Mark Stoops: Texas hires mark stoops as special assistant to Sarkisian

The Texas Longhorns have hired former Kentucky head coach mark stoops as a special assistant to head coach Steve Sarkisian, a move that arrives amid a wider staff overhaul aimed at breaking through for the program’s first national championship in more than two decades.

Mark Stoops joining Texas staff

The addition of Mark Stoops places a long-tenured head coach close to Steve Sarkisian’s core staff. The new role is described as special assistant to the head coach, positioning Stoops to work near Sarkisian and contribute to the Longhorns’ effort to assemble an experienced and talent-loaded coaching group.

mark stoops coaching record

Stoops spent 13 seasons leading the Kentucky Wildcats before being fired on December 1. He leaves the program as the winningest coach in Wildcats history, with an overall record of 82-80. His final two seasons with the Wildcats produced a combined 9-15 record, and the coverage notes he owed a $30 million buyout within 60 days of his termination.

His tenure included a program high point in 2018, when the Wildcats snapped a 31-game losing streak to the Florida Gators and recorded the program’s first 10-win season since 1977. Prior to his Kentucky head-coaching role, Stoops’ résumé included positions across college football: he began as a defensive backs coach at South Florida in 1996, held the same role at Nebraska from 1997 to 1999, served as co-defensive coordinator at Houston in 2000, coached defensive backs at Miami through 2004, became defensive coordinator at Arizona, and later took a defensive coordinator post at Florida State before returning to the Wildcats as head coach in 2013.

What this means for Texas

The hire fits a stated objective for the program: to shed complacency and build a staff with deep experience. Bringing a long-time head coach into a special assistant role adds veteran perspective on program building, game planning and staff management as Texas seeks to compete at the highest level.

Observable indicators in the record include Stoops’ long tenure, program wins and uneven final seasons, and the contractual buyout noted at his departure. How those factors interact with his new role is unclear at this time; the buyout obligation and the specifics of the special-assistant position have not been detailed. If Stoops’ experience translates into on-field or recruiting improvements, it may accelerate the staff’s impact. If contractual or role constraints remain, those could shape how quickly he is integrated into day-to-day operations.

For now, the hire is a clear signal that the coaching staff is being reshaped with the stated aim of pushing the program toward a national championship run. Team officials have framed the broader effort as assembling experience and talent up and down the roster and staff, and Stoops’ arrival is a notable element of that plan.

Key takeaways

• Mark Stoops has joined Texas as a special assistant to Steve Sarkisian.
• Stoops spent 13 seasons at Kentucky, with an overall record of 82-80 and a 9-15 mark in his final two seasons.
• He was fired on December 1 and had a $30 million buyout noted at his termination; how that relates to the new role is unclear.