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Shortly thereafter, Sarkisian\u2019s agents Jimmy Sexton and Ed Marynowitz issued a statement on social media calling the report \u201cpatently false and wildly inaccurate,\u201d which is notable because that\u2019s just not how Sexton usually rolls. This is a man who has become the most prominent coach\u2019s agent in college football in part because he knows how to weaponize the media and use rumors, whether true or not, to create leverage for his clients.<\/p>\n
In a world where a lack of clarity works to Sexton\u2019s advantage most of the time, you just don\u2019t ever see him coming out so strongly to knock down a report like that.<\/p>\n
By the evening, Texas had beaten Mississippi State 45-38 in overtime<\/a>, coming back from a 38-21 deficit and avoiding a loss that would have knocked the Longhorns out of College Football Playoff contention. Afterward, Sarkisian blasted The Athletic\u2019s report by saying, \u201cIt really pisses me off that one person can make a report that, in turn, the entire media [and] sports world runs with as factual \u2026 I had to do that to protect my locker room and my team. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. I thought it was completely unprofessional of that person to put that report out, and the fact that everybody ran with it is borderline embarrassing for the media \u2026 I\u2019ve got a small circle when I make decisions on what I do and what I don\u2019t do, and nobody would speak on my behalf without me knowing.\u201d<\/p>\n This leaves us with three options.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n First: Russini, one of the most well-connected and well-respected NFL reporters out there, completely whiffed.<\/p>\n Second: Sarkisian has interest in returning to the NFL, where he was an offensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018, but didn\u2019t intend for it to get out and is trying to preserve relationships at Texas by coming out so strongly to deny the report.<\/p>\n Third: Sexton and Marynowitz, who are constantly in conversations with NFL and college teams, have been floating Sarkisian as a potential candidate either as a leverage play or to get him out of Texas, which has underachieved this season. It doesn\u2019t even matter whether Sarkisian knew or approved of it, they\u2019re just playing the game, and they came out with the statement to make sure their lucrative relationship with Sark doesn\u2019t go sour.<\/p>\n If we\u2019re ranking those possibilities, let\u2019s be very clear that No. 2 or No. 3 are by far the most likely. And if you\u2019ve watched Texas this season fall from preseason No. 1 to punching bag, it\u2019s not hard to figure out why.<\/p>\n Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns eked out a win over Mississippi State in Starkville on Saturday. (Justin Ford\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n (Justin Ford via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Sarkisian isn\u2019t in line for an extension. He\u2019s not going to get a raise. He\u2019s either going to find a soft landing or enter 2026 with a lot of noise around his ability as a play-caller and perhaps even his job as a head coach. Nobody in the country has been given more resources, and nobody is delivering less value for the money this season.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Longhorns are just not very good. They don\u2019t pass the eye test physically, they struggle with simple stuff on offense, and their defense isn\u2019t nearly as dominant as it was supposed to be.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the classic example of a team where you can\u2019t quite put your finger on what\u2019s wrong, but none of it looks right and Texas fans are compelled to wonder if something weird is going on behind the scenes.<\/p>\n By the end of the night, Texas\u2019 playoff hopes were still intact \u2014 barely \u2014 but nobody wearing burnt orange could feel good about what they watched in Starkville against a bad Mississippi State team. Texas is 6-2, but it\u2019s probably just a matter of time until Vanderbilt or Georgia or Texas A&M ruins the Longhorns’ season for good.<\/p>\n With all the drama surrounding Sark, it\u2019s no wonder Texas reigns as America\u2019s most miserable fan base in Week 9.