Texas HC Steve Sarkisian spills the beans on the "real issue" faced during his first year with the Longhorns

Steve Sarkisian was hired as Texas coach in January 2021 following his successful tenure as an offensive coordinator at Alabama. The Longhorns were aiming to return to their place as a powerhouse in college football, and Sarkisian was seen as the man to lead them.

In an interview with Josh Pate posted to YouTube on Wednesday, Steve Sarkisian explained the significant issue he had in his first season at the Forty Acres. The Longhorns finished the 2021 season with a 5-7 record, which was worse than the previous season, necessitating radical changes from the coach.

"At the end of that spring semester, our athletic department always gives you a cumulative team GPA for the year, fall, and spring semesters, and we had a 2.33 team GPA, and I thought that's not very good,” Sarkisian said (Timestamp 3:38).

He also noted the team's habit of blowing second-half leads and lack of NFL draft picks on the roster.

"So what was the problem? What was our issue? I said, we have a culture issue. We lack accountability. We're entitled, okay. We don't serve others, it's about me … I know we've touched on this before, but at that moment, it was like that's the real issue going on.”

Texas was Steve Sarkisian’s third head coaching job in college football following his tenures at Washington and USC. This, along with his experience under the leadership of Nick Saban at Alabama, offered him a great insight into how to build a program with sustainable success.

Steve Sarkisian explains how the culture has changed at Texas

Five years into the job, Steve Sarkisian has transformed Texas back to a powerhouse in the college football landscape. The Longhorns have now become an annual contender for the national championship. He outlined the result of the effort to Josh Pate.

“And so now, fast forward going into year five, what has come out of this is we have a group of players on our team now that they're the ones we recruited," Sarkisian said (Timestamp 4:42). "They're the ones that have grown up with us, right? Our fourth-year seniors have been with us now for four straight years.”

Steve Sarkisian's goal is, without a doubt, to win the national championship with Texas. The Longhorns have appeared in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff in the last two seasons and will be out to claim the ultimate goal in 2025.