Texas introduces Steve Sarkisian as new head football coach | KVUE

university of texas longhorns to get back to the top of college football we need to keep the best players in the state of texas home and that will be the priority when it comes to recruiting like i said before i'm i'm honored i'm humbled to be the head football coach here um our job is now to align the donors the alumni the ex-players the current players the recruits and pushing everybody in the same direction to go achieve the greatness that we want to achieve to longhorn nation uh it's time to go to work uh and clearly you guys have probably seen my mantra this work will be all gas and no breaks we will go to it full fledge we will lay down on the hammer and go get it but at the end of the day to put on the burn orange and white and to represent this great university and the great state of texas uh is one i don't take lightly and we will go for it to the highest level thank you coach we'll now begin our q a session uh remember guys use the hand raised function if you have a question and uh please let me know your questions one at a time so we can get through as many as possible uh during the time we have for the press conference and we will go ahead and start with senator golden hey steve um what lessons did you take from your stops with pete carroll and coach saban that maybe you didn't use in your first stops as coaches as a head coach but you can use now after those experiences yeah i think the one thing coach carol and coach saban i think the end result is very clear they both want to win they both want to develop young men into into grown men i think they have the best interests of their players at heart but the one lesson i got out of it was they did it their own way we all see pete carroll on the sidelines the fun energetic upbeat personality that he has and then we all see nick saban on the sidelines and the stern focus uh and drive that he has both of which work right they've both worked for each of them nick's uh pete carroll's a national championship in college super bowl champion in the nfl nick saban arguably the the greatest college football coach of all time seven national championships both of which work and what i got out of it was you gotta you gotta know who you are you gotta have a belief in who you are and you have to stick to your beliefs uh neither of which wavered for those guys i think it took them some time to figure out who they were clearly i've had that time to do that and i think once you can put those those principles in place and and stick to your guns and it's not one year where this the next year where that uh you believe in who you are and and at that point then you start to build your program and i think those two guys actually showed me two different ways of doing it both of which were effective dennis dodd go ahead hey sar congratulations thank you as good as your offense is and has been i wonder how much time you spend you know staying up at night wondering how i stay ahead is someone going to figure this out someday not just you but everybody who runs spread rpos um will defenses ever catch up to it well it's funny you say that dennis because it's really been an evolution for me i i believe you have to remain on the cutting edge this is not something where you can just say hey rinse and repeat we're going to do the same thing again we're always trying to find a new way to do something we're always trying to find a new wrinkle we're always trying to find a new formation a motion a shift a personnel grouping and at the end of the day hopefully we do stay one step ahead and you know i i don't like to you know i like to think they're they're trying to play catch-up to me um clearly that's the challenge especially when you're taking over a new program because you have to you know install a new system uh to the players here but not only you install a new system you know everybody's studying my tape for the last two three years and so we're not only installing a new system but we're building on that system uh but i think it's a fun system and i think it's exciting and i think the players will really you know enjoy being part of it because of the wrinkles and the nuances to it but ultimately success is needed right success is needed for these players to buy in uh and it's going to be critical that we have some chuck carlton go ahead uh yes i was curious from from last night's championship game in terms of building momentum could you have asked for anything more in terms of an advertisement of what you want to bring to texas and what kind of feedback just in the last 18 hours have you gotten since then well i think you know clearly i was excited for our players at alabama i would be remiss if i didn't say that those kids put in a lot of hard work and again i'm a believer uh in the success of our players and so that that piece is first and foremost but for us here at texas i think it generated a lot of excitement i think it generated a lot of excitement from a recruiting standpoint i think it generated a lot of excitement for our current players on our roster i think we felt that and i think it generated a lot of excitement from donors alumni fan base so all in all you know there's some excitement there now it's our job to capitalize on it continue to build on that excitement so that that flame doesn't fizzle out we need that flame to continue to burn uh with the excitement about about longhorn football roger wallace you're up coach i i'm curious your your emotion because you've had this unique gap between being named head coach going back to work to alabama you said last week you didn't have to be a head coach again it had to be the right situation what are the emotions now that that it's so real and you're you're standing here you know for me the emotions are like i said i think one i'm humbled i'm honored um you know the old adage is you've never really coached until you've been fired uh and and when you experience that i think that you go one of two a lot of coaches go one of two ways and it really drove me just to be the best coach i could be i wasn't worried about if i was ever going to be a head coach again i just wanted to be the best coach the best version of steve sarkesian every day like how can i get better how could i get better is there a better way to run this play is there a better way to install this play is there a better way to recruit is it i just kept looking for ways to get better and better and better and then ultimately it was oh now all of a sudden there are some opportunities to become a head coach again and i had to take a step back and say you know if i'm going to do this again i want it to be right i want it to be the right situation at the right university with the right people and there was a lot of no's right there was a lot of no's and then when texas called it was like well wait a minute that's that one's a yes this is a yes this is what i want to go do uh this