“It’s So Painful”: Longhorns’ Steve Sarkisian Goes Viral with a Pathetic Comment as He Pays Tribute to late Iconic Legend…

During SEC Media Days on Wednesday in Dallas at the Omni Hotel, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian began his opening statement by paying tribute to Kiffin, who had been an early mentor to him in his coaching career.

In 2000, after Sarkisian’s three-year professional career with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders ended, he returned to El Camino College, where he’d played for two seasons before becoming the starter at BYU.

A year later, his former offensive coordinator at BYU, Norm Chow, gave Sarkisian his first significant coaching opportunity as the quarterbacks coach at USC after Pete Carroll hired Chow as his offensive coordinator.

At USC, Sarkisian met Lane Kiffin, then the first-year tight ends coach who had just completed a year as a defensive quality control assistant for the Jacksonville Jaguars and had spent time as a graduate assistant at Fresno State, his alma mater.

When Monte Kiffin visited, he would discuss football with Sarkisian, specifically the revolutionary Tampa 2 defense he had developed with Tony Dungy. This scheme, initially inspired by the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Steel Curtain, was instrumental in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl win in 2002.

“Monte took me under his wing every time he came to town, and we talked football,” Sarkisian recalled.

As Sarkisian’s coaching career progressed, his understanding of Kiffin’s defense became a cornerstone of his approach. He even issued a challenge to his 2024 opponents.

“I learned more about Tampa 2 than anybody, so anybody who’s playing me, please play Tampa 2 because I can tell you exactly who’s supposed to go where, how, and why because that’s how Monte Kiffin was. He was so detailed. He was a genuine man. He cared for all of those that nobody cared about,” Sarkisian said.

Reflecting on Kiffin’s passing, Sarkisian expressed profound loss. “It’s a dear loss, not only for the sport of football, but it’s a dear loss for me and I know for Lane, and my condolences to the Kiffin family on that.”