Tom Herman finally gives explanation for chasing down former Tennessee OC Alex Golesh and it's as bizarre as you'd expect

Florida Atlantic head coach Tom Herman and USF head coach Alex Golesh were at the center of a viral moment this past weekend.  Golesh, who served as the Tennessee Vols' offensive coordinator from 2021 to 2022, led USF to a 44-21 win against FAU last Friday night.  After the game, Golesh made his way to […]

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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Florida Atlantic head coach Tom Herman and USF head coach Alex Golesh were at the center of a viral moment this past weekend. 

Golesh, who served as the Tennessee Vols' offensive coordinator from 2021 to 2022, led USF to a 44-21 win against FAU last Friday night. 

After the game, Golesh made his way to midfield and quickly shook Herman's hand. Golesh didn't stop to chat with Herman, which apparently didn't sit well with the second-year FAU head coach. Herman turned around and attempted to chase down Golesh on the field. But the former Tennessee offensive coordinator managed to shrug off Herman. 

Earlier this week, Herman, after having a couple of days to reflect on the moment, addressed the handshake incident with Golesh during a media session with reporters. And his response was as bizarre as you'd expect. 

"I appreciate you giving me a brief opportunity to clarify," said Herman when asked about the handshake. "Because I heard kinda the same thing, that I was mad about something or some two-point conversion. I was worried about the next offensive drive, I thought that's just what the math of their two-point chart said [to do]. They kicked our butts — especially in the second half, like we did to them (last season).

"Like I have in all my years as a head coach, I jogged to the middle of the field and actually got the words 'good game' out of my mouth and was about to compliment him, especially on the second half. And he slapped my hand down. The way I was raised, when you slap another man's hand down, you stick around and talk about it. So I turned back and I was confused, I wasn't mad at anything. So I turned back and wanted to figure out what the confusion was about and he continued to walk away. But hey, I moved on. I appreciate you giving me an opportunity to clarify, but we'll meet again someday and we'll figure it out at that point." 

Herman comes off incredibly whiny about this whole deal. And I don't know what he's talking about when he said that Golesh slapped his hand down. That's definitely not what the video shows. In fact, it appears that Herman held on to Golesh's hand even as Golesh was attempting to walk away (I also don't know how Herman can say with a straight face that he wasn't mad….he was yelling at Golesh as he chased him down). 

We see these quick handshakes from time to time. And most coaches just go about their day. 

Golesh just finished a game where his team was looking for some revenge after losing to FAU by 42 points in 2023. He was still in compete mode and he was under no obligation to spend time chatting with Herman at midfield. 

Herman should've just kept the line moving instead of doubling back to confront Golesh. The only thing Herman accomplished by making a big deal about the handshake was making himself look foolish. And his strange explanation certainly doesn't help change that view. 

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