In its bid to win its first national championship, the Texas football program is bringing in some high-powered help.
According to Horns27.com’s Chip Brown, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has hired former Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, the 2018 SEC Coach of the Year.
Stoops was fired on December 1 after 13 seasons.
“BREAKING: Texas has hired former Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops as a special assistant to Steve Sarkisian, a source close to the situation told Horns247,” Brown wrote on his official X account on Monday.
Texas opened the 2025 season as the nation’s preseason No. 1 team but went 10-3 and failed to make the College Football Playoff after making it for the 1st time in 2024.
As part of his dismissal, Stoops received a $38 million buyout from Kentucky.
Special Assistant Role Draws High Profile Names
This isn’t the first time Sarkisian has given another high-profile former head coach a role on his staff … doing whatever it is a special assistant does.
After Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst was fired in 2022, he spent the 2023 season as a special assistant to Sarkisian. After TCU head coach Gary Patterson was fired midway through his 22nd season in 2021, he spent the 2022 season as one of Sarkisian’s special assistants.
Pressure On Sarkisian, Longhorns to Win in 2026
Sarkisian will be in his 6th season at Texas in 2026, and the pressure will never be higher to deliver a title than it will be this season, with the Longhorns in the mix to be the No. 1 team in the preseason Top 25 for the 2nd year in a row.
The Longhorns return a pair of players who are already projected as Top 10 picks in the 2027 NFL draft on both sides of the ball with quarterback Arch Manning and defensive end Colin Simmons, as well as All-SEC selections in wide receiver Ryan Wingo, return specialist Ryan Niblett, and offensive tackle Trevor Goolsby.
Manning, the likely Heisman Trophy favorite, underwent foot surgery in January.
“Texas quarterback Arch Manning is out of his protective boot following a minor foot surgery in January but will still be limited this spring,” ESPN’s Heather Dinich wrote on February 26.
Stoops Has Deep Ties to College Football History
Stoops, 58 years old, was a defensive back at Iowa for legendary head coach Hayden Fry in the late 1980s before following his 2 older brothers into the coaching profession — former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops and former Arizona head coach Mike Stoops.
Mark Stoops spent 7 seasons as a high school coach following college before becoming the defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator at a succession of colleges: South Florida, Wyoming, Houston, Miami, Arizona, and Florida State, before he was hired as Kentucky’s head coach in 2013.
From ESPN: “Mark Stoops is on his way out at Kentucky after 13 seasons, which included two of the school’s four 10-win campaigns, in 2018 and 2021. Stoops brought historic stability to the bluegrass, guiding the Wildcats to eight consecutive bowl games and two top-25 finishes. But after consecutive losing seasons and Saturday’s 41-0 loss to rival Louisville, Kentucky is expected to fire him Monday. Stoops finishes his tenure at 72-80.”
Texas Adds Former SEC Coach of the Year in ‘Special Assistant’ Role