The Texas Longhorns football program is in free fall and ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is done with head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Texas seemed to be back (for real) after beating then-No. 1 Ohio State and supplants them as the best team in the country. However, after barely surviving against Tennessee, Oklahoma beat them last week and Florida beat them at home on Saturday. As a result, Texas will spend the rest of the season fighting to make its case for the College Football Playoff.
Not surprisingly, Finebaum quickly blamed the Florida loss and the program’s losing streak on Sarkisian.
“What a disaster. The absolute arrogance of (Steve) Sarkisian to retaliate against people like me and others with the idiocy of the year that if his (Manning) name was Joe Smith you would congratulate him,” Finebaum said. THE Matt Barrie Show. “I’m starting to wonder if Arch Manning should even start. I know he will and is capable of leading them to victory, but I blame Sargsyan for every aspect of this.”
Finebaum then discussed Sark’s play and how his need to do so hindered quarterback Arch Manning and the Texas offense.
“We both got incredibly high on Sumrall, and all the haters came after us when they collapsed,” Finebaum continued. “But I think he showed yesterday what he’s capable of. I wish I could say the same thing about Steve Sarkisian, someone I’ve always liked and respected. And up until last week, I called an elite referee. That’s not the case. I have no idea what Steve Sarkisian does. I think we can all agree he shouldn’t call plays. There are too many other things going on. passes in this sideline that are distracting, and he completely ruined the most talented team in the country.
The longtime voice of the SEC then turned his attention to the quarterback with the legendary last name, whose regression has been hard to miss. Finebaum went so far as to say the Manning scion might regret playing for Sark in Texas.
“I know he will, and he’s capable of leading them to victory, but I blame Sarkisian for every aspect of this. And I’m not in this locker room, and I’m not on this practice field. All I can do is watch the games like you do, and like the rest of America does. And it’s your fault, Sarkisian,” Finebaum said. “It’s terrible. It’s embarrassing what you did to Arch Manning. And I wonder if he’ll regret the day he went to play for Steve Sarkisian.”
It doesn’t get any easier for the Longhorns as the No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels come to town next Saturday. If Texas loses its third straight game, Finebaum’s criticism might be the least of their worries.
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