"This is therapeutic for me": 51 Y/O Steve Sarkisian reveals fitness regime he follows after near death experience with open heart surgery

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian had been through a life-and-death situation five years ago, when he had to undergo open-heart surgery. The veteran coach was at Alabama as the offensive coordinator under the wing of legendary coach Nick Saban. The program had mandatory executive physicals for all the coaching staff members.

It happened in 2020, just before the season started, when his physical results red-flagged a critical health situation. He had an aneurysm in his heart —meaning a leaky valve— and only had two instead of three flaps. He was taken into the emergency room and underwent a major operation.

Post recovery, he was advised to take up a less strenuous exercise, and the coach had been spending a significant amount of time walking down the streets of the Texas facility.

This also helped Coach Sark devise some awesome strategies and game plans that helped him take down the opponents. The 51-year-old coach was recently speaking to College GameDay analyst Rece Davis while giving a tour of the grand Texas Longhorns University.

“I started taking walks in 2020, after a heart surgery in Alabama. It was because my doctor said, ‘Hey, you can't do strenuous activities, but you need to be active,’” Sarkisian said to Davis on Monday.

“And then, I got bored just walking around the field there. So, I started getting out in Tuscaloosa. I started walking around Bryant-Denny. I started bringing other coaches with me. Everybody talks about meditation nowadays, right? I'd love to tell you, ‘Man, I meditate every morning.’ That's just not me. I can't do it. This (walking) is kind of therapeutic for me.”

Steve Sarkisian also revealed that he strategized the trick play from the 2023 Oklahoma vs. Texas Red River game in the last quarter during one such long walk.

“I've changed practice plans on these walks. I've decided on guys who are going to start games on these walks. I've formulated play calls on third downs, one in particular we had a trick play up in the big 12 championship game,” he added.

Steve Sarkisian is optimistic about 2025 season

After a heartbreak in the playoffs last season, Steve Sarkisian intends to enter 2025 with limited expectations.

While speaking to the reporters at SEC Media Days earlier this month, he mentioned that his team is focusing on getting the fundamentals straight and is hungry for a new campaign. He shed light on the offseason practice and claimed the players are medically fit.

He lost over 14 veteran stars to the NFL and a couple to the transfer portal. However, Coach Sark is unfazed.

The team houses some of the top talents in the country, and Arch Manning as QB1 gives Sark more flexibility to strategize. Expect nothing less than a 12-win season for Texas in 2025.