is a tremendous opportunity and i feel probably more excitement but yet ready to go to work i'm still this isn't this isn't a destination day for me this is kind of a stop on the road to say okay this is where i am now but the same mindset's not going to change for me it's we got to keep going to work and that's why i use the adage all gas no brakes like we got to keep going we've got to keep going i want our players to feel that mentality that this isn't a destination day that okay now i can relax on the head coach at texas this is uh all right here's an opportunity day now what are we going to do with it brian davis you're next hey steve congratulations on last night thank you uh you know there were there are players on this roster and there are players all over texas recruits all over texas who watch that game and they probably thought you know i can be the next naji i can be the next devante what do what do you want them thinking about your program and texas football going forward well i think you know when you see those types of players i i think it's always good that we have goals and aspirations and i i i can fit into a system i can it can look like that for me all of those are great but then we have to scale it back and go back to the process of it all how did those kids get to that point and that's what we have to instill in the kids here whether they're currently on our roster or the ones that we bring in that yes we all have goals and aspirations of things we want to achieve and what we want things to look like now we gotta peel it back and say okay we gotta go to work and this is how the work we need to put in to get to that point and when you can focus on the task at hand knowing that that that is still out there for you but yet this is what is important today uh and today is the most important day that's when we're really gonna that's where we're gonna capture our players and when we can get to that point and capture our players to today is the most important day be the best versions of ourselves today regardless of what the drill is regardless of what the tempo of the day is regardless if it's a workout in the weight room or if it's study hall or class or community service that that is the most important thing for the day because those things will add up to who you are from a character standpoint and at the end of the day your character is what's going to stand out and i think you know we're going to have to instill that and i think there's a lot of that already in this program now it's our job to continue to build upon it and continue to develop the players richardson go ahead uh hello coach um congratulations again on the win um you know you're i i wanted to know what your message would be to a fan base that hasn't had a big 12 title since 2009 and only one appearance uh since then and that is thirsty for wins and i also want to know what's your message to recruits in the state of texas who have kind of grown accustomed to going out of state to the bigger name programs and about why they should be coming back to the university of texas well i think the message is um you know i came here to win championships you know that that's the goal we're here to chase greatness to win championships that's why i'm here that's what's going to drive us every single day but that won't be the hope that we will that is putting in the work to develop the confidence that we will and i think when when people see our brand of football it will be one that is exciting that is attacking uh but at the end of the day the results are the results and so understanding we are result driven industry let's get back to work and put in the work so that we can get the results that we want and to do that you have to put yourself in position to win championships it's not about just winning the championship how do you put yourself in the best position to be successful when that time comes and a lot of times that's you know that's july 4th you know it's like hey i got to make a great decision it's the fourth of july we're not working out but if my focus is on the team and the accountability to my teammates maybe i make a little better decision there so all of these things will start to add up to where we become that championship program and i truly believe that day will come like i said i think and i don't think it's going to take us as long as many might think we've got a talented young roster i think we're going to hire a tremendous coaching staff and we're going to continue to recruit the best players in the state of texas and i think as we as we start to look back and they see our brand of football they see the type of team that we have the close-knit camaraderie that our team's going to have the way our team works and then what we put on the field people want to join this i i promise you that people are going to want to be part of this program we've got tremendous facilities we've got great uh we've got great support from our from our fan base and at the end of the day this is the university of texas and people are going to want to be part of it bob blue go ahead hey coach welcome to austin um you've thrown for more yards against texas a m in a game than any player ever has i'm curious if you could take us back to that game in 1996 and just what you remember from it and then second how did john featherstone uh get you to quit quit baseball and play football well um you know i probably go with the john featherstone story first i i literally was a baseball player i just transferred back from usc i was in a health class and uh man i couldn't hit i couldn't hit when the ball moved i could hit it when it was going straight i didn't hit it very good when that thing started moving whether it's a curveball or slider he just got me to come out and i was down on the depth chart and just kind of worked my way up but we had a tremendous bond he's someone who has definitely impacted my life so that was uh that was a tremendous moment thinking back on where my life is today none of this would have ever happened if it weren't for john featherstone that game in 1996 the pigskin classic against a m was just one of those moments we thought we had a pretty good football team we thought we could throw it around a little bit at byu with coach edwards clearly we did that day and had to come up with a couple big throws there at the end of the game and a couple big plays by wideouts but oddly enough that year was unique that we ended up beating a m the first game of the year and then winning the cotton bowl here in here in texas so looking back on it now it's it's exciting to think that wow here we go here we come full circle being back in the great state of texas you're brown you're up hey steve um i used to do a radio show with sean adams who i i know is a friend of yours and is looking down happy uh for you today but um i wanted to uh ask you how are you a better leader of young men right now than you were as a head coach previously