What a difference the right coach makes.
In 2020, most fans and experts alike considered the Texas Longhorns coaching job to be a nearly impossible mountain to climb.
Not only did the job require having to deal with enormous - and sometimes unreasonable - expectations, but it also came along with copious amounts of distractions outside influences such as boosters and media, that few other programs had to deal with.
Enter Steve Sarkisian, and everything changed in Austin. Now the Longhorns are back to being one of the top programs in the nation and are heading into their first year in the SEC as a national title contender.
In other words, it is hard to find a better place to be than in Austin Texas leading the Longhorns.
Don't believe us? Just ask Sarkisian himself, who turned down overtures from Alabama - which at one time was considered the premier job in the sport - to replace Nick Saban.
In a recent ranking of the best jobs in the sport, 247Sports also believes Texas to be right there at the top, coming in just behind Georgia at No. 2, with just one more mountain to climb in order to truly reign supreme.
"The Longhorns have many of the same elite-level luxuries Georgia possesses, but doesn't have the recent titles, yet. Under Steve Sarkisian, the Longhorns are recruiting at an impressive level and do not have to spare any expense," 247 wrote. "Texas is not going to lose a player to another program if it comes down to a bidding war and the Longhorns deem the athlete essential toward their success. That's a luxury few programs possess and one of the reasons Sarkisian is among the coaches without a national championship who should win his first very soon."
At the end of the day, it is hard to argue Georgia as No. 1, Kirby Smart overthrew Saban and Alabama as the premier SEC program, winning multiple national titles along the way. Now, it is Sarkisian's turn to try and do the same to Smart.
Will it be easy? Absolutely not. Smart has established a brand and a prestige among recruits that has decades of staying power.
But Sarkisian is well on his way to doing the same, and it will only be a matter of time before his Longhorns are trading blows on the field against the Bulldogs, who are set to face off on October 19 in Austin.
You can see 247's full top-10 ranking below:
1. Georgia
2. Texas
3. Ohio State
4. LSU
5. Alabama
6. Oregon
7. Oklahoma
8. Florida State
9. Michigan
10. Texas A&M
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