Chris Del Conte blasts reports linking Steve Sarkisian to NFL jobs: 'That's the world we live in'

As Texas got ready to take on Mississippi State last week, a report from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini sent a buzz throughout the college football world. She reported representatives for Steve Sarkisian indicated to NFL teams he would be interested in potential head coaching opportunities.

Sarkisian strongly denied the report after the game, which the Longhorns won in overtime. On Friday, Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte also addressed it.

Del Conte said both Sarkisian and his agent, Jimmy Sexton of CAA, were upset by the report. That’s why Sexton put out a rare statement denying it. Del Conte added he learned of the report while on the field with the Longhorns ahead of the game, which added to his frustration.

“For me, I was just frustrated because we were walking on the field before Mississippi State with our entire team when that story broke and you’re trying to play a game that evening, and a story that had no merit,” Del Conte said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “Then, when it’s ‘retracted’ by saying, ‘I didn’t hear it from his agent’ or ‘I didn’t hear it from Steve, but I heard it from somebody,’ that’s just the world we live in today.

“If you have a great relationship with your coach, you have a great relationship with your student-athletes and you start to have these discussions, it is fine. But today, the noise becomes amplified because it’s played out on social media and every outlet.”

Chris Del Conte: ‘No truth’ to Steve Sarkisian report

Steve Sarkisian didn’t hide his feelings about Russini’s report during his postgame press conference last week. Russini later clarified neither Sexton nor Sarkisian were her sources for the report.

Chris Del Conte also pointed out the fact that Sexton spoke out about it rather than leaving it be. That, he said, showed Sarkisian was “upset” by the situation.

“For Coach Sarkisian, flattering that NFL teams would be talking about him,” Del Conte said. “How it was portrayed and what was released, Steve was really upset about that. His agent was upset about it. When was the last time you saw Jimmy Sexton put out a statement? Never.

“Jimmy’s the one that will tell you the truth – ‘Here’s what we’re doing or not doing.’ There was no truth to that. They put out a statement. Sometimes, Jimmy will let that just fester for the hell of it. He put out a statement saying, no, Steve was upset.”