When Texas hired Steve Sarkisian in 2021, he said unequivocally that he would call the plays on offense. This refreshing candor came after Tom Herman equivocated and dissembled about who called plays for his underperforming offense. At the same time, media commentators, notably Kirk Herbstreit, hailed Sarkisian as one of college football’s great offensive minds. (Herbstreit has been critical of Texas’s offense this season.)

Sarkisian clearly agrees with Herbstreit’s and others’ 2021 assessment because he is one of the few college or pro football head coaches who also serves as offensive coordinator and play caller.

Who needs an offensive coordinator when you are one of the sport’s great offensive minds? Well, maybe Sark does. In 2025, Texas’s offense ranked 41st in scoring and 62nd in total offense. In December 2025, Sarkisian hired Will Muschamp as Texas’s defensive coordinator. Sark said Muschamp would effectively be the head coach of the defense, allowing Sark to focus his great offensive mind on improving Texas’s lagging offense. As a result, the defense has performed well this season. But Sark’s offense ranks 64th in scoring and 92nd in total offense. Texas’s offense scored only 17 points (7 of Texas’s 24 points came on a punt return) against a Florida defense ranked 109th in scoring defense, which allows 28.3 points per game. 

With Texas losing two straight games and teetering on the edge of missing the 12-team playoff for the second straight season, and with the offense taking virtually all the blame, what can Sarkisian, the great offensive mind, do? After the loss to Florida, he said, “Everything is going to be evaluated.” This came just a week after he said about the offense, “We’re close.” 

What needs to be evaluated:

1. Sarkisian’s in-game decision-making. With Texas leading 17-3 late in the first half, Texas faced a 4th-and-1 from the 50-yard line. Sark called a run play from the shotgun, with Manning handing off to Smothers 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Smothers was tackled for a 1-yard loss. Florida took over, scored a touchdown, and pulled within 7 at 17-10 with 18 seconds left in the half.  With 1 yard to go on 4th down, don’t start a running play 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage. This is football 101. That call harkens back to the sweep Sark called against Ohio State from inside the 1-yard line in the 2024 playoff national semifinal. Can you have a great offensive mind and make play calls like these?
2. I mentioned this last week. With the offense struggling, why not call more designed run plays for Manning? He may be Texas’s best runner.
3. Manning should be the starting quarterback for the Ole Miss game, but if he hamstrings the offense as he did in the Florida game, Sark should replace him with backup KJ Lacey. Is this option on the table, or is Sarkisian preordained to go down with the ship with Manning?

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The question has arisen this week: should Sarkisian hand off the play calling to an offensive coordinator/offensive line coach like Kyle Flood or to co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee?  An article this week on Burntorangenation.com by Wescott Eberts details the thin, unimpressive resumes and foibles of Flood and Milwee. It’s so revealing that I would almost call it an expose of Sarkisian’s staffing. To summarize the article, Flood has no play-calling experience. Milwee called plays for the Akron Zips for six seasons starting in 2013. During his tenure, Akron was 34-41. He hasn’t called plays anywhere since.

Why hasn’t Sarkisian hired more impressive candidates to help him run Texas’s offense? I have a theory. I think Sarkisian is insecure and doesn’t want qualified coaches to challenge his offensive acumen. He’s afraid he might learn that he is not an offensive savant.

Beyond Texas’s games, I watch hours of college football every weekend. Maybe it’s “the grass is always greener” syndrome, but I see much more creative offenses than Sarkisian’s when watching other games.

Texas’s path to CFB Playoff with a 9-3 record

I have repeated and subscribed to the theory that a three-loss team couldn’t make the playoffs. But halfway through this season, teams that made the playoffs last year—Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, and Indiana—already have one loss. 

My speculative theory is that not enough marquee teams will have fewer than three losses to fill out the 12-team field.

If Texas finishes 9-3 with wins over Ohio State, Tennessee, and Ole Miss, you could argue that they deserve a playoff spot.

Hey, just trying to be optimistic.

Hook ‘em,

W.E.

Willie Earl’s Top 40 Countdown

#21

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#19