The Texas Longhorns and Steve Sarkisian pulled their biggest comeback win of the season against Jeff Lebby’s Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Longhorns were down by 17 points heading into the last quarter. Steve Sarkisian clutched up and started calling plays like vintage 2020 Sark, and Arch Manning finally played like we all expected him to play. Just like that, the Longhorns pulled a 45-38 dub over the junior Bulldogs in the OT. With the dub came the NFL interest talk. And Steve Sarkisian isn’t planning to cash in on it yet.

Some rumors and chatter have been going around that Steve Sarkisian might be interested in jumping ship for an NFL gig, with folks talking about openings like the Tennessee Titans. NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic was the first to report the rumors on Saturday. However, the rumours aren’t true, and Sark isn’t going back to the league anytime soon.

On October 25, after the game, the Longhorns head honcho, Steve Sarkisian spoke to the press and cleared the air about the NFL-calling rumor with a locker room message: “It really pisses me off that one person can make a report that in turn, the entire media sports world runs with as factual to the point of my agency and my agents have to put a statement out that they never have done… I had to do that to protect my locker room and my team.” He expressed frustration that a single report could snowball into widespread media coverage, spreading claims that weren’t true.

According to the 51-year-old, these false reports were serious enough that his agency and agents had to release a formal statement to clarify that the claims were never made. Sarkisian said he had to speak out to protect his team and keep things steady in the locker room. He pointed out that false reports can be a big distraction for players and staff, and his focus is still on guiding the Longhorns, especially after their tough win over Mississippi State. Texas is still in the fumble-alert zone; the Longhorns are 6-2 now, and one more loss would put them out of playoff contention. So, leaving Texas should be the last thing on his mind.

However, this wasn’t the first time he’s been linked to the NFL either, as some interest was reportedly there during the 2024 offseason, too. Given the Longhorns’ rough start this year, dropping a couple of games and going toe to toe with every small program, some people thought it might make sense for Sark to bounce while his stock is still pretty high.

His agents clutched and denied the rumors, shut that talk down, and called the report “patently false and wildly inaccurate” and made it pretty clear that Sark is all about coaching the Texas Longhorns. Plus, Sark recently signed a huge contract extension that pays him over $10 million annually, so safe to say the NFL isn’t on his radar yet. The man’s making bread in Austin; in fact, he did just now.

Steve Sarkisian bags 100k bonus for bowl eligibility

The win against Mississippi State was huge for Texas for a couple of reasons. First off, it was a seriously dramatic comeback, with the Longhorns looking completely toast before they mounted an insane fourth-quarter rally. Secondly, Arch Manning, for once, clutched up and threw 29 of his 46 passes for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns. Two of his touchdowns came in 4th quarter, all thanks to Steve Sarkisian’s play-calling.

But beyond the on-field drama, it also meant head coach Steve Sarkisian pocketed a cool $100k bonus. On October 26, USA Today’s Steven Berkowitz hopped onto X and spilled the 100 band news: “Texas coach Steve Sarkisian set for $100,000 bonus as Texas overcomes 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to best Mississippi State in overtime in Starkville for 6th win of season, which makes Longhorns eligible for bowl game.” The bonus is a big deal and part of the rich contract he signed earlier this year.

The Longhorns are set to face 7-1 Vandy at home on Friday. That could make or break the season for Steve Sarkisian.