When Steve Sarkisian got the Texas head coaching job in 2021 and turned around the program for good, it wasn’t even a question whether Kyle Flood was coming to Texas. Ever since then, Flood has remained a crucial hire for Texas, acting as the OC and the OL coach. That has paid huge dividends for Texas, as now the Longhorns sit at the topmost spot in the pyramid of college football. “I have all the faith in the world in Kyle Flood. His ability to evaluate the offensive linemen, his ability to project what they may look like, you know, two or three years down the road,” said Steve Sarkisian last year in September.

Their history dates back to Sarkisian’s tenure as the Atlanta Falcons’ OC from 2017 to 2018. Together, the duo elevated the Falcons’ offense with Flood donning the O-line coach’s role, allowing just 24 sacks in 2017. But now, despite that shared almost decade-old history, there are rumors of a rift between the duo. This year, offensive regression, along with a poor O-line performance, coupled with Arch Manning’s performance, has led to unexpected tensions between the two coaches.

FOX Sports analyst Sammy P sat alongside Chris ‘Bear’ Fallica and discussed the concerns regarding Arch Manning, calling for some sweeping changes. “They do need him to have a good game, though, as they head into the Red River game in a couple of weeks. I do think they have Ole Miss, I think coming up as well,” said Fallica. Sammy P, after agreeing with Fallica’s take, went on to describe the problems Steve Sarkisian and the O-line coach, Kyle Flood, were having behind the scenes.

“Here’s what I’ve heard about Texas. There is a growing rift between Sark and Kyle Flood, the O-line coach. Those two were apparently budding heads in practice, like crazy, so that’ll be something to pay attention to once Texas gets to the cakewalk part of its schedule,” said Sammy P. The offensive line lately hasn’t performed up to the mark, even against a G-5 team like UTEP, and that might be fueling these tensions.

Coming into the 2025 season, the Longhorns had lost their veteran starters to the NFL, which also included Kelvin Banks Jr, Cameron Williams, and Hayden Conner. In light of that, some regression was undoubtedly expected. Texas also hadn’t gone too deep into the transfer portal to bring in reinforcements and relied on homegrown talents like sophomore Trevor Goosby at left tackle and Brandon Baker at the right tackle. That strategy has largely backfired for now since Texas is now 2-1 on the season.

Is the O-line’s regression fueling Arch Manning’s poor performances?

Texas’s offensive line’s regression is a major factor. We haven’t seen a world-class run game so far from the team. The Longhorns currently rank 38th nationally in line yards/ rush and are sitting at 91st in EPA/rush. Moreover, Flood’s success in running the football is also weak, with Texas ranked 52nd nationally. The numbers sure don’t look like those of a team aiming to contend at the highest level, and that may surely have frustrated Steve Sarkisian. Now, coupling that with Arch Manning’s regression, the offense can become a headache.

“They do need him (Arch Manning) to have a good game,” said Chris Fallica about the upcoming Sam Houston game. The reasons for that are pretty clear to Fallica. “They head into the Red River game in a couple of weeks. I do think they have Ole Miss coming up as well. There are some juicy numbers out there. Sammy, if you want to bet on Texas to miss the playoffs, if you assume maybe they lose it to Georgia and they drop one more,” said Fallica. The schedule might not be as tough as Oklahoma’s for Texas, but it sure has some tricky games.

The Red-River Rivalry game against Texas is probably one of the toughest in the upcoming weeks. John Mateer is playing well, and Oklahoma has the required confidence after defeating Michigan, and Ben Arbuckle is reviving the offense for good. Arch Manning, so far, simply put, has been poor, managing just 114 yards against UTEP and making mistakes one wouldn’t want from a collegiate quarterback. So, Arch just has the Sam Houston game to get his form; otherwise, the Florida game followed by Oklahoma would be a bloodbath.