Before Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian came to Austin, he was the offensive coordinator of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
But what fans of either school didn’t realize is that Sarkisian nearly lost his life three years ago.
According to a story by college football writer Ross Dellenger, in July 2020 during a physical exam by Alabama doctors, they learned of the heart issue and sent Sarkisian into emergency surgery, where doctors put him into deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.
“They slowed his heart to a crawl, dropped his body temperature, and then cut him open,” wrote Dellenger.
In 2020, Steve Sarkisian’s aorta nearly ruptured in a life-ending aneurysm. Emergency surgery left him with a 7-inch scar & pig valve. He had to learn to talk & walk again.
Bama & Nick Saban saved Sark’s career-and his life.
“He was a ticking time bomb.”https://t.co/dOOwYU0CvE
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 8, 2023
Basically, he was just days away from having a life-ending heart aneurysm.
Sarkisian’s friend and assistant head coach Jeff Banks talked about his condition.
“The comment from the doctor was that he would have dropped dead one day out on the field,” Banks said.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban requires that his coaches get physical exams every year and if it wasn’t for that annual checkup, Sarkisian may not be alive today.
Sarkisian now can joke about his ordeal.
“I was cleared to coach — miraculously at Alabama! — the night before camp,” Sarkisian says. “At Alabama, we always joke, ‘Just send them to Birmingham and they’ll get you fixed!’ Well, they did.”
And because of Saban’s requirement, Sarkisian will be able to coach against his former boss at Bryant-Denney Stadium this Saturday.
