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By waiting to officially part ways with former head coach Mike McCarthy, the Dallas Cowboys placed themselves behind the eight ball in a search for a new head coach. The Cowboys will have to wait if they want to interview candidates such as Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn or Joe Brady. But they’ve already committed to pursuing several “unconventional” candidates.
One of those candidates, reportedly, was Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian. Sarkisian served as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 and 2018 before returning to the college ranks, where he is considered one of the country’s brightest offensive minds.
But it appears that Sarkisian has no interest in returning to the professional level. Or, at least, not with the Dallas Cowboys. Brett McMurphy of Action Network reports that Sarkisian rejected an opportunity to interview the Cowboys and instead signed a new contract extension with the Longhorns.
Steve Sarkisian Rejected Opportunity To Interview With Dallas Cowboys
“Steve Sarkisian agrees to contract extension w/Texas after declining interviews w/2 NFL teams,” McMurphy tweeted. “UT Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife & AD Chris Del Conte were key figures in getting the deal done, source said. Sarkisian has led UT to consecutive @CFBPlayoff semifinal berths & double-digit win seasons for 1st time in 17 years. ‘The fact Sarkisian didn’t take any NFL interviews shows his buy-in & commitment to the University of Texas,’ a source said.”
Sarkisian’s decision echoes a sentiment shared by Cowboys legend Troy Aikman.
“As far as a coveted job, I don’t know that that’s accurate,” Aikman said earlier this week. “I do think the Cowboys are obviously a high-profile team and whoever is head coach of that team is certainly going to draw a lot of attention. But I think most football people that take over as a head coach want to do it on their terms, and that’s hard to do [in Dallas]. You take a Dan Campbell for instance. Is Dan Campbell Dan Campbell if he’s with the Dallas Cowboys? It’s hard to imagine that he is. It’s hard to imagine that a lot of these coaches might me.
“I love the Dallas Cowboys. I played there for 12 years (and) I wish them well. But to say it’s a coveted job, I’m not sure I would necessarily agree with that.”