Sarkisian breaks silence on postgame interview, Manning comment

Texas Longhorns football head coach Steve Sarkisian. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Steve Sarkisian breaks silence on Holly Rowe postgame interview, Arch Manning AI comment

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Sep 18, 2026 12:43 PM ET

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has finally addressed the Holly Rowe situation.

Sarkisian and the program have been under fire after he ditched a postgame interview with Rowe following a 24-23 Week 2 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes. Junior quarterback Arch Manning subsequently fanned the flames during a Monday news conference. The QB laughed while discussing an AI edit of the coach slapping Rowe. He apologized on social media Tuesday, and the longtime reporter accepted it.

Facing increased pressure to apologize, Sarkisian broke his silence on Thursday, expressing regret over the matter.

Steve Sarkisian releases statement

Sarkisian noted the ABC/ESPN crew battled technical issues throughout the game in Austin. That led him to skip a halftime interview with Laura Rutledge. Another delay occurred during his interview with Rowe, but he acknowledged it didn't excuse his behavior.

Steve Sarkisian full statement on the post-game ESPN situation with Holly Rowe:

"I want to address is a couple of my in-game interviews last Saturday night at Ohio State ball game. The first at halftime, I had I was scheduled to have an interview with Laura Rutledge. ESPN was…
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) September 17, 2026

"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," Sarkisian said (CJ Vogel of On Texas Football). "Obviously, we have a ton of respect for ESPN and Holly. Holly and I go way back to even my playing days at BYU, and we've got a great relationship. ESPN is a partner of ours."

Sarkisian then spoke on Manning's behalf. He admitted that dismissing the interview with Rowe led to the QB's controversy and said the 22-year-old passer would take it back if he could.

"Arch recognizes he made a mistake, and it's an unfortunate one," the coach said. "Nowhere do we condone domestic violence or violence against women. Nothing in our program says that, nor does Arch individually."

Had Sarkisian waited a little longer after the win over Ohio State, all of this could've been avoided, but there are no do-overs. Now, he and the No. 1 Longhorns (2-0), who host the UTSA Roadrunners (2-0) on Saturday (SEC Network+, 8 p.m. ET), will aim to avoid any further embarrassment for the rest of the season.

Clark Dalton

Clark Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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