Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns narrowly hung on to a 16-13 victory in overtime against the Kentucky Wildcats last weekend. However, the Longhorns suffered offensively during the game, finishing with only 179 yards of offense and eight first downs.
Following the victory, the Longhorns are currently ranked 5-2 on the season. They managed to stay inside the AP Top 25 poll last week, currently sitting at No.22.
Mack Brown Gives Steve Sarkisian Advice to Quit Playcalling
Former Longhorns head coach Mack Brown recently joined CBS’s Austin Bob Ballou on “The Stampede.” Brown coached the program from 1998 to 2013, and brought the Longhorns their first national championship in over 37 years at the time.
“For Steve to change, Number 1, he has to feel like he’s had enough, and he’s too busy with all the stuff in Texas Football. Recruiting and NIL are a big monster. The second thing he’s got to do is find someone else who’s as good as he is.” Brown offered some advice.
Sarkisian won the 2020 national championship with Alabama as offensive coordinator before taking the job at Texas. Despite the advice offered by those around him, he’s been adamant about continuing to call all the plays for the Longhorns’ offense.
“I’ve got to do a better job. I look in the mirror first. That’s why I got hired … I think being a play caller on offense is one of my strengths. Some may disagree. That’s OK.” Sarkisian explained that his offense continued to struggle this weekend.
During Saturday’s game against Kentucky, Texas’s offensive line struggled to give Arch Manning any time in the pocket. In Week 8, the Longhorns’ OLine ranked 119th in the nation according to PFSN metrics that week.
“Clearly, I’m not calling enough stuff for our guys to feel good about what we’re doing,” Sarkisian explained to the media. After rushing for less than 50 yards through the whole Running Back room, quarterback Manning also went 12/27 on completions.
This season, Manning has a 60% completion rate. After being labeled as one of the frontrunners for the Heisman, he has underperformed significantly. Sitting at 68th overall on the season, the Longhorn’s quarterback has a QB impact rate of 77.8.
“When you bring that guy in, you gotta let him do it. And that was the hardest thing for me because you hear them call a play and you just think, that’s awful.” Brown shared his own similar experience to the current Longhorns head coach.
Currently, Kyle Flood is the offensive coordinator at Texas. He was named offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Texas on January 22, 2021. However, Sarkisian has always made the calls since he was hired over the exact same period.
With a clash against the Mississippi State Bulldogs this weekend, Sarkisian will have to work something out fast. The Bulldogs are currently one of the Top 50 defenses in the nation, with a Defensive Impact rating of 82.2, ranking 32nd best in the entire country.
“We’ve raised the bar from where we were when I got here to where we are now. We’re a playoff team. That’s what we are now. When that becomes the standard, we all have to go hold ourselves to that standard.” Sarkisian stated recently.
Currently, the Longhorns are still in the running for the playoffs despite their tough start to the season. According to PFSN’s playoff meter, they have a 13.94% chance of making the CFP playoffs for the third year in a row.