"I'm a public figure": When Steve Sarkisian shared eye-opening story on giving up alcohol

Steve Sarkisian has been instrumental in reviving the Texas Longhorns football program. Under him, the Longhorns are one of the best teams in college football and are set to be in the running for the SEC and the National Championship in the years to come.

But, it has not only been the Longhorns that he has been able to turn around. He has also battled with alcohol addiction throughout his career, and this led him to give it up.

In early 2024, the head coach gave an interview with Joel Klatt, where he spoke candidly about his decision to give up alcohol.

"So it really wasn't like something that I could hide from. This is public knowledge, this is public information, I am a public figure at this point," he said.

His problems with alcohol have been well documented, and these problems were a cause of him losing his job as the USC coach in 2015.

Luckily for the coach, Nick Saban's Alabama program gave him a job soon after he got out of rehab, which led to him becoming the Longhorns coach.

Sarkisian also said in the interview with Klatt that his history with alcohol could have been used against in by rivals programs, especially in the recruitment process.

"In coaching, there's this thing called negative recruiting. ... Other schools and other coaches were going to try to use that against me. "

However, Sarkisian is now sober and has been able to become a master recruiter, bringing in generational talents such as Arch Manning to the Longhorns' program.

Steve Sarkisian on being honest with recruits

Sarkisian also spoke about how he is open and honest to his players, especially around this issue.

He said that he gives potential recruits and players his version of events in relation to his alcohol abuse, and this does have its benefits.

"18-to-22 (year-old) males. If there's a guarded group of individuals in our society, it's that group, right? Being vulnerable, being open, being honest ... so how do I get them to feel comfortable to do that? Uncut, it's the version that they're sitting in their chairs thinking 'I can't believe coach Sark just said all of that to us.'"

By being open and honest with his players, he is encouraging his players to do the same with him, and the best way to do this is to tell them about his past struggles.

This approach is believed to have been a reason why Sarkisian has become a strong recruiter, bringing in top-rated classes, which will help the Longhorns in the long term.