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Conference Champions of Misery<\/p>\n ACC: There\u2019s not much more you can do with this iteration of NC State. After 13 seasons under Dave Doeren, it is what it is \u2014 a wholly unremarkable, middle-of-the-pack ACC program that no longer looks like it has any upside with the current regime. That\u2019s why one of the hottest rumors of this year\u2019s coaching carousel involves NC State and Doeren coming to some sort of agreement by the end of the season where the two parties can go their separate ways and perhaps even call it a retirement. Will it happen? Time will tell, but after a 53-34 loss to Pittsburgh, it doesn\u2019t feel like there\u2019s much more juice to squeeze out of this lemon. Doeren has been a solid coach with a high floor and low ceiling, but if the program wants to contend for ACC titles it\u2019s time to seriously consider a change that would at least generate some excitement.<\/p>\n Big Ten: You\u2019re not in a good spot as a program when an 11-point loss at home to your biggest rival is one of your better performances of the season. But compared to Michigan State\u2019s 25-point losses to Indiana and UCLA the last two weeks, a cosmetically competitive game against Michigan actually seems like progress. That\u2019s not good enough for Michigan State fans, though, and it shouldn\u2019t be. Between 2008 and 2021, Sparty dominated this series, winning 10 of their 14 matchups. But this program\u2019s sudden fall to the bottom of the Big Ten should probably be talked about more than it has been. Mel Tucker\u2019s off-field implosion, plus a questionable hire in Jonathan Smith who had no Midwest ties, has left Michigan State in the most unenviable position. It must either make an expensive coaching change (more than $30 million in buyout money) and start all over again or figure out how to sell fans on patience with a coach who just isn\u2019t connecting to the fan base or the Michigan State culture.<\/p>\n Jonathan Smith’s Spartans are struggling in his second season at the school. (Nic Antaya\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n (Nic Antaya via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Big 12: At this point a year ago, it looked over for Dave Aranda at Baylor. But an administration partial to patience, plus a six-game winning streak to end the regular season, saved his job for another year. In a situation like that, the question as a coach becomes how you\u2019re going to reward the faith. But after a 41-20 loss to Cincinnati, Aranda may be back in choppy waters as the season winds down. At 4-4, the Bears are not disastrous by any means. But take note of the attendance when they return home next week to face UCF. Baylor\u2019s home games so far this year have not been great from an attendance standpoint, and it\u2019s hard to keep a fan base engaged when you\u2019re stuck in the middle of the Big 12 without being a threat to the upper-echelon teams in the league. Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades, who also chairs the CFP selection committee, is going to have to figure out if Baylor\u2019s relative stability in the middle of the Big 12 outweighs an obvious apathy problem with the fan base.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Group of Five: There\u2019s some fierce competition to determine the worst team in FBS, but Charlotte is making a strong case as the season heads into the home stretch. After a 54-20 loss to North Texas, Charlotte is 1-7, with a 35-point loss to Temple, a 17-point loss to Army, a 28-point loss to South Florida and an 11-point loss to Rice among other unsavory results. The 49ers\u2019 only win came against an FCS opponent, Monmouth, in Week 3. Meanwhile, athletic director Mike Hill was fired fewer than two weeks ago after signing a contract extension last year. In other words, it\u2019s a whole mess for a program that was in a bowl game in 2019 but has gone 19-43 since.<\/p>\n Headset Misery<\/p>\n Brian Kelly: The suffocating second half Texas A&M executed to crush LSU, 49-25, will make for a very tense week in Baton Rouge. After LSU began the season with a 17-10 win at Clemson, Kelly and his acolytes around the program truly believed they had something special. But now we know there\u2019s nothing special about beating Clemson, 5-3 LSU isn\u2019t sniffing the CFP and they are so far behind an operation like Texas A&M culturally and schematically that people should start giving back salary out of pure shame. It was all a fraud perpetrated upon the LSU fan base, and both Kelly and athletic director Scott Woodward are responsible for putting a lifeless, substandard product on the field. In Kelly\u2019s fourth year, that\u2019s unacceptable, and it\u2019s time for some frank conversations and tough decisions to figure out whether this coaching staff needs to be brought back.