The Texas football team finally got over the hump in 2023 and won the Big 12 and they are headed to the College Football Playoff. The Longhorns have been waiting for awhile to get back to this level, and Steve Sarkisian is the head coach that got the job done for Texas. Many were expecting the Longhorns head coach to win the Big 12 Coach of the Year because of this impressive season, so it was a surprise when he didn't win the award.

Texas football dismantled Oklahoma State football in the Big 12 title game, winning 49-21. That win sent the Longhorns to College Football Playoff. One of those coaches won Big 12 Coach of the Year, but it was not Steve Sarkisian. It was the Cowboys head coach, Mike Gundy.

Numerous Big 12 coaches recently anonymously discussed Sarkisian and Texas in an article from The Athletic, and one coach thinks that Sarkisian didn't win the award because of the Longhorns' SEC departure.

“He has little-to-no tendencies,” One Big 12 defensive analyst said in regards to Sarkisian. “If he has one, he breaks it the next week. His in-game adjustments are elite. We played a stack man concept to a route we thought was coming and he had a counter that we had never seen that was something off an And1 mix tape. He’s patient in his play calling as he leans on the run game and perimeter pass game and is very calculated when he takes shots. In my opinion, the fact he didn’t get Big 12 Coach of the Year was as big a snub as I’ve seen considering the job he’s done with this team. The sad part is, it’s the coaches that vote on this, so it tells you it’s more about Texas leaving the conference than who is the most deserving coach.”

At the end of the day, Sarkisian and Texas are more worried about their College Football Playoff semifinal matchup coming up. The third ranked Longhorns are taking on #2 Washington in the CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day. The winner will go on to the national title to face either Michigan or Alabama. That is more important than the Big 12 Coach of the Year award.