2021 All-Big 12 First Team.
The Longhorns were unranked in the AP Poll to start Sarkisian's second year. After dominating the UL-Monroe Warhawks 52–10, Texas lost a close game to #1Alabama in a game that saw star QBQuinn Ewers leave with injury as well as some questionable referee calls.[48] After winning vs UTSA 41–20 in front of a record crowd at home, Sarkisian suffered an upset loss in OT toTexas Tech 34–31. After this loss, the Longhorns under Sarkisian would win six of their next eight games to finish the regular season 8–4, with the team's only losses coming to #11Oklahoma State and #6TCU by one score each. The highlight of the Longhorns' season would be a 49-0 domination ofOklahoma in theRed River Rivalry.
After losing in theAlamo Bowl toWashington 27–20, Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns finished the 2022 season 8-5 and ranked #25 in the AP Poll, a drastic improvement over the year prior.[49]
Heading into the 2023 season (Texas's final year in the Big 12 before they headed to theSoutheastern Conference), the Longhorns were ranked at #11 in the AP preseason poll. However, after a stunning victory over #3Alabama in Week 2, they shot up to #4 in the polls. Succeeding thanks to an offense led by QBQuinn Ewers and a thriving defense, the Longhorns would go 5-0 before losing a nail-biter toOklahoma in the Red River Rivalry 34–30. After that loss, Sarkisian's Longhorns would win the rest of their regular season games and then proceed to win theBig 12 Championship againstOklahoma State 49–21 in convincing fashion. Making theCollege Football Playoff as the #3 seed, Sarkisian led the Longhorns in a rematch against theWashington Huskies in theSugar Bowl, losing in an incredibly close 37–31 game that came down to a deflected pass to the end zone by Quinn Ewers.[50] The Longhorns finished the season ranked #3 in the AP Poll.[51]
On February 22, 2024, Steve Sarkisian was given a four-year contract extension through 2030 that also increased his salary for the 2024 season to $10.3 million. He found success in the regular season, having an 11-1 record, and leading the Longhorns to the Southeastern Conference championship game, losing to Georgia.[52] Sarkisian would guide Texas back to the now-expanded College Football Playoff, losing in the national semifinal toOhio State, the eventual national champion.
Born inTorrance, California, Sarkisian is the youngest of seven children; he is ofArmenian andIrish ancestry.[53] Sarkisian isCatholic.[5]
In April 2015, it was reported that Sarkisian and his first wife, Stephanie, filed for divorce.[54] Sarkisian and his ex-wife have three children, two daughters and a son.[55] Sarkisian married Loreal Smith, a former collegiate track star and coach, in 2020.[56] Sarkisian and Smith announced they jointly filed for divorce in July 2024 but have since reconciled their differences.[57] They have one son together.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Huskies(Pacific-10/Pac-12 Conference)(2009–2013) | |||||||||
| 2009 | Washington | 5–7 | 4–5 | 7th | |||||
| 2010 | Washington | 7–6 | 5–4 | 4th | WHoliday | ||||
| 2011 | Washington | 7–6 | 5–4 | 3rd(North) | LAlamo | ||||
| 2012 | Washington | 7–6 | 5–4 | 4th(North) | LMaaco | ||||
| 2013 | Washington | 8–4[b] | 5–4 | 3rd(North) | Fight Hunger[b] | 25 | |||
| Washington: | 34–29 | 24–21 | |||||||
| USC Trojans(Pac-12 Conference)(2014–2015) | |||||||||
| 2014 | USC | 9–4 | 6–3 | T–2nd(South) | WHoliday | 21 | 20 | ||
| 2015 | USC | 3–2[c] | 1–2[c] | (South)[c] | [c] | ||||
| USC: | 12–6 | 7–5 | |||||||
| Texas Longhorns(Big 12 Conference)(2021–2023) | |||||||||
| 2021 | Texas | 5–7 | 3–6 | T–7th | |||||
| 2022 | Texas | 8–5 | 6–3 | 3rd | LAlamo | 25 | 25 | ||
| 2023 | Texas | 12–2 | 8–1 | 1st | LSugar† | 4 | 3 | ||
| Texas Longhorns(Southeastern Conference)(2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2024 | Texas | 13–3 | 7–1 | 1st | WCFP First Round†,WPeach†,LCotton† | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2025 | Texas | 8–3 | 5–2 | ||||||
| Texas: | 46–20 | 29–13 | |||||||
| Total: | 92–55 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
In a text message to The Associated Press late Sunday night, Sarkisian said USC had not contacted him about their coaching vacancy that became official when Carroll accepted the head job with the Seattle Seahawks on Monday morning. Washington athletic director Scott Woodward said Monday night he also hadn't been told of anyone contacting Sarkisian.
