Dianna Russini defends linking Steve Sarkisian to Titans, expands on possibility of coach leaving for NFL

Dianna Russini of The Athletic, an NFL reporter, set the college football world into a frenzy on Saturday morning. A report came through on Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian having interest in the NFL. The Tennessee Titans job was specifically mentioned after they recently fired Brian Callahan.

Flash forward to Tuesday, after a good bit of backlash, and Russini defended her report. Even after Sarkisian’s agency put out a statement denying any kind of communication with NFL teams. Russini even clarified that Sarkisian was not the one behind the whole thing.

“Unfortunately, they never added that Steve Sarkisian wants to stay at Texas, right?” Russini said via The Dan Le Batard Show. “They just said ‘This is not true, we did not talk to any NFL teams.’ And Jimmy Sexton and Steve Sarkisian, just to be clear, the reporting I did did not come from them. Steve didn’t call me on Saturday morning and be like ‘Hey, report this.'”

Not too long after the report came out, Texas took the field for a critical SEC showdown against Mississippi State. Sarkisian’s bunch possibly got away with one, stealing a victory in Starkville after an exciting fourth quarter and overtime. After the game, Sarkisian voiced his displeasure with Russini’s report.

Still, Rusini continues to believe there is something there when it comes to Sarkisian and the NFL. From a “business” standpoint, she says Sarkisian would be smart to keep everything on the table.

“Does Steve Sarkisian have thoughts about coaching in the NFL? Absolutely,” Russini said. “We’ll just see how this goes the rest of the year. I think it’s totally fair and understanding to say that Steve Sarkisian is always going to keep his options open. He should. It would be smart business to always have options outside of Texas.”

Five guaranteed games remain on the schedule for Texas. Four come in the regular season, with Vanderbilt being next up in Austin. Getting to six wins means a bowl game is coming for the Longhorns, no matter what transpires moving forward. But Sarkisian wants to aim a little higher, maybe finding a way into the College Football Playoff conversation.

Folks on the 40 Acres are then hoping the focus switches to improving the roster for the 2026 season. Russini stands by what she recently put out, saying people in the NFL have been notified that Sarkisian would have interest in job openings.