Longtime Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds always believed that every coach at Texas should be among the best in their profession. He always paid them that way, too.

Dodds always wanted each Texas coach to be among the top-five highest paid coaches in their respective sport.

Steve Sarkisian was rewarded like a top-five coach after the 2023 season, and he’s getting another pay bump for getting back to the College Football Playoffs semifinals in 2024. But is he viewed as one of the top five coaches in the sport?

On3’s Ari Wasserman took a stab at ranking the top 25 coaches in college football on Tuesday, and every fan is going to look to see where their guy stacks up. Sarkisian checked in at No. 4 overall, which is fitting considering where Texas was when he arrived in January 2021 compared to now.

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“It may be easy to mock Sarkisian for that goal line toss Texas called late in the loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinal,” Wasserman wrote. “But when you zoom out, Sarkisian has brought Texas all the way ‘back.’ Saying that isn’t a joke anymore. It has happened.

“Sure, Texas hasn’t won a national title under his leadership, Sarkisian has assembled one of the deepest, most talented rosters in the country. Texas will be a national title contender every year under his guidance moving forward. Texas isn’t a punchline anymore. It was two years ago. That means a lot.”

Sarkisian has indeed lifted Texas back into the national conversation with a Big 12 title in 2023, a SEC runner-up spot in 2024 and two straight trips to CFP semifinals. The Horns are going to be oddsmakers and pollsters favorite to win it all in 2025 with quarterback Arch Manning assuming the starting job.

Still, is Sarkisian ranked too high on this list? Too low?

Wasserman opened by installing Georgia’s Kirby Smart at No. 1 and setting the stage from there. It’s only because Nick Saban wasn’t eligible.

“You know how Smart is No. 1 on the list?,” Wasserman wrote. “There isn’t a single human being on earth who would attempt this crazy undertaking without putting Smart at the top. The best part of that decision was there wasn’t even a struggle.”

Ohio State’s Ryan Day checks in at No. 2, but he’s got more of an uphill climb in 2025 than previously thought. Both of the Buckeyes coordinators have moved on, leaving Day a huge task to rebuild the coaching staff along with losing a ton of draft talent.

“Of course, the Michigan thing will linger over his head until he can lead Ohio State to a win in the rivalry game, but there is no question Day leads the way in roster building and program development,” Wasserman wrote. “He has a ring to prove it now.”

Oregon’s Dan Lanning was third, Sarkisian fourth and Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman fifth.

Dabo Swinney (Clemson), Deion Sanders (Colorado), Kyle Whittingham (Utah), Kalen DeBoer (Alabama) and Josh Heupel (Tennessee) round out the top 10.