FSU's Norvell, Texas' Sarkisian staying put as Bama searches
Texas' Steve Sarkisian and Florida State's Mike Norvell reaffirmed their commitments to their current schools on social media Friday after being linked to Alabama's high-profile vacancy.
Both Norvell and Sarkisian made the announcements on social media.
Alabama has wasted no time in its search, a short time later sources telling ESPN that Washington's Kalen DeBoer was negotiating a deal to replace Nick Saban. Tide offensive coordinator Tommy Rees was also slated to be interviewed, sources said, but it wasn't immediately clear where that stood.
After Sarkisian and Norvell affirmed their commitments, Florida State announced that it had reached an "enhanced" deal with Norvell. Sources told ESPN that it's an eight-year deal with an average of more than $10 million per season.
"GREAT DAY to be a FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLE!!" Norvell wrote on his X account.
FSU athletic director Michael Alford told ESPN, "We're committed to Coach Norvell and the program in continuing this climb."
A source indicated to ESPN that the school also made a commitment to Norvell to increase funding for additional resources for football, including increasing the recruiting budget.
Meanwhile, in Texas, sources told ESPN that the Longhorns are also working on a contract extension for Sarkisian, who signed a six-year, $34.2 million contract in 2021.
In a Friday post on X, the Texas football program posted a short video of Sarkisian with the caption, "Just getting started." Sarkisian posted the "Horns up" emoji in a response to the post.
"I came here to win championships," Sarkisian said in the video. "That's the goal. We're here to chase greatness, to win championships. This is the University of Texas and people are going to want to be part of it. It sure is great to be on the Forty Acres."
Sarkisian, 49, was the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach when they finished 13-0 in 2020 and defeated Ohio State 52-24 in the College Football Playoff National Championship. It was Alabama's sixth and final national championship under coach Nick Saban, who announced his retirement Wednesday after 17 seasons.
This past season, Sarkisian guided the Longhorns to a 12-2 record, a Big 12 title and their first appearance in a CFP semifinal. Texas lost to Washington 37-31 in a CFP semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. His teams are 25-14 in three seasons at Texas.
Sarkisian, a former coach at Washington and USC, also worked as an off-field analyst at Alabama in 2016, after he was fired by the Trojans.
On Thursday, Oregon coach Dan Lanning, who was also mentioned as a potential replacement for Saban, took himself out of consideration with a video on social media.
Lanning's video contained the caption: "If you're scared your coach is leaving, then come play for us. The Ducks aren't going anywhere, and I'm not leaving." The video also contained an audio clip from Lanning, who said, "I want to be here in Eugene for as long as Eugene will have me."
Lanning, who served as a graduate assistant for Saban in 2015, is 22-5 in two seasons with the Ducks.
ESPN's Pete Thamel, Chris Low and Adam Rittenberg contributed to this report.
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