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By Evan Massey
Contributing Sports Writer
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Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns did not live up to the hype during the 2025 college football season and ended up missing the College Football Playoff picture.
While the team made a case to be included in the playoff, the committee did not see it that way. Instead, Texas is preparing to face off against the Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl on December 31.
Obviously, the season ended up being disappointing for the Longhorns. For Sarkisian, it could be the beginning of incoming hot-seat rumors.
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During the season, rumors started surfacing about Sarkisian having interest in making a jump to the NFL. He shot down those rumors quickly, but they were still out there. Not being able to lead Texas to the College Football Playoff has also brought up frustration in Austin.
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With that being said, a new take has been shared that suggests Sarkisian's future might not be locked in with the Longhorns.
Adam Spencer of Saturday Down South has suggested that Sarkisian might be a top big-name coach to watch as a hot-seat candidate in 2026.
"The Longhorns avoid Alabama and Georgia next year, so the schedule should be manageable," Spencer wrote. "Get to the Playoff and all is forgiven. Struggle again and come up short and it might increase the hot seat chatter surrounding Sark."
Texas expects to be a top-tier national championship contender. After being part of the "final four" last season before losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl, the Longhorns were many analysts' preseason pick to win it all this season.
Since taking over as the head coach at Texas back in 2021, he has led the program to a solid 47-20 record. As a whole throughout his college coaching career, he has gone 93-55 with the Longhorns, USC Trojans, and Washington Huskies.
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There is no question that Sarkisian is an elite head coach. However, Texas is not going to be incredibly patient. He needs to win next season or the outside noise is going to grow very loud.
Of course, this is just an opinion at this point in time. A lot can change depending on how the 2026 season goes. Sarkisian simply has to get the program back to being a playoff team and his job status will be just fine.
For more on the Texas Longhorns and college football news, head to Newsweek Sports.
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