Report: Texas, Steve Sarkisian agree to 7-year deal

Field Level Media|published: Sat 18th January, 18:37 2025

NCAA Football: Cotton Bowl-Ohio State at Texas

Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian during the second quarter of the College Football Playoff semifinal against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

After reportedly turning down interviews with two NFL teams regarding their coaching vacancies, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian agreed to a new seven-year deal, ESPN reported on Saturday.

Per ESPN's report, the deal tacks on another year to Sarkisian's existing contract and ensures he will be among college football's highest-paid coaches.

The Action Network was first to report on the contract agreement and also reported that the Longhorns coach declined to interview for an NFL job.

Sarkisian, 50, guided Texas to the College Football Playoff semifinals, where the Longhorns fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10.

In their first season in the SEC, the Longhorns lost the conference title game to Georgia then won two CFP playoff games before they were eliminated.

In four seasons at Texas, Sarkisian is 38-17, including a Big 12 title win in 2023. Including stops at Washington (2009-13) and USC (2014-15), he is 84-52 as a head coach.

Sarkisian served as Alabama's offensive coordinator under Nick Saban in 2016 and has NFL coaching experience on the staffs of the then-Oakland Raiders (2004) and the Atlanta Falcons (2017-18).

--Field Level Media