Pete Kwiatkowski was content to stay in Washington for the eighth season. In fact, other schools had asked about the vacancies and none had aroused the interest of the defensive coordinator. But when Jeff Banks, the newly hired special team coordinator in Texas and an old acquaintance as a coach, reached out last weekend to gauge Kwiatkowski’s interest in the Longhorns’ defensive coordinator position, Kwiatkowski knew it was time to consider a change.
On Tuesday, he accepted an offer to become the defensive coordinator for new Texas coach Steve Sarkisian.
Kwiatkowski spoke with The Athletic on Wednesday afternoon about his time in Washington, the opportunity that awaits him in Texas and why he felt that now was the right time to act. The responses have been slightly edited for clarity and length.
Have you met Sark previously?
I’ve known him in recruiting for a long time in Orange County and LA Having trained with Justin (Wilcox) …