ESPN
ESPN's Holly Rowe interviews Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian ahead of a Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026 game against Tennessee.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian picked up perhaps the biggest win of his career two weeks ago against the Ohio State Buckeyes. But the win was quickly overshadowed by an awkward postgame moment with ESPN reporter Holly Rowe.
After stiffing ESPN’s Laua Rutledge during their planned halftime interview, the head coach seemed to flat-out ignore Rowe, screaming over her and then running off during the postgame interview.
The incident landed not only Sarkisian in hot water, but also star quarterback Arch Manning after he seemingly mocked an AI video that showed the head coach striking Rowe.
Ultimately, Sarkisian issued an apology and explained his reasoning for his harsh behavior toward Rowe and Rutledge.
“As it pertains to after the ball game, again there was a delay after I greeted Coach Day in the middle of the field. There was a delay in the moment; you know, through that delay, I wanted to go celebrate with our team,” he said in a statement. “We just had a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback against the No. 1 team in the country.
“If hindsight’s 20/20, if I could do it all over again, I would have exuded more patience in that moment and sat through and waited for the interview with Holly. Obviously, we have a ton of respect for ESPN and Holly. Holly and I go way back even to my days of playing at BYU, and we’ve got a great relationship. ESPN is a great partner of ours.”
Rowe seemed to accept the apology, and both moved forward with their lives. But on Saturday, they met again as Texas played Tennessee in a marquee matchup on ESPN.
This time, the interview between the two went far more smoothly.
“Thanks, Holly. Appreciate you.”
All is right in the world https://t.co/udhqmTSLcA pic.twitter.com/Dpr1Mn8JvJ
— JM Football (@JomboyMediaFB) September 26, 2026
“This is his moment. I want him to go out and have fun with his teammates, right? This team has been great all year. It’s going to continue to play great, but they need to play great together. It’s not about just Arch, it’s about the entire team,” Sarkisian told Rowe of quarterback Arch Manning.
“Thanks so much, coach. Appreciate you,” Rowe responded.
Sarkisian responded in kind.
Hopefully, that’s the end to this story that never should’ve existed to begin with.