'Shocking Praise': Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian Takes On Joey McGuire at Big 12 Media Days

The offseason back-and-forth between Steve Sarkisian and Joey McGuire may have drawn battle lines between the Texas and Texas Tech fanbases, but the two head coaches don't appear interested in fueling a rivalry of their own.

In fact ... McGuire spent part of his time at Big 12 Media Days praising the very coach he had spent the offseason trading jabs with.

While our own Nathan Karseno highlighted McGuire's confidence in Texas Tech's 2026 outlook and the Red Raiders' belief that they "aren't scared of anybody," the head coach also offered perhaps the strongest endorsement yet of what Sarkisian has built at Texas.

When asked about the possibility of facing the Longhorns and whether the public sparring between the two programs was as serious as it appeared from the outside, McGuire made one thing abundantly clear: he has plenty of respect for the job Sarkisian has done in Austin.

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"Spot the ball, man. We're ready to go right now. We'll play tomorrow," McGuire began.

But then, the Red Raiders coach's tone shifted.

"I have a lot of respect for [Sarkisian]," McGuire said. "What he's been able to do to be successful and sustain success, it's hard to do."

Then came the quote that likely caught the attention of Longhorns fans everywhere.

"Mack Brown was the last coach to be able to do what he's doing."

That's shockingly high praise coming from anybody.

But coming from the head coach of an in-state program that spent much of the offseason campaigning to get Texas back on its schedule — it carries even more weight.

After all, Sarkisian inherited a program that had gone through two head coaches in the seven seasons following Brown's departure.

But things are different in Austin now ... largely due to Sark. 

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The Longhorns have reached the College Football Playoff in consecutive seasons, returned to the national championship conversation and successfully navigated one of the most significant transitions in modern college athletics with the move to the SEC in 2024.

Winning at Texas is expected. Sustaining that success long enough for it to feel like the standard again is a different challenge entirely.

Ironically, despite the public war of words between the two programs this offseason, McGuire revealed that he and Sarkisian had been texting just days ago after being added to a group chat by UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor ahead of an upcoming coaching event.

The coaches laughed about sports coats. The fanbases argued online.

... somewhere in the middle of it all, a rival head coach delivered perhaps the strongest endorsement yet of the culture of success Sarkisian has rebuilt on the Forty Acres.