Texas fires Herman, hires Tide’s Sarkisian

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas fired Tom Herman because it was tired of waiting for him to deliver a Big 12 title and turn the Longhorns back into national championship contenders.

Next up: Steve Sarkisian, the architect of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s offense and its tsunami of points this season.

Texas fired Herman on Saturday after four seasons, then hours later announced it was giving the job to the Alabama offensive coordinator.

It’s a quick move Texas expects will deliver quick results. The Longhorns are not known to be a patience bunch.

Sarkisian leads a Crimson Tide offense that has pummeled opponents and produced two Heisman Trophy finalists in quarterback Mac Jones and receiver DeVonta Smith heading into the Jan. 11 College Football Playoff championship game against Ohio State. He recently won the Broyles Award given to college football’s top assistant coach.

He’s also been around. At 46, Sarkisian has previous head coaching stints at Washington and Southern California. He’s been Alabama’s offensive coordinator under Nick Saban since 2019, and has experience as an NFL assistant.

Sarkisian is expected to remain with Alabama for the championship game.

“This is a unique and compelling opportunity to lead this storied program to the next level, competing once again amongst the best in college football,” Sarkisian said in a statement released by Texas.

Texas wants him to not just win — Herman did that with a 32- 18 record — but to knock rival Oklahoma off the top of the Big 12 while also making sure recruiting in their home state doesn’t get swamped by Texas A& M’s rise in the Southheastern Conference.

He will be Texas’ fourth head coach since the program’s last Big 12 championship in 2009. Since then, Texas has fired Mack Brown — the only coach to lead the program to a national championship ( 2005) in 50 years — Charlie Strong and Herman. Of note, Sarkisian was a USC assistant when Texas beat the Trojans in the epic 2006 Rose Bowl for the national championship.

Sarkisian was 46- 35 overall at Washington and USC, but was fired midway through his second season with the Trojans 2015 and went into alcohol rehabilitation treatment.