BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic Head Football Coach Tom Herman Still talking about the handshake that didn’t happen after Saturday’s USF-FAU game.
“The way I was raised, when you hit another man’s hand, you stick around and talk about it,” Herman told the media on Monday. “I wasn’t angry about anything, so I turned around and wanted to understand where this confusion was coming from…and he continued to walk away.”
The exchange between Herman and Alex Golesh, USF head coach took place on the field of FAU Stadium moments after the Bulls blew out the Owls 44-21 – and seemingly ran up the score.
Golesh appeared to push Herman’s hand away as the FAU coach extended his hand for a congratulatory handshake at midfield. Herman was then seen angrily following Golesh for an extended period of time before being pulled away.
More: FAU football coach Tom Herman angrily confronts USF’s Alex Golesh after the Bulls’ 44-21 rout.
It has been speculated that the disdain between the two American Athletic Conference rivals dates back to last season, when FAU attempted to run up the score on USF by recovering an onside kick late in the fourth quarter of a 56-14 blowout. Golesh said this in his post-match press conference.
“I said a year ago we would come back to get it and we came back to get it,” Golesh said in the post-match press conference. “Whatever anyone says, it’s fine. I think they said we were recruiting against each other, they said we didn’t like each other. I have a lot of respect for their staff. I don’t think so specifically we recruit against each other. We definitely meet them.
“I said we’re coming back to get it back. Last year, at the end of the game, we were embarrassed at home and we came to get it back. We’ll continue that.”
Herman said Monday he has no plans to change his approach to postgame courtesies with opposing coaches.
“I know how I handle post-game handshakes, win, lose or tie,” Herman said. “That’s how I’m going to continue to do it, without worrying about how other people do it.”
Herman insists he has since moved on from the awkward handshake and is focused on the rest of the season. The Owls (2-6) play at East Carolina on Thursday night.
“We will meet again one day,” Herman said, “and we will find a solution then.”
More: Florida Atlantic’s John Jakus’ coaching journey paved by son’s autism diagnosis
This article was originally published on the Palm Beach Post: Frosty postgame exchange between FAU and USF football coaches continues
