Steve Sarkisian's 6-Year Texas Contract Reportedly Worth $34.2M

Details regarding the contract of new University of Texas head football coach Steve Sarkisian were released Friday as part of the University of Texas regents agenda.

According to Brian Davis of USA Today, the deal is for six years and worth a guaranteed $34.2 million, which is more lucrative than the initial contracts given to his two predecessors, Charlie Strong and Tom Herman.

Sarkisian previously served as the offensive coordinator at Alabama from 2019 to 2020, and he has previous college head coaching experience at Washington and USC.

The 46-year-old Sarkisian's first stint as a college head coach was fairly successful, as he went 34-29 in five seasons at Washington and led the Huskies to four bowl games.

Sark then took the coveted head coaching position at USC, going 12-6 in parts of two seasons before his dismissal as a result of multiple alcohol-related incidents.

Sarkisian subsequently served as an offensive analyst at Alabama in 2016 and was then the Atlanta Falcons' OC from 2017-18. He returned to Alabama as the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator in 2019 and helped lead them to a national title last season.

At Texas, Sarkisian will be tasked with making the Longhorns national title contenders once again, which hasn't been the case since 2009 when they went 13-1 under Mack Brown and lost in the BCS National Championship Game.

Neither Strong nor Herman were as successful as hoped at Texas, with Strong going just 16-21 in three seasons and Herman going 32-18 in four seasons.

Herman did win all four bowl games he coached in at Texas, but with the Longhorns failing to challenge Oklahoma for supremacy in the Big 12, the university decided to move on.

Sarkisian has yet to prove that he can lead a consistent contender as head coach, but there is no denying his offensive acumen and what he was able to do at Alabama.

Last season, wide receiver DeVonta Smith won the Heisman Trophy under Sarkisian's tutelage, and quarterback Mac Jones was firmly in the running as well.

If Sarkisian can do something similar at Texas, the Longhorns may finally have the firepower needed to blow past the Sooners atop the Big 12.