Texas Longhorns Named Among 'Diamond Tier' Coaching Job in College Football

Where do the Texas Longhorns rank among the best head coaching jobs in college football? Since the hiring of Steve Sarkisian, the program has been on a path back to the top of the college football mountain.

And while the success has only come recently, after a decade of mediocrity, the Longhorns' job is still among the sport's best. According to a recent article from CBS Sports' Bud Crawford, Texas's job is considered to be in the "diamond tier."

'Diamond Tier' Coaching Job

"Four of these five programs have combined to win eight of college football's 10 national championships during the playoff era. And they're all positioned for immense success over the next several years," Brad Crawford writes. "Texas is the only program to reach the playoff semifinal in consecutive years and with rosters costing more than ever to build, the Longhorns are well-suited to thrive."

The diamond tier consists of LSU, Ohio State, Georgia, and Alabama. As Crawford states, only Texas hasn't had a national championship within the past five years. However, that championship drought is seemingly as close to an end as it has been since 2009.

The Longhorns are coming off the backs of two straight appearances in the College Football Playoff. Both times, they've come within just a few plays of going on to play for a national championship. And even while they've failed to get over the hump with some of the most talented Texas teams the program has had in a decade, there is still confidence that they will eventually get it done.

That, combined with the financial resources and the fertile recruiting base that is the Lone Star State, is a big reason why the Longhorns are once again considered a premier job in college football. The resources and the recruiting base never went away; it just needed the right leader in place.

That is what the Longhorns have seemingly found in Sarkisian. The 51-year-old has been to the mountaintop as a coordinator and position coach. First with the early 2000s USC teams, and then again, years later, with Alabama.

He saw firsthand how head coach Pete Carroll led the Trojans. Then he saw the Crimson Tide in the middle of their dynasty under head coach Nick Saban. Now, he is hoping to take the blueprints and ideas he learned from both and implement them in Austin, and hopefully find similar success in terms of championships.

Even after losing 23 players to the NFL Draft in the past two years, Sarkisian looks set to enter his fifth season with a team that could very well be ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll.