Four-year Review of Texas Longhorns Football Coaching Staff

AUSTIN – As the main coaching staff for the Longhorns enters its fifth year in Austin, the University of Texas has seen a major improvement after Tom Herman’s tenure ended in 2020.

When head coach Steve Sarkisian was hired from Alabama after helping lead the Crimson Tide to a national championship win as offensive coordinator, he brought in Kyle Flood and Pete Kwiatowski as coordinators to help lead the new Texas team.

Throughout four seasons, the staff has continuously improved, leading the Longhorns to back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinal appearances.

Now in 2025, the staff is about to enter their fifth year leading the Longhorns. It is now time for a four-year review and grading of their performances so far.

Head Coach Steve Sarkisian, Grade: A-

Sarksian did not inherit a good football team when his tenure began in 2020, and it takes a lot to restructure a team as evidenced by a 5-7 record his first season in Austin.

Could he have done better? Maybe. However, he made his mark in recruiting and showed continuous improvement in performance through the seasons to come. He secured the No. 14 class before improving to No. 5 for 2022, No. 3 for 2023, slightly taking a fall to No. 6 for 2024, before securing the No. 1 class for 2025.

The on-field production has seen improvement as a result of the recruiting. After an unenjoyable first season, Sarkisian’s team finished an 8-4 regular season record with an Alamo Bowl berth.

Hopes were high as his third season began, and no one knew that the two teams who met in the Alamo Bowl would be meeting yet again in the postseason, but under new circumstances.

Texas then its most successful season since 2009, when the Longhorns appeared in the national championship game. In the 2023 season, Sarkisian managed to lead the Longhorns to a win over No. 3 ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa and a Big 12 Championship Game win.

Texas then had to face the Washington Huskies, the team Texas met in the Alamo Bowl, in the Sugar Bowl in one of the semifinal games of the College Football Playoffs.

The game felt like one Texas should have won from the start, but that’s not what happened. Washington’s air raid offense proved too much for the Texas defense, helping lead the Huskies to the National Championship after a 37-31 win over the Longhorns.

In hopes of finally getting over the hump, Texas went into the 2025 season ready to win it all. However, that is not what happened; it was a season full of mostly highs, but some hard lows.

Texas secured an 11-1 regular season record, only losing to Georgia, but then suffered another loss to the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game.

The Longhorns were still selected for the College Football Playoffs, though, beating Clemson in the first round, but then struggling to beat an Arizona State team in overtime.

Then came the semifinal game against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. Late game mistakes led to a loss and the same feeling of despair, being just one game away from the chance to win it all.

Sarkisian has shown major improvement and given Texas fans the chance to see success closely reminiscent of the late 2000s. 

It might not be long before Texas is the team holding the trophy at the end of the season, but there’s still an unshakeable feeling as though it could’ve happened already.

OC/OL Kyle Flood, Grade: B+

Flood followed Sarkisian from Alabama, where he previously held the title of offensive line coach under Nick Saban, a few weeks after Sarkisian took the role in Austin.

Sarkisian brought Flood in as OC, but also to coach the offensive line. Sarkisian took the role to call plays for the offense, so Flood’s job is mainly focused on the trenches.

In the four years under Flood, there have been five offensive linemen drafted, including the most recent draft pick in first-round pick, Kelvin Banks.

Considering Flood doesn’t call the plays for Texas, it’s a bit harder to judge or blame him for certain offensive production or tendencies, aside from the offensive line.

The Texas trenches have been good, but not amazing. Taking everything into consideration, he has been good for the Longhorns, but he hasn’t done much to deserve more than a B+.

DC/LB Pete Kwiatkowski, Grade: A

Kwiatkowski was brought in by Sarkisian at the same time as Flood; however, he arrived in Austin after previously holding the role of linebacker coach at the University of Washington.

It has taken a lot of work to get the Texas defense where it is today. There have been struggles throughout the years, but Texas is now arguably known as a defensive team.

In an era of college football where high-powered offenses seem to get all the praise, Texas has many recognizable names on offense and defense, but many may not see the Texas defense for what it truly is.

Letting Georgia score 30 points in a loss inside of DKR wasn’t great, and neither were the 31 total points scored by Arizona State in an overtime win in the College Football Playoffs.

However, Kwiatkowski still led the Longhorns to a top-five total defense in college football in terms of overall opponent offensive production allowed.

With five defensive players drafted this previous year, many more notable names will return to Austin for the 2025 season with high postseason hopes.

Whether it’s recruiting or development, both of which have been quite good overall, the linebacker position is seeing the benefit of Kwiatkowski’s presence, with the likes of Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill Jr. proving themselves as defensive superstars in Austin.

With one of the most experienced and talented defenses in college football soon to make its first appearance with the upcoming season on the horizon, all fans can do is wait and see just how improved and exemplary the Texas defense will be in 2025.