The way I was raised, when you slap another man’s hand down, you stick around and talk about it,” Herman said on Monday.

Now Herman, a former OSU offensive coordinator with head coaching stints at Houston and the University of Texas prior to his FAU post, is offering his viewpoint on the postgame handshake-non-handshake following USF's 44-21 shellacking of Herman's Owls.

Tom Herman explained his tense post-game interaction with Alex Golesh. On Friday night, FAU fell to 2-6 with a 44-21 loss to South Florida. Following a brief handshake on the field, Herman turned around and began chirping at Golesh.

The American Athletic Conference showdown between Florida Atlanta and South Florida ended in quite a buzz. After South Florida defeated Florida Atlantic 44-21, the two head coaches engaged in a postgame handshake. However, Florida Atlantic head coach Tom Herman appeared to take displeasure with South Florida’s Alex Golesh in a viral moment.

Let's rewind to Oct. 14, 2023. FAU, in its first season under the former Texas head coach, blew the doors off of South Florida, 56-14. It was not a graceful win, as FAU attempted and recovered an onside kick, then went for it on fourth down while up 42 points in the fourth quarter.

Herman has had other interesting handshakes with opposing coaches in the past. The 49-year-old former Texas Longhorns coach is 6-14 in his two seasons with the Owls. Golesh, 40, is 11-10 as South Florida’s coach. FAU joined USF in the American Athletic Conference two years ago. USF leads the all-time series 4-2.

The Owls led 14-7 at the half, but the Bulls exploded with 37 second-half points to secure the win. In the fourth quarter, it was clear that USF and head coach Alex Golesh had no intention of taking their foot off the gas, even going for the two-point conversion after their final touchdown.

Alex Golesh, who served as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator during the Vols’ exciting 2022 season, brushed right past FAU coach Tom Herman following the game, giving him more of a firm low five than a handshake. It didn’t look like Golesh said anything, but Herman obviously took exception to the move.