OTF Premium What the Will Muschamp hire means for Texas and Steve Sarkisian in 2026

[Jeff Howe]

I decided to sleep on the bombshell Steve Sarkisian dropped on Thursday, and my thoughts on Will Muschamp’s return to Texas at the expense of Pete Kwiatkowski’s job (with the collateral damage including Duane Akina’s second stint on the Forty Acres) remain largely the same.

With that said, it’s worth painting the backdrop for Sarkisian’s calculated risk.

To understand why the burnt orange faithful love Muschamp, one has to understand the situation he inherited.

After Greg Robinson and Gene Chizik took what Carl Reese started and built on it, with the Longhorns fielding elite defenses in 2004 and 2005, the bottom fell out in 2007.

A defense co-coordinated by Akina and Larry MacDuff is still the second-worst pass defense in school history in yards per game allowed (277.8). The 23 passing touchdowns the unit allowed were an all-time single-season high at Texas until Vance Bedford’s 2015 defense allowed 24 (the Todd Orlando defenses of 2018 and 2019 surrendered 26 and 28 passing touchdowns, respectively).

Much like the 2025 squad, the 2007 Longhorns underachieved compared to preseason expectations.

Texas was in line to play in a BCS bowl until a sloppy performance in College Station ended with a 38-30 loss to Texas A&M in what turned out to be Dennis Franchione’s last game at the helm. Mack Brown famously made every starting job a competition heading into that season’s Holiday Bowl against Arizona State; the Longhorns played largely inspired football, putting forth arguably their best performance of the season in a 52-34 rout of the Sun Devils, a 10-win team under Dennis Erickson that claimed a share of the Pac-10 title.

When Brown hired Muschamp away from Auburn to run the defense, it sent a strong message: Texas was hellbent on playing defense with a physical, maniacal edge.

Muschamp did more than field a defense that played with elite levels of effort, intensity and toughness, harkening back to the days of Mike Campbell and Leon Fuller. He changed the culture across the board, which, along with the evolution of Colt McCoy on offense, spearheaded the Longhorns to a 25-2 record with a Big 12 title, a BCS championship game appearance and a Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State during Muschamp’s first two seasons with the program.

Fast forward 15 years (the news of Muschamp’s departure to Florida to be Urban Meyer’s successor broke on a massive official visit weekend that coincided with the 2010 Texas team’s postseason banquet) and Sarkisian is in a position where Brown found himself before he hired Muschamp. For Sarkisian, this offseason mirrors where Brown’s tenure stood after the 2003 season, which ended with a disappointing Holiday Bowl loss to Washington State.

Reese, who was 60 years old at the time, took the Longhorn defense as far as he could. With Mike Leach and Mark Mangino spearheading the spread evolution in the Big 12, the top-notch offenses had figured out how to move the ball against Reese’s aggressive defenses, which relied on playing high-level man coverage.

The 59-year-old Kwiatkowski pulled the nose up after a disastrous 2021, fielding championship-caliber defense over the last three seasons. While no guarantee that turning the defense over to Muschamp will get Texas over the hump, the move suggests that Sarkisian made the tough call: If the Longhorns are going to ascend to the next level, things had to change.

Texas has a plethora of potential difference makers along the defensive front who can enhance what Colin Simmons brings to the table. Graceson Littleton and Kade Phillips are foundational pieces in the secondary.

What the Longhorns can’t have when the dust settles on the 2026 season is the feeling that lingers at the end of Anthony Hill Jr.’s collegiate career. Even though Hill made multiple All-America teams, it’s fair to say that there was meat left on the bone, that Texas didn’t get everything it could out of a game-changing presence in the middle of the defense.

The 54-year-old Muschamp hasn’t been hanging out on the golf course over the last few college football seasons. After his time as Georgia’s co-defensive coordinator ended following the 2023 season, he spent one more season with the Bulldogs as an analyst, making him familiar with SEC offensive scheme and, more importantly, the defensive personnel he’s inheriting upon his return to the Longhorns.

Texas is rightfully loading up for what’s expected to be Arch Manning’s last hurrah. Getting the most out of Simmons (a potential early first-round NFL draft pick in 2027) is just as important in the Longhorns’ quest to overtake Georgia for the SEC throne on their way to college football’s summit.

It would be nice to make moves with a multi-year vision for the program. Unfortunately, with the roster volatility that exists in college football, on top of Texas missing the College Football Playoff after two consecutive trips, Sarkisian has to make moves that will maximize the next 12-plus months.

The Muschamp move is the biggest example of the Longhorns approaching 2026 with the mindset of going big or going home.

View full news story

[Joe Zura]

Great read Jeff 

[Burnt Orange Horn]

Thank you for the insightful analysis, Jeff.  You are an accomplished professional journalist.

🤘🏻🤘🏼🤘🤘🏽🤘🏾🤘🏿

[Chop]

Love this- has there been hints or something that this is only a single season thing? Just seems it’s been mentioned by you guys that we’re going all in this year. So curious