The Texas Longhorns’ coaching staff continues to look different going into 2026.
On Monday, Texas hired former Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops as a special assistant to Steve Sarkisian, according to Chip Brown of 247Sports.
Stoops was the Kentucky head coach from 2013 through 2025, and he compiled an 82-80 record with a 4-4 mark in bowl games before being fired at the end of 2025.
Texas’ staff changes began in December as defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski was fired, and then former Florida head coach Will Muschamp was hired as the new DC in a bit of a surprising move.
As far as Stoops’ role goes at Texas, the source told Brown that “Mark Stoops has been hired in a similar special assistant role that Paul Chryst and Gary Patterson were hired in by Texas.” Chryst was once the head coach at Wisconsin, and Patterson was the head coach at TCU before joining Sarkisian’s staff.
Patterson got a new job this cycle as he joined the USC Trojans as the new defensive coordinator.
Kentucky finished with a losing record for the second consecutive season, which ultimately put an end to Stoops’ run in Lexington. He ended up as the winningest coach in school history.
Kentucky then hired Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein in a quick move in what was a very busy coaching cycle in college football.
