DALLAS — In the wake of a heartbreaking, last-second 27-24 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry that will knock the Texas Longhorns from their spot atop both major polls, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian was adamant that he is not considering changes to the structure of his coaching staff despite struggles in key areas.
Expensive additions from the NCAA transfer portal were supposed to improve an offense that lacked explosiveness last season, but the running game still hasn’t
found its footing through five games — freshman Derek Cooper was the leading rusher on Saturday with 41 yards — and senior quarterback Arch Manning is still mixing big-time throws with shocking decisions, including two interceptions against the Sooners, one of which was returned for a touchdown. The other, coming with 19 seconds remaining as the Longhorns approached field-goal range, led to the game-winning kick by Tate Sandell.
In the wake of all those disappointments, is Sarkisian considering removing himself as play caller after Texas went three and out seven times in the Cotton Bowl?
“Not a chance,” Sarkisian said.
It’s the second straight year Sarkisian has had to answer questions about his unique role as head coach and offensive play caller, dual responsibilities that have only produced one national champion since 1997 — Jimbo Fisher with Florida State in 2013.
“That’s why I got hired. I was a really good offensive coordinator,” Sarkisian said last year. “I’m always going to tap into the strength that I have and I think being a play caller on offense is one of my strengths. Some may disagree — that’s okay.”
Increasingly, people disagree.
Also under fire is special teams coordinator Jeff Banks, whose units gave up a potentially game-changing punt return touchdown against Tennessee prior to the bye week and a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown that did change Saturday’s game.
Texas led 7-0 early in the second quarter and was playing dominant defense when Oklahoma’s Danny Okoye ran through the middle of Banks’ protection to block a punt the Sooners recovered in the end zone.
Has Sarkisian considered removing Banks’ responsibilities on special teams?
“No.”
And yet, special teams continue to be a major issue for Texas with Sarkisian taking responsibility for “missed opportunities” after senior kicker Gianni Spetic missed a 53-yard field goal with the game tied at 24-24 and less than two minutes remaining.
Other glaring mistakes included a kickoff out of bounds by Spetic and a shanked punt by senior Mac Chiumento.
“Quite frankly, I felt like we’ve had a couple return opportunities that we didn’t get,” Sarkisian said. “Clearly, it’s two weeks in a row we’ve kicked the ball out of bounds on kickoffs. We’re better than that, and so I’ve got to find a way to get our guys playing with more confidence from a specialist standpoint, and again, that’s my job to try to get that done.”
