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Steve Sarkisian debunks Desmond Howard's post on Texas exit: 'Absolutely false and untrue'
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- Steve Sarkisian debunks Desmond Howard's post on Texas exit: 'Absolutely false and untrue'
Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian is once again shutting down rumors he could be leaving Austin.
The Longhorns coach spent his opening statement on the Week 13 SEC football coaches' weekly teleconference call by saying ESPN "College GameDay" analyst Desmond Howard's comments in a social media post that Sarkisian could leave Austin at the end of the season to be "absolutely false and untrue."
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"I'd like to comment on something before I get into our team that has been bothering me now over the past few weeks and that is people reporting that or insinuating that there's a possibility I could leave the University of Texas, and that is absolutely false and untrue. I'm not going anywhere. Never do I do this because I never want to be a distraction, so I never address these things. At this point, I feel like this is important that I do this because it's important for our team. It's important for our university," Sarkisian said on the Wednesday, Nov. 19 SEC coaches call.
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"I've had no discussions, not with my agent, not with the university, not with any other school, not with any NFL team about ever going anywhere else. I came here to win championships."
In that video posted to his X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, Nov. 17, Howard said to not "be surprised if that Texas job opens up at the end of the season" and that there might be a "mutual parting of ways" between the Longhorns and Sarkisian.
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Howard's comments, which raised some eyebrows, also got the attention of Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte.
"This is news to me... Thanks for the insight," Del Conte wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
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It's the second time this season that Sarkisian has addressed and shut down his name being thrown into the coaching carousel mix, with the other being after The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported on Oct. 25 that Sarkisian's representatives "let NFL decision-makers" know he would be interested in head coaching openings.
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"It really pisses me off that one person can make a report that the entire media sports world runs with as factual to the point where my agency has to put a statement out that they've never done," Sarkisian said following Texas' win on Oct. 25 over Mississippi State on that report. "I thought it was absolutely ridiculous.
"I thought it was completely unprofessional of that person to put that report out, and the fact that everybody ran with it is borderline embarrassing for the media."
Sarkisian has led the Longhorns to back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances, with last year's trip including a first-round win over No. 12 seed Clemson and a loss in the CFP Cotton Bowl semifinal to eventual national champion Ohio State .
In five seasons at Texas, Sarkisian has led the Longhorns to a 45-20 overall record.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steve Sarkisian leave Texas? Longhorns coach says reports 'absolutely false'
