The Texas Longhorns have gone from one of the top National Championship contenders and the No. 1 team in the country, to a team on a two-game losing streak, and one rapidly falling out of the AP Top 25 Poll.
Despite the downfall that has quickly turned into an avalanche, Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte seems to be in denial about the state of the Horns' season.
"Rome is not burning. Expectations should be high. They're high for us, too," Del Conte said. "But the noise is a lot greater outside than it is in our building, than it is on the Forty Acres."
To repeatedly and continuously say that the standard for the Longhorns is not just winning games, but winning titles, and then repeatedly and continuously allowing your football program to fall short of that standard is not acceptable.
Fans are not just asking for the Horns to bench quarterback Arch Manning, but for Del Conte to fire head coach Steve Sarkisian. The calls are coming from inside the house, so for Del Conte to say that the noise is louder outside the building than the noise coming from within is troubling.
Chris Del Conte's review of Texas football as 'phenomenal' is delusional at best
He doubled down on his faith in the team while talking to CBS Sports, saying that the current state of the program is "phenomenal", and that he still expects Texas "to win every single game." Simply put, with a 4-2 overall record and a 1-2 record against SEC opponents, Del Conte's view of the Longhorn football program is undeniably misguided.
Even Manning, whose on-field talents and performances have regressed over the last six games, admitted that he needs to do a better job.
"I think we got to do a better job, especially me not being loose with the ball," Manning told reporters after the first loss of the season to arch rival Oklahoma. "I think we beat ourselves a lot tonight."
Despite Manning's much-discussed regression, Sarkisian has stood by his starting quarterback, which is an even bigger reason people are calling for a change at head coach, instead of just at QB. After Texas's most recent loss, Sarkisian said he would "reevaluate everything" on offense.
Yet, Manning is still expected to be the starting quarterback this Saturday, Sarkisian is still set to call the plays, and nothing is going to change.
So, maybe it's time for Del Conte to take the ball out of Sarkisian's hands (metaphorically) and hold his football program accountable for falling short of the University of Texas's standard.
Add us as a preferred source on Google