From Royal to Sarkisian: Texas Coaches and Their DCTF Cover Seasons

In a way, Steve Sarkisian reached Texas Football immortality today. His presence on the annual cover of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine marks the seventh time a Longhorns coach has been featured on the cover of the famous publication.

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Somehow, Darrell K Royal only graced the cover twice, while Mack Brown and Tom Herman were on it one time apiece. The years that Texas coaches found themselves on the front cover is the strange part—like in Brown’s second year, after the great Ricky Williams departed, and before Herman ever coached a game in Austin. But Sarkisian’s inclusion on the cover seems the most fitting from a timing perspective. In year five of his tenure, it’s never been more of Sarkisian’s team than it is right now. The program has been rebuilt “his way.”

Steve Sarkisian. Rebuilding a powerhouse his way.

REVEALED: The main cover of the 66th edition of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.#HookEm #DCTF #CollegeFootball | @TexasFootball@CoachSark pic.twitter.com/x1OueO6Pq6

— Dave Campbell's — TexasFootball.com (@dctf) June 12, 2025

And with Arch Manning taking the reins after two straight semifinal appearances, expectations have never been higher. Let’s take a look at how the other Texas coaches did in the seasons following their DCTF cover drop.

1963: Darrell Royal and Scott Appleton (Texas 11-0: National Champions)
The first time a Longhorns coach was featured on the magazine became the most prescient. Texas won its first national title after an 11-0 season behind the stalwart Appleton, quarterback Duke Carlisle, and future legend Tommy Nobis. In the Cotton Bowl to decide the championship, Texas obliterated Navy 28-6, and Carlisle outgunned the Midshipmen’s Heisman Trophy winner—someone by the name of Roger Staubach. Program-wise, Royal was in a similar place to where Sarkisian is now. Royal had only lost two games combined in the previous two seasons, but Texas hadn’t been able to claim a championship. I wonder if Royal also preached “get over the hump” during that offseason and the hot Austin summer?

1974: Darrell Royal (Texas 8-4)
Eleven years after his debut, an older and more weathered Royal graced the cover. The coach had already cemented his status as a legend with three national titles, and the greatness of the Wishbone offense added to his résumé. Texas finished a disappointing 8-4 after two early losses to Texas Tech and Oklahoma derailed their season. An injury to the great Roosevelt Leaks hurt the Longhorns’ chances at bigger aspirations. But Royal introduced Texas fans to the freshman version of the greatest player to ever come through Austin: Earl Campbell from Tyler.

1987: David McWilliams and quarterback Bret Stafford (Texas 7-5)
The hire of a Royal disciple in McWilliams was greeted with a ton of excitement—evident in the fact that the new coach immediately landed on Dave Campbell’s cover. But Texas went 7-5 after an 0-2 start, and outside of a 10-2 1990 season, things never got better for McWilliams on The 40 Acres.

1996: John Mackovic with RC Slocum, Spike Dykes, and Chuck Reedy (Texas 8-5, Big 12 Champions)
It was the first year of the Big 12, and Mackovic joined the other SWC-defecting coaches of Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor on the cover. As Longhorn fans will remember, 1996 was Mackovic’s most memorable year in Austin. Behind James Brown, the Longhorns went on to upset Nebraska in the first-ever Big 12 title game behind a play called Roll Left.

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1999: Mack Brown and Dennis Franchione of TCU (Texas 9-5)
The cover read “Changing the Face of Football in Texas.” Coach Fran wouldn’t be long for Fort Worth, and questionable career moves would follow him. The Longhorns stumbled in their first year without Williams, as Texas lost an opener in Austin to NC State. The game featured the worst special teams in Longhorns history, where three blocked Texas punts turned into 16 Wolfpack points. That kind of performance makes Charlie Strong’s special teams units look like Bill Belichick’s Patriots.

2017: Tom Herman’s “Mastermind” Cover (Texas 7-6)
The worst part of the DCTF cover, which labeled Herman as an offensive genius and proclaimed him a “mastermind?” I believed the hype.

2025: Steve Sarkisian. It’s time for the Longhorns coach to do what Royal once did, back in 1963. It’s Sarkisian’s turn to “get over the hump.”