"I really don't give a sh*t": Steve Sarkisian gets blunt about his biggest learning from hate & criticism

Steve Sarkisian has come a long way to reach the position where he is today. It was a consistent effort of nearly two decades of developing and proving himself as a coach and finally landing the top job at Austin. Since then, it has been a wonderful journey for the veteran coach, something that he cherishes every time he speaks about the opportunity.

With time, Sarkisian learned to stay away from the outside noise, focus on his process and build the program to a new dynasty.

While speaking to Cameron Jordan of the New Orleans Saints on the “Off The Edge” podcast, Sarkisian mentioned how he has evolved. Listening to things about his past being rude and careless hurt him for a while but later he got along with the reality and focused on things that mattered the most.

“I became the head coach of Washington. I think I was, I was 33 when I took the job. I was 34 like the first game, but early on in my career was super emotional,” Sarkisian said on the podcast on Thursday.

“I was like, riding this emotional roller coaster when things were good, I was like, I'm the greatest coach ever. We're the greatest team ever. When we lost, I was the worst coach ever. And I'd be on the internet and on the blogs and reading about how great I was, then I'd be reading about how terrible I was.

"Fast forward to 2025 I really don't give a sh*t what people think about me. I remain really consistent with what I do, yeah. And then I think that carries over to my message to the team,” he added.

Steve Sarkisian optimistic about 2025 season

The veteran coach played a pivotal role in rebuilding the Texas nation into a winning side and one of the dominant forces in the SEC. Despite reaching the College Football Playoff semifinal twice in the last two years, Sarkisian couldn't make the championship game.

Interestingly, the team that kicked him out of the playoff - the Ohio State Buckeyes - will face off again in the opening game of the 2025 season.

“It’s opening weekend, it’s Texas and Ohio State," Sarkisian said via On3. "It’s a rematch of the semifinal game of last year’s playoffs. It’s great for their program, great for our program. That’s what the players we recruit, that’s the games they want to play in. They want to be in those big-time games.”

After successive playoff losses, nothing less than a national championship would be on the cards for Sarkisian, especially with Arch Manning at the helm.