When the alumni start complaining, a tense situation takes on a different face.
Many aren't happy with the alma mater and have taken to social media to voice their frustration with the country's former national No. 1. If you had the Texas Longhorns starting the 2026 season 4-2, you're either Nostradamus' far distant relative or you reside in College Station. Either way, it's the local tackle football team's current station entering Saturday's must-win home game against Ole Miss.
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After a second straight second-half no-show against Florida, Longhorn Nation has run the gamut of emotions, from utter shock after the loss to Oklahoma to utter rage after Texas blew it against Florida. Head coach Steve Sarkisian has to be careful with this next stretch because another loss or two and the fan base will sink to levels of apathy not seen around these parts since the Charlie Strong era.
Now former players are speaking out.
Brian Jones, a CBS Sports analyst who starred on Texas' 1990 team that won the Southwest Conference title, let loose on Sarkisian and Co. in the moments following the 27-24 loss.
"What they put on the football field this afternoon was not living up to the tradition that so many of us fought to uphold there at the University of Texas," Jones said. "I'm just going to say it. They're a soft football team. That's it. Florida hit them in the mouth and Texas didn't punch back offensively."
Amid the growing disenchantment with his play calling, Sarkisian vowed Saturday that he would evaluate everyone on the roster, including quarterback Arch Manning, while adding he would also look at himself as the play caller.
"We were really poor in critical situations in the game," Sarkisian said Monday.
That was the understatement of the afternoon, but the honesty was refreshing. There was no talk of giving up the play calling even though suggestions of the sort were coming from well respected figures in the alumni base. Former Longhorns offensive lineman Tillman Holloway, who blocked for late legendary running back Cedric Benson in the early 2000s, penned an open letter to the head coach on social media with a suggestion that came from the heart.
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"I played for Texas," Holloway posted on Facebook. "I was a team captain and an All-American on the Forty Acres. I love this program, so writing this hurts. I'm only doing it because I think one thing is holding us back, and I'd rather say it to you straight than keep yelling at my TV.
Please hand the play sheet to someone else."
UP NEXT
NO. 19 TEXAS VS. NO. 7 OLE MISS
When/where: 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
TV/radio:
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Holloway made sure to show respect for what Sarkisian has accomplished, but stood firm on his desire to see the play calling handed off. "You've done a lot for this place," he posted. "Two straight playoff semifinals and an SEC title game in our first year. Texas matters again because of you, and I'm grateful. I'm not calling for your job. Not even close."
Sarkisian has prided himself on getting his teams to focus on the task at hand when the outside noise is the highest, but this feels different because No. 19 Texas (4-2, 1-2) just dropped two games to teams they were favored to beat by at least a touchdown. The Horns found a way to wrest defeat from the jaws of victory by blowing double-digit leads in consecutive weeks.
Former tight end Bo Scaife, who played on the 2004 team that beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, directed his frustration at quarterback Arch Manning.
"Arch has been in the system too long to not know where to go with the ball and to not be able to improvise or extend plays when he needs to," Scaife posted on X. "Especially with the amount of playmakers on the field with him. Better play calling helps but we need more out of him as well."
These men left blood, sweat tears on the field at Royal-Memorial Stadium and are obviously emotionally invested in what happens, even if they haven't played here in more than 20 years. But their concerns echo those of not only the millions of Longhorns fans out there, but also of the boosters who donated big bucks to help fund a roster that's reportedly carrying a price tag of between $40 million to $50 million, depending on who you believe.
The only way to silence the critics is to win and the Horns we've seen over their last couple of second halves have been punchless and uninspiring. No. 7 Ole Miss will roll into the 512 as a three-point underdog, and in case you aren't familiar with betting odds, Vegas always gives the home team a three-point cushion meaning Saturday's prime-time kickoff is a tossup.
"When you're winning, everybody loves you," Texas guard Brandon Baker said Monday. "When you're losing, it's the opposite. That's the nature of the game. So (we've) just got put our head down and show ourselves most importantly that we know who we are."
We haven't seen a Sarkisian-coached team facing this much heavy criticism since Kansas upset the Horns in 2021, which played a huge role in the Horns going 5-7 and missing out on a bowl game and some essential holiday practices. This Texas team is too talented to go 1-5 down the stretch, which is what it would take to finish short of bowl mark of six games, but they're also quite capable of continuing this tailspin.
Someway, somehow they must figure out a way to take out Ole Miss and get this thing back on the tracks.
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This article originally published at Fans turning on you is one thing, but former Texas players, too? That's a problem | Golden.