Texas is heading into the prolonged off-season with a mastermind recruiting narrative. Remember how Steve Sarkisian used a creative approach to transform a Cadillac program into a playoff-worthy run by bolstering the offense with a go-getter portal policy and prioritizing the intangibles? All these have contributed greatly to the Longhorns’ journey to the top. So, history carries testament that reshuffling brings good to the program.
In 2025, we are highly likely to see the same sort of action in coaching secondary, nevertheless, as the veteran head coach kept on losing his handymen to the rival programs or to the NFL.
Steve Sarkisian’s mass exodus in the coaching line sees a rebound
The Longhorns have already suffered an exodus to the NFL draft after the postseason capped off. But for your knowledge, it’s not just the players. The coaches are leaving the building faster than Arch Manning runs for a first down. But not necessarily. It will be a bad trip for Coach Sarkisian and the school. Insider Bobby Burton sees it as an unheralded opportunity to unleash a bigger and better coaching room, at least for the secondary. ”I think he’s going to still talk to people and listen to some other interviews and see where he comes out. I also believe at this time that we could be seeing a reworking of the entire secondary.”
Sarkisian’s experience with numerous departures during his tenure at the Longhorns is enough to frighten any veteran. But the Texas head coach is getting a new reputation out of it. ”Texas in this office or this past season not only had Blake Gideon at safeties and Terry Joseph at a corner for their coaches, but they also had Scottie. The benefit of Scottie Hazelton, as a nickel coach’s former Michigan State defensive coordinator, came in and worked with the Texas nickels; he’s now taking a job as the defensive coordinator at Wake Forest. So he got a raise there and not just a raise but a bigger position.’‘
Burton gave a brief rundown of Texas’ lost coaches. Gideon recently cut ties with Texas to take the defensive coordinator position on Brent Key’s staff at Georgia Tech. With this, he has marked the third promotion out of the five departing coaches from Sarkisian’s on-field crews.
The message is pretty clear that whoever left the rank under Sarkisian is meant for greatness. The Texas head coach and his coaching room kind of served as the launch pad for the bigger career growth. It is itself a testament to Sarkisian’s developing ability, which he has adapted from coach Saban in the initial days of his career. The more he lets go of, the more he retakes, so the prospect is higher than ever. “Will he add a more official position to the group of coaches now that the NCAA allows unlimited coaches on the field? He’s already done that with one coach, LaAllan Clark.” The former Ohio State coach has recently signed with Texas as the outside linebackers coach after two fruitful seasons as a defensive line graduate assistant for the Buckeyes.
REPORT: Texas safeties coach Blake Gideon is leaving his alma mater for the defensive coordinator role at Georgia Tech, per CBS Sports.
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— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) February 6, 2025
”Sark is currently reshaping how he wants his team to be coached in some fashion, so I don’t know, and I think that he’s taking some time to figure out exactly how he wants to go about it,” the insider drew the bottom line on Sarkisian’s current headspace on the coaching. But guess what? Sarkisian’s search to refill the void seems to halt at a brilliant juncture with two prominent names.
Who will be the next safety coach for the Texas Longhorns?
Blake Gideon became a memory for the Horns no matter how sweet it tasted. It’s time to move on with the next safety coach on the line. So, who could be a great fit for Sarkisian’s highly prestigious coaching crew? Well, there are two or three names in the popular list. The most circulated among them is Jimmy Lake, the Atlanta Falcons’ departed DC. The 48-year-old has served as a cornerstone in the Falcons’ defense. Before that, he served as defensive backs coach and assistant coach across three other NFL leagues. He has been a head coach for the Washington Huskies as well.
The fact that he is in a motionless trajectory of his career now and that too a diverse pool of experience under the belt made him a sizable fit for the Longhorns. The other two options, as per the analysts’ pick, were Duane Akina and Mike Mickens from Notre Dame. Mickens, Notre Dame’s secondary coach, has rapidly emerged as one of the country’s most popular assistant coaches. Thanks to his impressive defensive line, he has been ranked second against the pass.
However, Mickens’ recruitment might be a little too far-fetched for Texas, as his long history with two unauthorized territories of Iowa and Indiana (where Texas has a very poor recruitment presence). So, all the sensible signs are leading toward Lake at this point. The rest, we will see how Sarkisian will play his card toward a stacked-up secondary.
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