For a few days there, Steve Sarkisian was the talk of social media – less for his Texas Longhorns' come-from-behind win over Ohio State last Saturday and more for his "talk to the hand" treatment of ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe after the game.

A video of the interaction shows the Texas coach standing with Rowe, her microphone up in his face. As she starts to ask him about the thrilling win, Sark cuts her off by saying, “That’s called Texas fight! That’s called Texas fight! Hook ’em!” He then flashed the Longhorns’ familiar "Hook ’em Horns" hand sign and bolted off to celebrate with his players.

Rowe did not look best pleased.

The internet was divided over Sark's treatment of Rowe. Some applauded him for giving short shrift to pushy sideline reporters and their insipid questions – especially after learning that the coach had stood there (with his team celebrating on the field behind him) while he waited for ESPN to sort out some technical difficulties. 

Others thought he had disrespected Rowe, although she herself hasn't publicly commented on the coach's behavior. Her supporters, however, did call out Texas quarterback Arch Manning for good-naturedly laughing at an AI-generated version of the interaction that showed Sark slapping her. 

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Manning eventually apologized to Rowe, writing in an Instagram post: “I made an insensitive comment about an AI video. There is nothing funny about it. It’s easy to say I didn’t mean it, but I know my words and actions were hurtful to a lot of people. I do not take that lightly and am deeply sorry for that."

Which brings us to Thursday, when Coach Sarkisian waded back into the fray during a podcast appearance, but this time he decided to bend a knee to the outrage mob, telling the hosts, "If I could do it all over again, I would have exuded more patience in that moment and and and sat through and waited for the interview with Holly."

“As as it pertains to after the ball game, again there was a delay after I greeted Coach Day in the middle of the field,” Sarkisian said, per On Texas Football. “There was a delay in the moment, you know, through that delay, I wanted to go celebrate with our team. 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 and and sat through and waited for the interview with Holly.

He continued, “Obviously, we have a ton of respect for ESPN and Holly. Holly and I go way back to even to my days of playing at BYU, and we’ve got a great relationship. ESPN is a great partner of ours. We know we’re going to have more opportunities with that crew covering us, and we’re looking forward to those opportunities. So, could have definitely handled that situation better with a little bit more patience in the moment.”

Some say this apology was "overdue," while others are left pondering why the coach felt he needed to apologize – and also calling into question if there's even a need for sideline reporters.