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Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said Saturday that the administration chose to extend head football coach Steve Sarkisian’s contract four more years to ensure continuity and added he was “never worried” Sarkisian might leave for Alabama.
“I felt at the end of the day, we wanted to make sure we have continuity with our staff,” Del Conte told the American-Statesman. “That’s the most important thing. That’s what we’ve been working on for the last week.”
Del Conte said he began negotiations with Sarkisian even before Texas played Washington in the Sugar Bowl in the Longhorns’ first College Football Playoff appearance ever, a 37-31 loss on Jan. 1.
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, left, celebrates with head football coach Steve Sarkisian after the Longhorns’ 49-21 win over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 2 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The extension assures Sarkisian is under contract through the 2030 season. Del Conte declined to release the salary raise until the Board of Regents approves it at its next meeting Feb. 21-22 unless a special meeting is called. Sarkisian currently makes $5.6 million a year, which ranks 30th among all FBS coaches, but is expected to get a huge bump.
Sarkisian has a 25-14 record in his first three seasons at Texas and finished this past season as the No. 3 team in the country in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Longhorns’ highest final ranking since 2009.
“The length of the contract allows him and our staff and shows that we’re committed to each other,” Del Conte said. “That was a big part of the equation.”
While there was much speculation about Sarkisian as a potential candidate to replace Nick Saban at Alabama after the seven-time national championship-winning coach retired on Wednesday, Del Conte discounted the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/texas-never-worried-steve-sarkisian-211259407.html
Author : Austin American-Statesman
Publish date : 2024-01-13 21:12:59
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