well i think clearly you know when when you go through adversity in life and you and you have perseverance and you have real life examples of what perseverance looks like and then you're willing to share those with young men uh that they can say this guy's real man this guy's authentic this guy is telling us real life things about hey here's a way to go about it and and my job ultimately with these guys is to just show them a better way show them a way where they can continue to grow because they need the guidance they need they need the leadership and um like i said you know at 33 years old taking over uh program uh i i you know i'm laughing now thinking back how was i even ready at 33 to go do that you know and you do it to the best your ability and at that time i inherited the university of washington and they were they were owen 12 the year before and we end up going to four straight bowl games you know so a lot of which i did at that time was the right way of going about it but i think back more so now at i would do that differently i would have done that differently i would have handled that situation differently so just through experience you know through through perseverance because ultimately you know the game of football is about perseverance and especially in this day and age of college football with ops opt-outs with transfers you know this is this is the the idea of persevering through difficult times is not at the forefront of a young man's mind right now and we need to instill that back in them because that is the game of football i like into the last night's ball game the third drive of the game sack fumble it's a turnover ohio state ties the game up 14 all i would say two years ago i don't know if mac jones would have responded the way he did to come back out and lead us right back down for a score so the perseverance that's needed in game in football i think we learned how to do that off the field in life and so those are the things you lead as a leader of men or both go ahead yes steve other than that cotton ball game you don't have a lot of texas connections or roots what have you been told about maybe any do's and don'ts about being the head coach at texas so you don't repeat any mistakes others have made well i know not to go thumbs up and it's hook them i know that much so let's start with that and i know it's texas first before the other school so those two things jumped out at me today but you know more importantly is i think it's about developing relationships and i i don't know i don't mean to speak you know like i'm sitting here pat myself on the back but i really try to develop authentic relationships with people whether it's you all in the media whether it's our players whether it's recruits whether it's our administration whether it's our donors because i think when people find out you're authentic you know i could be from mars but at the end of the day i'm an authentic guy i want to get to know you and and i want you to know me and through that that's how you can kind of build people and bring people in and build your program and so um i'll get connected and it's not going to come overnight but i'll get connected and we'll develop those relationships that are needed jeff jones you're up coach welcome to town uh you mentioned a few times about the talent on the roster and how the talent currently present is good enough to win a few games um what excites you most about the talent that is currently here well i think clearly there's a lot of speed on this roster this is a young roster it's got a lot of speed it's got a lot of athleticism um you know as we start to really dig into the roster and the roster management we got to make sure that we have appropriate scholarships in place at the specific positions that are needed for our schemes but just looking at it from afar initially watching a few games watching a few games on tv talking to some of the kids now i've been able to talk to a few of the players on the team here for the last week or so we've got a talented team we've got an athletic team we've got speed on this team we just got to make sure we've got the right pieces in place at the positions we need to make sure that we can go where we want to go nick moyle you're up hey steve um i'm just curious you know how closely you followed the eyes of texas debate over the past few months and um you know what are your thoughts on that issue and do you plan on opening a dialogue with the players or have you become that yet well i know this much the eyes of texas is is our school song and you know we support that song we're going to sing that song we're going to sing it proudly i think i think when when i come into the fold i think any talks that need to have whether it's about the eyes of texas or any other issues that come up i think it's having the discussions we can't put our head in the sand uh and act like things aren't happening we have to really have those discussions with them and educate our players to make sure that we're all on the same page and understanding that i think sometimes there are tough discussions that need to have that need to happen you know without speaking to candidly we're living in a country right now where there's some turmoil going on but as long as we can have those discussions and be on the same page we can do that as it pertains to the eyes of texas and that's our song and we're fired up to sing it mark rosner you're up steve you mentioned opportunities you've had uh was eventual successor to nick saban one of them and if so was that tempting to stick around well i don't i don't ever like to you know talk about specific opportunities that may that have been before or may have not happened before uh i do know whoever replaces nick saban's got a tall task in front of them you're talking like i said about the greatest college football coach of all time you know this guy has done it better than anybody he's a leader of men he develops young men there's so much so many attributes you could say about them so if that opportunity would have presented itself clearly it had been something to think about but you know we're at a point now where i'm the head coach of texas and i'm fired up about it i'm pumped about it and uh couldn't be more proud stephen wagner go ahead hey coach uh a few players have already spoken out publicly about wanting to keep certain assistance from the last coaching staff um how much influence will player opinion have on your decision um on your decisions hiring or choosing to retain uh coaches on this new staff you know i think generally speaking anytime there's a coaching change there's mixed emotions right for players on a roster some feel one way some feel another way and i think my job coming now as a new head coach is to make sure we're assembling a staff that has the best interest of our players at heart whether that's from a developmental piece from a relationship piece whatever those things are and we'll