Urban Meyer responds to Steve Sarkisian’s success at Texas: ‘How are you not good there?’

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has had a winding path to the top of the college football world. In a conversation with FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt, former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer praised Sarkisian for his determination throughout his coaching career.

“I don’t know Coach Sarkisian well. I’ve met him a few times. He’s been very gracious to us every time we’ve covered him,” Meyer said. “He always comes over, we talk and all that. As a fan of the game, he did have some struggles, some personal struggles, to go on top of it. That’s well documented. You’re the head coach at young age at Washington, and then USC, and then it falls apart.

“And, he comes back stronger than ever. He’s part of the Nick Saban crew that got their life back together. And every time I’ve been around him, he’s A+. Every time I’ve watched a practice, it’s A+. Every time I talk to people on his coaching staff, which I have known several of them — I got so much respect for that guy, what he’s done personally, what he’s done for that program.”

Sarkisian was just 34 years old when he accepted an offer to become the head coach at Washington. In five seasons with the program, Sarkisian amassed a 34-29 overall record and a 24-21 mark in conference play.

For reference, Washington had posted a 0-12 record the season before Sarkisian was hired. After turning Washington’s fortune around, Sarkisian accepted an offer to take over at USC, where he previously was an assistant coach.

The future seemed bright for Sarkisian during his debut campaign at the helm of USC, leading the Trojans to a 9-4 record. However, Sarkisian’s reputation fell apart the following year, when he was fired and reports surfaced claiming the head coach had a drinking problem.

While many coaches would’ve accepted defeat and slipped away into anonymity, Sarkisian pressed forward, joining Alabama as an analyst the following year. From there, Sarkisian turned his career around, eventually serving as the program’s offensive coordinator and winning the Broyles Award in 2020.

In January of 2021, Sarkisian was hired at Texas, and he hasn’t looked back since. The Longhorns have reached the College Football Playoff semifinals the past two seasons and are the No. 1 team in the country entering the 2025 campaign.

As the former head coach at OSU and Florida, Urban Meyer is somebody who understands the pressures of coaching at a program with high expectations. He credited Sarkisian for succeeding when he had no other options.

“Texas — and I throw USC in there too — how are you not good at those places?” Sarkisian said. “It’s a battle. How are you not good there? Texas has it all within five hours, and same with USC and a great tradition to go with it. So yeah, I’m very impressed with what he’s done.”