Sarkisian draws staff from many sources
AUSTIN— For the past couple of weeks, Steve Sarkisian has been pulling double duty as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and Texas’ head coach. It’s a tricky tightrope to walk, especially while he was preparing for the College Football Playoff national championship game against Ohio State.
While planning ways to confound and defeat the Buckeyes, Sarkisianalso was scouring the FBS ranks for assistants to fill out his Texas staff.
At least one holdover from coach TomHerman’s regime, running backs coach Stan Drayton, isn’t going anywhere. Drayton had forged a strong relationship with breakout star Bijan Robinson, sophomore Roschon Johnson and incoming freshman Jonathon Brooks.
Wide receiver coach Andre Coleman also appears to be staying put one year after being elevated from an analyst role. “Andre is going to stay with the wideouts,” Sarkisian told the Austin American-Statesman.
Here’s a few updates on how the rest of Sarkisian’s staff construction is moving along:
Offensive coordinator
Mike Yurcich is out after one season. He’s now poised to lead Penn State’s offense, replacing fired OC Kirk Ciarrocca.
Sarkisian on Sunday told the Austin American-Statesman he would call his own plays, though fellow Crimson Tide coach Kyle Flood is expected to hold the official tittle of offensive coordinator. More on him in a bit.
Defensive coordinator
Unlike Yurcich, Chris Ash’s fate remains in limbo.
247Sports reported Ash is in contention to take over as Florida’s safeties coach. And Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported Ash could join UrbanMeyer in the NFL should Meyer leave behind Fox Sports to coach the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But Sarkisian could opt to retain Ash, who last year signed a threeyear, $2.4 million contract.
In Big 12 play last season Texas ranked eighth in scoring defense (32.4), eighth in total defense (431.9) and last in pass defense (284.8), though it went out with a bang by limiting Colorado to 378 yards and forcing three turnovers in a 55-23 Alamo Bowl win.
Another candidate Sarkisian could consider is Mississippi State defensive coordinator Zach Arnett.
Offensive line
Sarkisian is expected to bring fellow Alabama assistant Kyle Flood to Austin, according tomultiple reports.
Floodwould replaceHerbHand and inherit an offensive line that started two true freshman and oneredshirt freshmanin theLonghorns’ Alamo Bowl rout of Colorado. Flood, 49, served as Rutgers' head coach from 2012-15 then spent two years as the Atlanta Falcons' offensive line coach (2017-18) before joining Alabama in 2019.
Flood also could hold the offensive coordinator tag, though as noted Sarkisian is intent on handling play-calling duties.
Quarterbacks
Though A. J. Milwee accepted a job as Arkansas State’s offensive coordinator prior to Sarkisian’s hiring, the current Alabama offensive analyst is expected to join the Longhorns asquarterbacks coach.
DuringMilwee’s time asAkron’s offensive coordinator (2013-18), the Zips won their first ever bowl (2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) and made their third and most recent bowl appearance in the 2017 Boca Raton Bowl.
Milwee will get a chance to oversee what should be a fascinating and intense quarterback battle between Casey Thompson and Hudson Card.
Safeties/Special teams
Mississippi special teams coordinator Blake Gideonwas linkedto both of these roles by FootballScoop and Horns247 last week, and his hiring would represent an unexpected homecoming for the Texas Ex.
Gideon, 31, rose froman unheralded recruit to start 52 consecutive games at safety from 2008-11, the second most all-time by a Longhorn. He's since had coaching jobs at South Carolina, Western Carolina, Georgia State, Houston and Ole Miss.
A Leander native, Gideon has deep in-state roots, a critical component for Californian Sarkisian, who doesn’t yet have an imprint on Texas.
But Gideon could help him make inroads with high school coaches across the nation’s most fertile and contentious recruiting ground.