The Texas Longhorns staged a wild comeback to beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs 45-38 in overtime, but head coach Steve Sarkisian had to deal with distractions beyond the field.
Hours before kickoff, reports linking Sarkisian to NFL opportunities surfaced, prompting his agents to issue a denial and setting up a tense postgame response from the coach.
Sarkisian didn’t hold back when asked about the speculation. Expressing his anger at how quickly the media ran with unverified information, he told On Texas Football’s CJ Vogel, “It really pisses me off that one person can make a report that in turn, the entire media, sports world runs with as factual to the point of my agency and my agents have to put a statement out.”
The coach made his frustration clear: “I had to do that to protect my locker room and my team. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous,” Sarkisian noted. “I thought it was completely unprofessional of that person to put that report out, and the fact that everybody ran with it is borderline embarrassing for the media.”
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini previously reported that Sarkisian would be interested in head coaching opportunities, with the vacant Tennessee Titans position explicitly mentioned following the team’s decision to fire Brian Callahan after a 1-5 start.
In response, Sarkisian’s agents, Jimmy Sexton and Ed Marynowitz, released a statement through Creative Artists Agency’s social media accounts calling the reports “patently false and wildly inaccurate.” They emphasized that Sarkisian is focused solely on coaching the University of Texas football team.
Any potential move to the NFL would face significant financial obstacles. Sarkisian’s contract runs through 2031 with a salary exceeding $10 million annually, placing him among college football’s highest-paid coaches. The buyout structure presents major hurdles, with Texas reportedly owing roughly $60.3 million if he were terminated in December.
Despite the swirling rumors, the game in Starkville stole the spotlight. The Longhorns improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in SEC play after erasing a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Quarterback Arch Manning threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns before exiting in overtime with an apparent injury. Backup Matthew Caldwell entered and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley V on his second snap to seal the victory.
Looking ahead, Texas hosts the Vanderbilt Commodores on November 1 before a pivotal trip to face the Georgia Bulldogs on November 15. The season finale against the Texas A&M Aggies on November 28 could determine SEC championship hopes.
With so much on the line, Sarkisian’s commitment to Austin is more important than any NFL whispers.
https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-football/texas-football-news-steve-sarkisian-shuts-ridiculous-nfl-rumors