Steve Sarkisian labels Bill Belichick "one of the greatest" coaches in this era

Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian is viewed as one of the best coaches in college football. However, that does not mean he does not have reverence for some people in the football world. He was surprised as everyone else when the North Carolina Tar Heels announced in early December that they had signed Bill Belichick to a five-year, $50 million contract to be their new head coach.

It was a move that shocked the college football world. Belichick has never coached at the college level in his 50-year career. He has always been an NFL coach. Sarkisian believes that it says a lot about how far the college game has come. He spoke about this during an appearance on "Up & Adams" on Friday.

"I think it talks a little bit about college football and where we're at," Sarkisian said. "Chip Kelly goes to be an assistant coach with Ryan Day, now he's in the NFL, Bill Belichick's now coaching college football, Matt Patricia is now a defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

"Just the idea and the thought behind where college football is at today is pretty exciting. Here one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all time is coaching our game now because he sees the value in it is pretty cool."

Sarkisian and Belichick will not compete next season unless they face each other in the College Football Playoff. They compete in different conferences and are not scheduled to face each other in an out-of-conference game.

Steve Sarkisian says he has the best job in America

Later in the interview, Kay Adams asked Steve Sarkisian if he would ever consider returning to the NFL. Sarkisian has only had two brief stints in the NFL, and neither time was as a head coach.

However, after a strong 2024 season, he was awarded a contract extension that takes him through the 2031 season. He said he took the offer because he thinks he has the best job in America.

"I really think I have the best job in America," he said. "And I know that's easy to say because I'm sitting in the chair right now, but I said this to my dad like 30 years ago. He asked me, 'What's the best job?' And I said, 'The University of Texas."

His new salary increases his pay in 2025 from $10.4 to $10.8 million. It will reach $12.3 million in the final year of the contract.