Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian made a splash in December by firing running backs coach Chad Scott, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, and passing game coordinator Duane Akina, but after Wednesday’s Citrus Bowl win over the Michigan Wolverines, Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods reported that wide receivers coach Chris Jackson and general manager Brandon Harris both received new contracts with Jackson signing a two-year deal and Harris getting an extension.

OnTexasFootball and Horns247 later confirmed the news.

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Jackson’s future was uncertain with his contract ending after the season — combined with some disappointment at the wide receiver position after junior wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. failed to take the next step in his development before departing and drops were a consistent issue across the unit, it wasn’t obvious that Jackson was going to return for a fourth season on the Forty Acres.

But the track record of sending wide receivers to the NFL and his relationship with the current players on campus was enough for Sarkisian to retain Jackson, who has brought stability to a room that was on its third assistant in three years when Jackson left the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2022 season, where he’d only spent one year as the lead wide receivers coach.

Harris, a longtime staffer at Texas who was hired by Tom Herman in 2019, has led Sarkisian’s support staff as the general manager for the last two years, becoming a key figure for the Longhorns in the rapidly evolving college football landscape, working with the Texas head coach to recruit and then retain top prospects, allocate the revenue sharing budget, and address needs in the NCAA transfer portal.

That makes Harris one of the most valuable members of the football staff and his contract extension therefore both unsurprising and necessary.