From seemingly out of nowhere on Thursday, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian snatched the spotlight away from his Red River rival by firing highly regarded defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and defensive backs coach Duane Akina.
Kwiatkowski was set to complete his fifth season in Austin when Texas met Michigan for the Citrus Bowl later this month. Akina was in his first season with the program. Within an hour of the news release, Texas had already scrubbed the coach bios for both assistants from its online site.
Sarkisian announced that former Florida and South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp had been hired to replace Kwiatkowski. Muschamp coached at Texas from 2008-10.
“At this time, we just felt it was best for our program to move in a different direction, and having the opportunity to hire Will Muschamp provides us the leadership to take our defense to another level,” Sarkisian said in a press release.
The news left Texas fans stunned.
Specifically this season, the defense wasn’t the Longhorns’ main issue. Texas ranked 49th nationally in per-play efficiency on offense (5.9 yards per play) and 27th in defensive efficiency (5.0 yards per play).
Per Game on Paper, Texas ranked 62nd in adjusted EPA per play on offense while ranking 23rd in the same metric on defense.
That continued a trend.
Texas ranked first in the nation last season in adjusted EPA per play on defense. The offense ranked 27th. In each of the last 3 seasons, the defense has ranked in the top 25 while the offense sat outside the top 25.
Sarkisian calls the plays on offense. Texas entered the postseason ranked 38th in offensive SP+ — its worst ranking in the last 5 years. Kwiatkowski’s defense has been top-20 in each of the last 4 seasons.
Muschamp had some memorable years coordinating the Longhorns’ defense, but the news of Kwiatkowski’s ouster still left Texas fans and neutral observers alike scratching their heads.
I like Muschamp as a DC but why fire PK???Kwiatkowski has put out great defenses t.co/HR8wwPbyKP
— Bengal (@BengalYouTube) December 18, 2025That is…Definitely a move one could make. I'm not really sure what the problem was here considering the offense was the issue but hey t.co/INzOMS1Ap9
— AJ Schulte (@AJSchulteFB) December 18, 2025That’s a bit of a head-scratcher for me. t.co/AAN4BL9plC
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) December 18, 2025Sark firing the DC when the offense was clearly the issue is so good.
— Jason Scheer (@jasonscheer) December 18, 2025PK carried sark the past two years wtf did he just do
— Texas (@BevoOwner) December 18, 2025This makes….. no sense Pete Kwiatkowski’s unit outperformed Sark’s since the day he stepped on campus t.co/i3Ek0NqgdM
— Jett Beachum (@JetthroTV) December 18, 2025Appears Texas is tackling themselves here.Two very smart dudes. t.co/wlKdJAHuI3
— Will (Christmas Edition) (@geauxsohard) December 18, 2025Wow! t.co/WUc1aAjkbX
— Gabe Ikard (@GabeIkard) December 18, 2025Surprise ouster of Texas DC Pete Kwiatkowski leaves fans stunned Saturday Down South.
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