“That was a wild day”: Texas HC Steve Sarkisian humbly recalls the day former coach Nick Saban and Pete Carroll retired 

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was like many others who love football when he heard that Nick Saban announced his retirement on Jan. 10 after spending 17 glorious years at Alabama and bagging seven national championship titles throughout his career. The news was difficult for him.

In a conversation with college football analyst Josh Pate, Sarkisian said:

"That was a wild day. I can't remember the order, but it was Nick Saban and (Seattle Seahawks coach) Pete Carroll on the same day. For me, those were two men that completely impacted not only my coaching career but me as a man. I worked for Pete Caroll for seven years. He really got me into the industry and I kind of worked my way up with him.

"And coach Saban, when I was out of work, he extended an olive branch to me to get me back into it as an analyst, brought me back as coordinator. So, both those guys were really impactful to me. ... It's still hard to kind of chew on that.

"There not being a straw hat at practice for Alabama is, I think, going to take time for everybody. I know he's doing great. I talk to him periodically and still bounce ideas off, you know? He's still, in my opinion, the greatest of all time." (16:00)

Steve Sarkisian on Arch Manning's growth at Texas

Arch Manning is one of the most talked-about quarterbacks. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has often been put on the spot for not giving Manning enough opportunities compared to QB1 Quinn Ewers.

After the 2023 season, many analysts and fans expected Manning to hit the transfer portal, but to their surprise, he chose to come back for year two at Texas.

In an interview with Josh Pate, Sarkisian spoke on Texas' plan for Arch Manning:

"I get a chuckle out of this. Everyone's praising Arch for staying at Texas. He's going into year two, what do you mean? But that's the mentality. Our locker room is not a whole lot different than everybody else's, but that's mentality.

"Good for Arch. He's sticking it out with Texas in year two. And I'm like, 'Hey, that's part of the process. Like, we're developing him to play, be a great football player and a great leader, and he's going to be worked like that,' but that's where we're at."

After putting on a show with three touchdowns, one interception and 355 yards while going 19-for-26 during the 2024 spring game, the starting quarterback position looks closer for Arch Manning than before.