Steve Sarkisian is talking like a man who knows his roster can back up the checks he’s written this offseason.

He’s spent the entire offseason enlarging the target on Texas’ back by calling out the College Football Playoff committee’s selection rubric and sending seemingly unprovoked shots to Ole Miss’ academics and Texas Tech’s soft schedule. 

Some have seen it as whining. Others as good ol' fashioned trash talk. I see it as confidence, maybe even bravado. And that confidence in the 2026 roster is good news because pressure is quietly mounting on Sarkisian to take Texas to the mountaintop. Think Ryan Day heading into 2024. 

Sark has reestablished Texas as a bona fide contender and removed the “underachieving” tag that lingered around the Longhorns like vape smoke on Sixth Street. He’s won at least 10 games in each of the last three seasons. He led the Horns to a Big 12 championship on the way out the door and to the SEC Championship Game on their way in. Texas has won two CFP games and has reached the semifinals in two of the last three seasons. 

But good isn’t good enough, not on the Forty Acres. Reaching the CFP might be enough for other programs, but it won’t satisfy the hunger of those in burnt orange. They want SEC and national championships, and that is where Sarkisian has fallen short. He’s 0-2 against Ohio State and 0-3 against Georgia, including the loss in the 2024 SEC Championship Game. He’s lost twice in the postseason to Kalen DeBoer. 

Sarkisian has spent the offseason telling everyone that will listen that the SEC is the best conference in America while taking potshots at the lesser leagues. But in the process, he’s undermined his biggest achievements at Texas. I’d argue his three biggest wins as a head coach in Austin – Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship Game in 2023, Clemson in the first round of the CFP that same year, Arizona State in overtime to win the Peach Bowl in 2024 – have come against non-SEC teams. His biggest SEC wins are against former Big 12 squad Oklahoma and in-state rival Texas A&M, which has never played for an SEC title. 

His shot at Ole Miss seemed odd considering the Longhorns added Cam Coleman, Rasheem Biles, Raleek Brown, and a host of other top targets in the latest portal cycle. Clearly, it isn’t that difficult to add transfers in Austin. 

His shot at the Big 12 seemed tone-deaf. Texas’ first string lost at least two games in 20 of the 28 seasons they spent in that league, including 13 of the last 14 years. He was 17-10 against Big 12 foes and never went undefeated in conference play in three seasons. 

Last year, Texas’ starters lost on the road to a Florida team that couldn’t beat a South Florida program that failed to reach the American Conference Championship Game. Maybe he forgot the games must be played and who would be favored in Vegas doesn’t matter once the whistle blows? Texas fans should be able to remind him of that truth considering they haven’t seen the Horns post an undefeated record in conference play since 2009. 

Even the quotes about replacing defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski with Will Muschamp raised eyebrows considering the scoring defense has ranked above the scoring offense for much of his tenure. 

The outcome of the 2026 season will fall directly into Sarkisian’s lap, good or bad. He has an experienced starter with Heisman aspirations in Arch Manning. And Manning has a much better supporting cast around him because of the additions at wide receiver, running back, and along the offensive line. He’s handpicked a new defensive coordinator whom he calls “the best in the nation.” And he’s in a conference that allows a few mulligans. With the schedule ahead of them, the Horns can reach the CFP with a 10-2 mark, maybe even at 9-3. 

Most coaches detest distractions and headlines. Mack Brown made a career in Austin by playing the part of politician. Mike Elko wants his Aggies to be invisible in the offseason. We rarely hear Kirby Smart talking trash in May or June. But, for whatever reason, Sarkisian has invited those headlines over the last couple of months. Which is either outright crazy or maybe crazy like a fox. 

The bullseye is always on Texas. You either love the Horns or hate them, and no matter what you think of Sark’s quotes the past couple of months, he’s made the offseason more fun. Sportswriters like me should invite more of the WWE drama into our sport, not less. 

But with those promos comes heat. Heat that Texas hasn’t historically handled well since Brown left campus. Texas did embrace the villain role in its final Big 12 season and that was a roaring success, so maybe he’s taking a page out of that book. Or, maybe, he just can’t help himself. 

Either way, Sarkisian must put up or shut up. Anything short of an SEC Championship game appearance and a deep run in the playoffs will be viewed as a disappointment. Come up short again, and the noise around him amplifies to an uncomfortable volume and there will be calls for him to give up offensive play calling duties. 

Texas must win and win big in 2026. Sarkisian has leaned into those expectations and talked the talk over the last few months. Soon enough, he’ll need his team to walk the walk or there will be egg on his face and heat under his seat moving forward.