<\/p>\n Brian Kelly and the Tigers are 5-3 this season. (Tyler Kaufman\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n (Tyler Kaufman via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Alex Golesh: With so many jobs open, someone is going to poach the South Florida coach and give him a contract worth at least $30 million dollars. Maybe a lot more. But before doing that, an administration making that offer should watch the second half of South Florida\u2019s 34-31 loss at Memphis and ask some tough questions about whether Golesh\u2019s costly tactical mistakes represent just a bad day or a core part of his philosophy. Because if it’s the latter, oh boy. While play-calling is always easier to evaluate with the benefit of hindsight, let\u2019s focus on two moments that didn\u2019t require any. Leading 24-17 in the third quarter, Golesh turned down a 24-yard field goal and instead went for it on fourth-and-3 and didn\u2019t convert. It\u2019s just a bad call. You\u2019re controlling the game, so take the points and go up two scores. Then, as Memphis marched toward the goal line inside the final two minutes, Golesh declined to use any timeouts to stop the clock.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Eli Drinkwitz: Speaking of dumb and costly fourth-down decisions, it needs to become socially unacceptable for coaches to rely on \u201cthe book\u201d while ignoring things that actually matter, like game situation, opponent, score, momentum and other things that need to factor in beyond just analytics. When Missouri had fourth-and-goal at Vanderbilt\u2019s 2-yard line relatively early in the third quarter, there was no reason for Drinkwitz to play for a touchdown. The score was 3-3, it\u2019s a tough game on the road, and a chip-shot field goal to take the lead on the road would\u2019ve been a very good outcome at that point. But Drinkwitz couldn\u2019t help himself \u2014 and not only did Missouri get stuffed, it lost quarterback Beau Pribula with a serious lower leg injury that will likely take him out of the lineup for several weeks. In a game Vandy eventually won 17-10, everything mattered \u2014 including Drinkwitz\u2019s bad decision.<\/p>\n Jeff Lebby: Leading the Longhorns 38-21 early in the fourth quarter, this was the night where Lebby \u2014 arguably the least qualified head coach hired in the SEC over the last decade \u2014 had absolutely no excuse not to get his first conference win. Mississippi State was taking it to Texas in every facet of the game, the Longhorns looked completely disinterested in the proceedings and all the Bulldogs needed was to avoid vomiting all over themselves. Unfortunately for Mississippi State, a few people are going to need trips to the dry cleaner this week \u2014 most notably Lebby, whose play-calling down the stretch was something to behold. Over its final four drives, including overtime, Mississippi State ran 17 plays for minus-16 yards while also giving up a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown with 1:47 left that tied the game. After that, State got the ball to Texas\u2019 42-yard line with 50 seconds left \u2014 on the edge of field goal range for their kicker \u2014 but followed with two bad passing plays that went nowhere. With two timeouts, what\u2019s the excuse for not running the ball and at least getting close enough for a field goal attempt?<\/p>\n Brent Venables: Over the first month of the season, there was a lot of praise for Oklahoma\u2019s investment in quarterback John Mateer and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle from Washington State. But it didn\u2019t take long for the SEC to figure either of them out. Part of that regression might be related to Mateer\u2019s hand injury that forced him to miss a few weeks, but it was very clear in a 34-26 loss to Ole Miss that Mateer was the second-best quarterback on the field. The stat line didn\u2019t look awful \u2014 17-of-31 passing for 223 yards \u2013 but Mateer\u2019s propensity to probe and hold the ball rather than make quick decisions is hard to overcome when the Sooners suffer from chronic struggles in the run game. Venables isn\u2019t on the hot seat yet, but with road games at Tennessee and Alabama coming up, his quality of life could get complicated in a hurry.