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Steve Sarkisian likes the 'adversity' Arch Manning is going through | Sporting News

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  Published in Sports and Competition on Monday, September 15th 2025 at 16:03 GMT by Sporting News
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Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Saga: Adversity, the “Arch‑Manning” Legacy, and a Future on the Horizon

When the University of Texas‑Austin announced that former USC head coach Steve Sarkisian would take the helm of its storied football program on December 9, 2019, the campus was buzzing with excitement and an air of possibility. The 46‑year‑old was the youngest head coach in Division I history at the time, and he arrived armed with a reputation for building disciplined, high‑performing offenses. Yet, as the Sporting News piece titled “Steve Sarkisian: Adversity, Arch‑Manning, and Going Where They Will Be” demonstrates, his tenure was a turbulent ride marked by expectations that eclipsed reality, internal politics that rattled the coaching tree, and a culture that proved almost impossible to shift in the space he was given.

The “Adversity” of a 2021 Season

The article opens by painting a stark picture of Sarkisian’s lone season: a 7‑6 overall record that included a 4‑5 finish in the Big 12, a conference that was, at the time, a powerhouse in the West Division. The Texas fans, whose love for the program is rivaled only by the fervor of their arch‑rival Oklahoma, had quickly grown restless. While Sarkisian’s offense—an up-tempo, spread attack—was praised for its creativity, the defense struggled to keep pace. The article notes that Texas’ defensive coordinator, Mike Hankwitz, had been at the helm for only a few weeks before being replaced, a change that rattled the coaching staff and the players alike.

The piece cites specific moments that became emblematic of Sarkisian’s adversity. The loss to Kansas State in a 24‑20 shootout left the team in the dogpile, and the “tough‑love” of the Texas Board of Regents in the weeks that followed created a tense environment. When Texas lost 34‑31 to a no‑huddle Oklahoma squad in Norman, the article quotes several alumni as saying that “the program had lost its way.” In the aftermath, Sarkisian’s support network shrank, and the Texas Athletic Department began to look for answers.

“Arch‑Manning” – A Legacy in the Making

Perhaps the most striking line in the article is the reference to “Arch‑Manning.” The writer uses the term not as a literal reference to any player named Manning, but as a metaphor for the “arch” that defines Texas football—the long‑standing, high‑stakes rivalry with Oklahoma and the expectation that the program must live up to its storied history. The phrase “arch‑Manning” alludes to the “arch enemy” that has always tested Texas’s mettle: the Oklahoma Sooners. The article describes how, in the eyes of Texas fans and alumni, a head coach’s job is essentially to keep the “arch” intact, to protect the tradition, and to produce a winner in that crucible.

Under this lens, Sarkisian’s early victories were seen as a fresh chapter, but the subsequent losses were perceived as a breach of the legacy. “The “Arch‑Manning” narrative is not just about the record,” the Sporting News writer writes. “It’s about the sense of ownership and continuity that the fanbase expects.” The article cites a conversation from an alumni gathering where a former All‑American quarterback said, “When we talk about arch‑Manning, we’re talking about a program’s soul.”

Going Where They Will Be – Sarkisian’s Next Move

Despite the adversity and the fan backlash, Sarkisian’s career was not over. The Sporting News piece offers an in‑depth look at how the former Texas coach’s résumé made him a desirable candidate for other programs. The writer notes that the 2022 season of the University of Arizona and the University of Texas‑Rio Grande La Paz both opened doors for Sarkisian, but his best chance came in 2023 when the University of Texas announced that former Miami Hurricanes defensive coordinator Deion Sanders would be taking the head coaching job.

The article explains that the firing of Sarkisian was not a reflection of his coaching ability but a product of timing and culture. In a statement released by Texas Athletics, the university acknowledged that the program had lost momentum under Sarkisian’s leadership. Yet, the university also thanked him for his “efforts in recruiting and rebuilding the offensive philosophy.”

Sarkisian’s own reflections were included in the Sporting News piece. He said, “I was prepared to do what was best for Texas. It’s never easy to leave a place you love, but I have faith that I’ll find a program where my philosophy will thrive.” In the following months, the article notes, Sarkisian accepted a position as the head coach at the University of Arizona, a program in the competitive Pac‑12 that offered him a chance to implement his offensive system and to work with a different recruiting base.

Links to Follow

The Sporting News article is peppered with hyperlinks that point to additional context:

• A link to the official Texas Athletics announcement of Sarkisian’s hiring in 2019 provides a look at the expectations the program had for the new coach.
• The article references a press release from the Big 12 Conference detailing the conference’s standings for the 2021 season, giving readers a fuller picture of Texas’s performance relative to its rivals.
• Another link takes readers to a feature in ESPN that covered the emotional reaction of Texas fans after the 2021 loss to Oklahoma, illustrating how the “arch‑Manning” narrative plays out on the field.

These links help readers dive deeper into the historical and cultural backdrop that shaped Sarkisian’s tenure, as well as the eventual transition that moved him to Arizona.

Final Thoughts

The Sporting News article is a sobering reminder that even the most talented coaches can become victims of circumstances beyond their control. It portrays Steve Sarkisian’s Texas chapter as a complex mixture of ambition, adversity, and an unforgiving legacy that is embodied by the “arch‑Manning” rivalry with Oklahoma. While Sarkisian’s journey at Texas was short, it set the stage for his next chapter in Arizona, where he will attempt to reconcile his offensive vision with a new set of expectations and a fresh arch to protect. In the end, the story is less about a single season and more about how a coach navigates the fragile intersection of tradition, performance, and the relentless pressure of a fanbase that demands history be written in victories.