The Texas Longhorns are not having the dominant year that many expected from them behind the arm of the incredibly hyped junior quarterback Arch Manning. Instead, Texas has struggled to look impressive when facing teams with similar talent.
After the Longhorns narrowly escaped Lexington with a win over the Kentucky Wildcats, many wondered if head coach Steve Sarkisian would relinquish play-calling duties in an effort to maximize what he can get out of his team elsewhere. However, it’s clear that the Longhorns coach has no such plan.
“That’s why I got hired. I was a really good offensive coordinator. I’m always going to tap into the strengths that I have and I think being a play-caller on offense is one of my strengths. Some may disagree,” Sarkisian said.
Fans reacted to the news on social media with mixed opinions.
“I don’t think he as a head coach can dedicate enough of his 24 hours to solely focus on the offense yet Texas has the funding and ability to hire an elite OC that calls plays. That doesn’t mean he’s completely hands off with the offense but this is clearly not working. Either a swing and a miss on Manning or he needs to give up play calling,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Take notes from Ryan Day. The year he gave up play calling he won a national championship. Sark should worry about being a CEO than juggling numerous roles, which is why Texas has underperformed,” another fan added.
“I mean he’s not wrong but it is so hard to be a head coach and take on all the play calling duties offensively. It would probably pay dividends for him to hire a stud OC to just take some of the weight off himself,” someone else commented.
It’ll be interesting to see if Sarkisian changes his mind moving forward. For now, he remains committed to calling the plays on offense as the Longhorns try to find their footing this season.
https://thecomeback.com/college-football/texas-longhorns-steve-sarkisian-to-continue-calling-plays.html
