Nick Saban Retires, Pressure Turns To Longhorns’ Chris Del Conte & Steve Sarkisian Extension

Chris Del Conte better be prepared to hand Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian a big check in the coming days. If not, maybe Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne will. Nick Saban dropped a nuclear bomb on the college football world Wednesday afternoon with his spontaneous decision to retire after the Crimson Tide lost to Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
He built a dynasty that included his 201 wins in 17 seasons, nine Southeastern Conference championships, eight College Football Playoff appearances, and six national titles. I have decided to leave.
Byrne, who has been the Crimson Tide’s AD for the past seven years, has never had a career-defining hire.
In 2024, the era of college football is changing, and 12 teams will fly the flag and fight to the death for the title.
A staple of the game, two new teams join the SEC, reinforcing the personality of its “It Just Means More” mantra.
The NIL and transfer portal never sleeps here, with proven names leaving the program after a record-breaking season and joining the highest bidder.
And for the first time since 2007, changes are coming to Title Town.
Does this change affect Sarkisian?
Current Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, the University of Alabama’s offensive coordinator, and head coach Nick during the Chick-fil-A kickoff game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, August 31, 2019.
Saban vs.
Duke.
Sarkisian and Byrne have a working relationship, and the two worked together while the Longhorns’ third-year coach worked under Saban as the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020.
spent time.
results are the language of love in places like Alabama, where very few people have a Sarkisian resume.
During his two seasons as a play-caller, he led the Tide as the third-leading scorer in college football (2019) and second-leading scorer (2020).
He helped receiver DeVonta Smith become the first Heisman-winning receiver in more than 20 years and transformed Mac Jones from a game manager to a winner over Davey O’Brien. The production continues beyond his time in Tuscaloosa.
Sarkisian revived his life in Forty Acres after a long time.
He transformed the Longhorns from a mediocre Big 12 program into a legitimate national title threat in his three seasons.
Sarkisian has not only increased the level of his recruiting ability, but also the quality of the people coming out of the school for the next level.
Three, if not more, players could hear their names called in the first round of April’s NFL Draft.
Oh, he’s one of three former assistants to beat the seven-time champion, and also the youngest.
Unlike Jimbo Fisher and Kirby Smart, Sarkisian beat him on his home turf.
Does Byrne think he can replicate this success outside of Austin?
Texas is in great shape, especially given the abundance of money backers willing to invest in the Texas One Fund every offseason. It’s work.
But Alabama he’s only one. There is only one championship walk.
There is only one Bryant-Denny Stadium. Saturday night, in the fourth quarter, I trembled with the voices of hundreds of thousands of people proclaiming their disdain for Auburn and his LSU and Tennessee.
And yes, money from loyal supporters will flow like a green river down University Avenue.
Sarkisian, who has three years left on his contract, will make $5.
6 million.
He ranks 30th nationally in salary for head football coaches and fifth among SEC coaches. After Texas won its first conference title since 2009, Del Conte had to increase his salary anyway.
Despite losing to Washington in the Sugar Bowl, the Longhorns won 12 games for the first time since the Mack Brown era.
Coaching experiment failed twice and took him eight times