The Texas Longhorns were expected to compete for the national championship this season, with highly touted quarterback Arch Manning finally assuming the starting role in head coach Steve Sarkisian’s vaunted offense.
Instead, the partnership between Sarkisian and Manning failed to live up to the hype. The Longhorns went 9-3 in the regular season, missing the 12-team College Football Playoff field.
The Longhorns are now set to face the Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve, but the coaching staff is going to look incredibly different, according to one prominent insider around the sport.
“Big changes at Texas, per the school. DC Pete Kwiatkowski and secondary coach Duane Akina have been fired. They’re being replaced by veteran DC Will Muschamp,” reported ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Thursday.
Big changes at Texas, per the school. DC Pete Kwiatkowski and secondary coach Duane Akina have been fired. They're being replaced by veteran DC Will Muschamp.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 18, 2025
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“Defense was not the problem at Texas this year. Calling a bubble screen every 3rd down is the problem,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Texas fans told me Pete K was the best defensive mind in football? What happened?” someone else wanted to know.
“Again, this is hilarious because you cannot tell me they didn’t have this plan before NSD, so it’s just slick,” one fan added.
It’ll be interesting to see if there are more changes coming to Texas in the hopes of getting things fixed on the offensive end.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.