Steve Sarkisian Blasts Desmond Howard for Starting Rumor ...

By Michael Gallagher

Contributing Sports Writer

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With college football’s coaching carousel turning at warp speed, the future of Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has been called into question.

Most presume Lane Kiffin will leave Ole Miss to take over at LSU, opening another high-profile job along with Penn State, Florida, Auburn, and Arkansas.

With three top SEC schools looking for a new head coach, plus one of the more historic programs in college football history in Penn State also looking for James Franklin’s successor, and a few NFL jobs likely to open after the season ends, “College GameDay’s” Desmond Howard recently threw Sarkisian’s name out there as one to watch.

“Don’t be surprised if that Texas job opens up at the end of the season,” Howard said on Instagram. “You guys were shocked when LSU opened up. Imagine how you’re going to feel if that job in Austin pops open. I’m not calling or saying anyone’s going to get fired — maybe a mutual parting of ways, you dig?”

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The Athletic’s Dianna Russini mentioned a few weeks ago that he could be on the radar of a few NFL teams, but that seemed unlikely given there was some interest from the Dallas Cowboys last season and Sarkisian stayed put.

But now, thanks in part to Howard, some seem convinced the Nick Saban disciple could be enticed to take another offer and leave Texas high and dry.

Because of Howard’s remarks, Sarkisian felt it necessary to address the situation head-on, throwing some major shade at Howard in the process.

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“Maybe for some of the pundits out there that don’t cover me and cover our program on a regular basis, so that they can understand that they can’t just take their trash out and then have a thought, ‘Hey, I think that Texas is going to have a job opening,'” Sarkisian said, via Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods.com.

“I don’t know, think about something else when you’re taking your trash out.”

The outside noise of Sarkisian possibly leaving had been building over the last week, and it became enough of a distraction that Sarkisian put an end to any speculation about his future on Wednesday during a conference call with reporters.

“These people reporting that, or insinuating that, there’s a possibility I could leave the University of Texas — and that is absolutely false and untrue,” Sarkisian stated.

“I’m not going anywhere. Never do I do this because I never want to be a distraction, so I never address these things. But at this point now I feel like it is important that I do this, because it’s important for our team, it’s important for our university.”

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