Texas announced on Saturday that coach Tom Herman will not return as the football coach in 2021.
Texas released a statement on Saturday morning:
BREAKING: Tom Herman has been fired. pic.twitter.com/IFjCpZ7pD4
— Longhorn Network (@LonghornNetwork) January 2, 2021
It also appears a replacement is in line. Texas announced Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian as its next coach. Sarkisian won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant in 2020 as the architect of Alabama's offense, which averages 48.2 points per game.
Welcome to Texas, @CoachSark! 🤘 pic.twitter.com/6jHwJPoLtA
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 2, 2021
The move comes as a surprise, considering Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte announced Dec. 12 that Herman was Texas' coach. The Longhorns finished 7-3 in 2020, and Herman led the Longhorns to a 55-23 victory against Colorado in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.
Herman had a 32-18 record at Texas the last four seasons, but that success was tempered by a 15-15 record in games decided by 10 points or fewer.
Sarkisian was the head coach at Washington from 2009-13 and USC from 2014-15. He was fired from USC after taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons. He returned as an assistant at Alabama in 2016. Sarkisian was the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator from 2017-18 before taking on the same job with Alabama the past two seasons.
