The 2024 season may not have ended the way that fans of the Texas Longhorns hoped it would, but at the very least, folks in the Lone Star State can rest comfortably knowing that the Texas football program won't need to undergo an unexpected coaching search this offseason. That's because four years after joining the program and pulling the Longhorns out of the depths of irrelevancy, Steve Sarkisian has officially agreed to a contract extension to remain the head coach of the program.
Per Brett McMurphy of The Action Network:
“Steve Sarkisian agrees to contract extension w/Texas after declining interviews with two NFL teams,” McMurphy tweeted on Saturday afternoon. “UT Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife & AD Chris Del Conte were key figures in getting the deal done, source said. Sarkisian has led UT to consecutive College Football Playoff semifinal berths and double-digit win seasons for 1st time in 17 years.”
McMurphy noted that a source added, “The fact Sarkisian didn't take any NFL interviews shows his buy-in and commitment to the University of Texas.”
According to ESPN's college football insider Pete Thamel, the renewed contract will keep Sarkisian in Austin for seven seasons, adding a year to his previous contract, and includes “a significant raise,” which makes his the 3rd-highest paid coach in college football at $10.6 million per year.
Though it's yet to come to light who these two NFL teams were, Sarkisian had been casually mentioned as a potential target of the Dallas Cowboys, who have been tied to various college coaches over the years, ranging from Lincoln Riley to Deion Sanders.
Sarkisian has had a taste of the NFL in the past, so at the very least, he knows what he's missing out on. He served as the Oakland Raiders' quarterbacks coach during the 2004 season, and was the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Neither tenure was nearly as successful as his time at Texas has been, so it makes since that with the school offering a new deal worth more money, he'd be eager to remain with one of college football's most prestigious programs.