Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian speaks during the Coaches' Press Conference at AT&T Stadium, Jan. 9, 2024. Both coaches answered questions from the media during the conference, and will face each other in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semi-final game on Friday. Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Texas Longhorns Steve Sarkisian Ranks Among College Football's Elite

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Harrison Reno | Last updated May 25, 2025 1:00 PM ET

While Nick Saban is no longer on the sidelines in Tuscaloosa, the question of "who is the best coach in college football" still doesn't seem to be left for debate. As of right now, Georgia's Kirby Smart looks to be the consensus No. 1 head coach.

What is up for debate is the order of the coaches behind him in the recent rankings from CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli had Texas Longhorns' coach Steve Sarkisian at No. 4.

"If you were to ask our panel of voters about which coach without a national title would be the next to win it, Steve Sarkisian would win the poll, ..." Fornelli writes. "Texas is back among the elite. It nearly won the SEC in its first season and is the favorite to do so in 2025. He's always been one of the best play callers in football, but now he's added the ability to run a program to the resume. I'd bet on him remaining a mainstay in our top 10 for the entirety of his run at Texas."

Speaking of the elite, the only coaches ahead of Sarkisian in this ranking are those with a national championship. That being the aforementioned Smart, Ryan Day, and Dabo Swinney.

Yet, if the Longhorns do indeed live up to the hype and expectations this coming season, then Sarkisian could match that feat. And if he does, there is a chance he could see himself vaulting into the top three of the rankings.

In each of the last two seasons, the national championship-winning teams were led by coaches who entered that season without having done so before. It is the first time in nearly two decades that college football has had back-to-back first-time national championship-winning head coaches. The last time was in 2005 and 2006.

That 2005 national title was obviously won by then-Texas head coach Mack Brown, while Urban Meyer won his first in 2006 at Florida. Now, how is this relevant? Well, as the Texas Longhorns head into 2025, they do so after two straight appearances in the College Football Playoff Semifinal and are considered the favorite by many to win their first national title since Brown was on the sideline.

If the Longhorns pull it off, it would be the first time since college football has had three straight first-time championship-winning head coaches since 2007, when Nick Saban won his first title at LSU, following up Urban Meyer's Miami and Mack Brown's Texas.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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