Brian Kelly: Sarkisian, Not Arch Manning, Caused Texas' 2026 Slide

The number drawing attention in Austin this week is 2026 — the season in which Texas' offense has struggled enough that a prominent college football voice is assigning blame before the record books even settle. Brian Kelly told SiriusXM that responsibility for the Longhorns' offensive problems this season sits with head coach Steve Sarkisian, not quarterback Arch Manning, according to OutKick.

What did Brian Kelly say about Texas' offense?

Kelly, identified in the OutKick report as a former head coach, pointed to Sarkisian's play-calling and scheme as the root of Texas' 2026 offensive issues rather than Manning's performance under center, OutKick reported. Kelly suggested it may be time for Sarkisian to simplify the game plan for his quarterback, per the outlet's characterization of the SiriusXM comments. The report does not include a verbatim quote from Kelly, only a paraphrase of his remarks.

Why is Steve Sarkisian facing scrutiny this season?

Sarkisian built his reputation as an offensive-minded coach before and during his tenure at Texas, which raises the stakes when the unit he designs underperforms. Kelly's framing — that the coach, not the player, owns the results — shifts accountability for Texas' offensive output onto Sarkisian's staff and scheme decisions rather than onto Manning's reads or throws, according to the OutKick account.

Where does that leave Arch Manning?

Manning arrived at Texas under significant expectations tied to his family name and recruiting pedigree, and Kelly's comments effectively remove the quarterback from the center of blame for 2026's offensive struggles. OutKick's report does not include statistical detail on Manning's season — no completion numbers, yardage, or touchdown figures were provided in the source material — so any assessment of his individual performance beyond Kelly's comments is not available from this report.

What changes could Texas make?

The specific fix floated in the OutKick piece is simplification: paring back the offensive game plan to let Manning operate within a narrower set of concepts rather than a full Sarkisian playbook. No timeline, practice-plan details, or statements from Sarkisian or Texas' athletic department appear in the sourced report, so it is not clear whether the program plans any in-season adjustment.

What to watch

• Whether Sarkisian or Texas' athletic department responds publicly to Kelly's comments.
• Any play-calling adjustments in Texas' next game that would signal a simplified scheme for Manning.
• Season statistics for Manning and the Texas offense as additional games are played, which would allow for a data-based comparison to Kelly's assessment.
• Whether other analysts or former coaches echo or dispute Kelly's attribution of blame to Sarkisian rather than Manning.

The OutKick report is the sole sourced account of Kelly's remarks reviewed here; no box score, play-by-play data, or direct statement from Sarkisian, Manning, or the University of Texas accompanied the original story.