Following a 5–7 season the previous year, the 2016 preseason involved several coaching changes for the Texas Longhorns football team.

After a second-straight 5–7 season that included the Longhorns' first loss to Kansas since 1938, the University of Texas fired Charlie Strong at a morning meeting on November 26, 2016.

Although select 5–7 football teams, namely those with the highest Academic Progress Rates (APR), filled several bowl games as an inadequate number of teams finished with the six wins traditionally required for bowl eligibility,[2] Texas did not have a high enough APR;[3] thus, the season ended with a regular season upset win over the Baylor Bears.

[6] Concurrently, the Longhorns administration expressed interest in Tulsa co-offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert for the same job at Texas, among other candidates.

[19] Charlie Strong noted that the top three priorities for spring practice were to develop Texas' defensive linemen, wide receivers, and quarterbacks.

[20] On March 29, Jerrod Heard, who had served as the starting quarterback for Texas during several games in 2015, suffered a shoulder injury during practice.

Quarterback Shane Buechele threw a 27-yard pass to Armanti Foreman on the ensuing drive to score a touchdown for the Horns; running back Chris Warren III would run a 51-yard touchdown on the following drive roughly a minute later for Texas, tying the game at 7–7 to end the first quarter.

At halftime, Charlie Strong ended the spring game due to worsening weather conditions, concluding a 21–7 victory for the Texas team.

[26] Following the 2016 recruiting cycle, a total of 28 players signed their National Letter of Intent to become a part of the 2016 Texas Longhorns football team.

[27] On January 2, 2016, offensive tackle prospect Jean Delance of Mesquite, Texas announced his commitment to the Longhorns during the 2016 Under Armour All-America Game.

[28] On January 24, former cornerback prospect Obi Eboh dropped his commitment to Texas,[33] instead opting to sign with Stanford.

[34] On National Signing Day, seven players announced their commitment to the Texas football team and faxed their letters of intent.

Among these recruits was runningback Erick Fowler, who had been committed to Louisiana State (LSU) up until National Signing Day.

As part of the negotiations, Matt Mattox, the former Tulsa offensive line coach, was also named to the same position at Texas.

[8] The move implicated the release of Shawn Watson and Joe Wickline, who had occupied the newly changed coaching positions since 2014.

[50] On December 26, 2015, Texas defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway declared for the 2016 NFL draft, thus forgoing his fourth year as part of the Longhorns football team.

In addition to individual awards, linebacker Malik Jefferson was named to Sporting News' Preseason All-American first team on July 1.

[58] Jefferson was also named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team on July 13, alongside cornerback Davante Davis and offensive linesmen Patrick Vahe and Connor Williams.

The opening game against Notre Dame will be the second consecutive year in which the two teams have played as part of a scheduling agreement made in 2010.

[81] Similarly, the preseason AP Poll, released on August 21, 2016, placed Texas outside of the top 25 but awarded the Longhorns 12 points.

[83] Leading up to Texas' opening game against Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish were favored to win by three to four points.

[85] Notre Dame kicked off to Texas to begin the second half, with the Longhorns quickly scoring just two plays later on a long 72-yard pass from Buechele to wide receiver John Burt.

[54][85] Despite the double-digit lead, the Fighting Irish would score 21 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters off of two passing and one rushing touchdown orchestrated by Kizer; an additional 3 points were prevented after defensive end Naashon Hughes blocked a field goal attempt by Justin Yoon at the end of the third quarter.

However, a 43-yard field goal by Domingue and 8-yard touchdown pass by Buechele to Warrick later in the second quarter placed the Longhorns further ahead at the end of the first half, 20–7.

[99] Texas' first road game of the season began with California receiving the ball, and the Golden Bears' first drive led to a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Davis Webb to receiver Jordan Veasy; Texas would also score on their first possession off of a 4-yard run by Chris Warren III, tying the game early in the first quarter.

California's next two drives ended in a turnover on downs and a punt, allowing the Longhorns to pull ahead 17–7 with a Trent Domingue field goal and another rushing touchdown by Warren III; however, the Golden Bears were able to score a rushing touchdown at the end of the first quarter to narrow the score to 17–14.

While Domingue missed a 49-yard field goal wide right for the Longhorns on their first possession of the half, all other drives for both teams ended in punts in the third quarter.

The Golden Bears would quickly respond with a 76-yard drive capped off by a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Webb and subsequent Chad Hansen two point conversion.

The Texas defense was unable to hold the California offense to a three-and-out on their last possession, allowing the Golden Bears to end the game with a quarterback kneel and win 50–43.

[100] On September 23, starting offensive guard Kent Perkins was arrested for DWI, and as a result was suspended for the following week's game against Oklahoma State.