we'll clearly convey that to the players of of why we did what we did with our staff in the direction that we went in uh it is truly for the betterment of them at least in our opinion and now those develop those those relationships that are needed that need to get built between coaches and players they'll get built and some of which will coaches from the previous staff will be on the staff some of which will be coaches from the outside coming in so i think assembling a staff is is like forming a jigsaw puzzle and there's there's intricate pieces that need to get put in place uh when you start thinking about recruiting when you start thinking about developmental players when you start thinking about calling plays on game day there's a lot that goes into it and you start thinking about the culture you're trying to build in your building there's a lot that goes into it and you know i think our players will understand that over time but i but i recognize when some players want to keep a coach there are mixed emotions that go into this thing and so it's our job when we do assemble our staff and get everything in place to present these guys in the best light and then it's everybody's it's everybody's job to to be open-minded to develop the relationships needed to to grow got time for three final questions we'll start with hey steve uh in regards to hiring a defensive coordinator not necessarily you know odd front versus even front or things like that but stylistically philosophically what are you looking for in that position to play the kind of complimentary football with your offense that ideally you want to play at texas well i do have definitely an idea of how i want defense to be played hey i've talked about being an attacking defense i i think you can't play defense on your heels you have to be the one that is attacking the offense you have to make the offense the offensive players the offensive coaches on the opposing teams feel uncomfortable and we have to generate that but college football is is a unique phase right now with what's happening from an offensive standpoint and so when you start talking about you know minimizing explosive plays stopping the run creating turnovers getting stops in the red area affecting the other team's quarterback there's a lot of bullet points that you start to get to but for the most part you got to be able to attack the opponent you need to make people uncomfortable our job is to keep them out of the end zone our job is to go attack the football on defense and so how we get to all that specifically to your point yeah we'll figure all that out but there is definitely a brand and style of play that we're looking for max olson you're up hi coach i know the motto is all gas no brakes but do you hope that people have reasonable expectations and a little bit of patience with this process or are you good with good with the hype well i mean i think any time you make a set anytime you make a change it's like signing date and recruiting right everybody just signed the best class in the country everybody's nobody ever says we didn't sign a good class when it comes to recruiting classes you know everybody spends it you know but so at the end of the day the hype is good i think the hype is great you know but we need to go back to work we can't live in a fantasy world and and and what it's going to look like you know i think president hartzell said 265 days from now it is the what are we going to put on the field what is the product that we put on the field and so that takes the daily work and so again we all want goals we all have aspirations we all want to win now we need to go to work and um i i don't mind the excitement i think it's great for the university of texas but for us internally it's about putting in the work so that we can get the results that we want in the end eddie clements go ahead coach welcome to austin and we're glad you're here there's a little game that texas doesn't play anymore about 90 miles to the east with the aggies would you be in favor of putting the aggies back on the schedule and playing texas a m again that so many longhorn fans would really want to see i would love to play that game i think it'd be great for the for the state of texas but look forward to it joe cook go ahead you obviously would not be in austin if the administration didn't think that a change was necessary but you've made it seems like you've made the decision to keep a couple of the members of the old regime so what's the right balance for keeping some continuity within the program for what the players are familiar with but still trying to bring in people you want and make the program how you want it to be well i mean i think that's that's that's the that's the question right i mean what is the right balance and and you're still you know we're working our way through that as you as we're putting the staff together um because i do think there is some continuity that you that you like to keep on board uh but there's also the continuity that you're trying to create amongst the staff that's coming in and so you know there's there is the balance to it and i don't know every you know every job that comes open and a new coach goes in i don't think it's the same i i think it's what's the pulse of of the team uh what what's the pulse of the head coach and what he's trying to create what's his style and then you start putting those pieces together um i think the the guys that we that we're going to hold over i think are good fits to what i'm looking for um and ultimately you know as we come on board we are we aren't going to view anybody as he's from the old staff these guys are from the new staff we are the current staff and i think our players need to view it that way and we need to view it that way as a staff once we get going last question danny steve how confident are you that you can install both your culture and your system during an off season i'm sure it's going to have some fluidity as far as dates what you can and can't do uh i'm very confident you know i i think now having the year that we had which was you know clearly difficult for everybody involved across the nation you know the first thing is i think these these young men 18 to 22 years old these guys are probably more comfortable on zoom than we are right but it took us as coaches time to get comfortable with it but the reality of it is i can say this at alabama for the last month as an offensive staff we never met in person we met on zoom the entire time so and we were still pretty effective you know so at the end of the day if it's zoom if it's in person whatever they allowed us to do from a pandemic standpoint we're going to maximize it we're going to go for it we're going to take advantage of it and we're going to grow together as a football team thank you coach sarkeesian welcome to the town all righty y'all thank you welcome no math [Music] i used to have a face for brothers what do you guys think i'm so sorry