<\/p>\n Moments of Misery<\/p>\n North Carolina improved, but not quite enough: Credit Bill Belichick for two things. First, the Tar Heels are incrementally getting better. They showed it last week in a close loss at Cal and backed it up with a near-upset of Virginia. Also, with a chance to win the game in the first overtime, Belichick went for two \u2014 which is exactly what you should do given the overtime rules. If North Carolina had kicked the extra point, they\u2019d have gotten the ball right back and been forced to go for two with a touchdown in the second overtime. So you might as well just go right there. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, Virginia stopped them just short of the goal line for a 17-16 win. Good process, tough result \u2014 and perhaps there\u2019s some good energy in Chapel Hill despite being 2-5.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n South Carolina blew its opportunity: Even for a team that wasn\u2019t going to meet its goals for the season, beating Alabama would have been a really big deal. And, frankly, the Gamecocks should have beaten Alabama on a night where they took a 22-14 lead early in the fourth quarter and had a magical atmosphere brewing in Columbia. And even though Alabama responded with a 14-play, 79-yard touchdown drive to tie the game, South Carolina had a chance to take the ball down the field and win inside the final couple minutes. But losing teams find ways to lose, and it\u2019s just that kind of season for the Gamecocks. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers got the ball knocked loose by Deontae Lawson, Alabama recovered at South Carolina\u2019s 38 and marched in the winning touchdown with 34 seconds left. Statistically, South Carolina played Alabama to a draw. But when you\u2019re 3-5 after starting the season at No. 13 in the Associated Press poll, you can\u2019t sell moral victories.<\/p>\n Oklahoma stepped on their own comeback: Make no mistake, the Sooners got outplayed at home in their 34-26 loss to Ole Miss, which will make for some interesting discourse in Norman about where the program is headed. It\u2019ll also raise the temperature around Brent Venables heading into next Saturday\u2019s game at Tennessee and Sooners legend Josh Heupel, who quarterbacked Oklahoma to its last national title in 2000. But let\u2019s home in on what happened with seven minutes left when Ole Miss was forced to punt, leading 31-26. At that moment, with the Rebels looking shaky, it felt like Oklahoma could go win the game with a touchdown \u2014 especially after Isaiah Sategna III popped up a return near midfield. But Sategna fumbled at the end of the play, Ole Miss expanded the lead to eight with a field goal and Oklahoma didn\u2019t really threaten from that point on. If Sategna just held onto the ball, who knows how the game might have turned out.<\/p>\n GameDay once again turned into the CAA showcase hour: After yet another one of his rants decrying the current pay-for-play environment of college football, Nick Saban told the “ESPN GameDay” crowd in Nashville that Vanderbilt \u201cbetter do something to keep Clark Lea here “cause he\u2019s gonna go somewhere,\u201d which might seem innocent enough except for one thing. Saban is a client of agent Jimmy Sexton and, in many ways, Saban\u2019s ability to set and re-set the market for coaches is the reason Sexton has maintained such strong control of the industry for the last 20 years. Oh, and guess who else is a client of Sexton\/Creative Artists Agency? Lo and behold, it\u2019s Vanderbilt\u2019s Clark Lea! Imagine that. Not to suggest there\u2019s some nefarious plot here, but this is how the sausage gets made. And just like last week, when Saban kickstarted the James Franklin rehab tour by telling his fellow CAA client it was \u201cunfair as hell\u201d<\/a> for Penn State to fire him, it all feels too cozy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the game was over and Steve Sarkisian could talk about the way Saturday played out, he was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[15993,15992,15826,3109,3130,3231,27,29,537,28,3658],"class_list":{"0":"post-21591","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-deontae-lawson","9":"tag-dianna-russini","10":"tag-jimmy-sexton","11":"tag-michigan-state","12":"tag-mississippi-state","13":"tag-steve-sarkisian","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-texas-headlines","16":"tag-texas-longhorns","17":"tag-texas-news","18":"tag-washington-state"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"STARKVILLE,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/b124d730-b21e-11f0-bf5e-7f6386652afb.jpeg\"\/)
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<\/p>\n![\"BATON](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1587b170-b21f-11f0-b7bf-666d6a39ebe6.jpeg\"\/)
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