Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian reflects on careers of Nick Saban and Pete Carroll
FRISCO — On a day he was recognized for his success on the sidelines, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian fittingly reflected on the legacies of Pete Carroll and Nick Saban, both of whom stepped down this offseason after coaching careers that will eventually land them in a hall of fame.
Sarkisian worked for both during his coaching career, which stretches back 24 years to El Camino College, a junior college in Southern California. After his induction into the East-West Shrine Bowl Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Sarkisian paid tribute to the two coaches.
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“Without those two men, I wouldn't be here today as the head coach at the University of Texas,” he said. “So I'm very grateful, thankful, humbled, honored, all of those things. I spoke to them both (the day they retired), and I was celebrating them. I was congratulating them, quite frankly, on just a tremendous career that both of them have had and the impact that they've had on our game, not only at the collegiate level, but at the professional level.”
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Saban retired in January from Alabama after winning seven national championships, including six with the Crimson Tide from 2009 to 2020. Carroll won two national titles at USC in the 2000s and a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks before stepping down in January. Sarkisian worked on the staffs of both coaches during their title runs in college, and he has long credited them for helping carve his career path.
Sarkisian said Carroll and Saban join Bill Belichick as the coaching titans of his era. Belichick was recently let go by the New England Patriots after winning a record six Super Bowls and is seeking another job in the NFL.
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“In my opinion, in my era of coaching, those have been three of the greatest coaches of all time, and I got to work for two of them,” Sarkisian said. “And two of them got to be mentors for me. So hopefully, I can lean into some of the wisdom that they gave me and find myself winning a few more games because of that experience.”
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Sarkisian also hopes to lure Carroll and Saban to Austin, even if it’s just to watch some practices or a game or two.
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“My goal is that we can play in some big games down the road and then those two guys will come and support us and support what we're doing, because I think that that’s part of leaving a legacy is other coaches that have worked for you, what have they gone on to do," he said.
“Now that they have a little bit more time on their hands, hopefully they can come down to Austin and watch us play and come to practice. And if we can get into a couple big games down the road, they can come to those as well.”
But is there a chance that either coach could join Sarkisian at Texas as a senior adviser to the Longhorns, much as former TCU coach Gary Patterson did in 2022? Sarkisian didn’t waste any words with his answer when asked.
“Uh, no,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football's Steve Sarkisian: Nick Saban, Pete Carroll were titans
