Paul Finebaum calls Steve Sarkisian response to Arch Manning injury question 'wildly weird and inappropriate'

Paul Finebaum is coming after Steve Sarkisian after the Texas coach’s bizarre exchange with a reporter this week. Sarkisian was asked Monday about the health of quarterback Arch Manning, who one reported noted appeared to be wincing after a throw on Saturday against San Jose State.

But rather than simply stating that Manning was not injured, Sarkisian took it as an opportunity to get snarky with the reporter. The coach seemed to suggest that the media was reading too much in to little things like facial expressions without knowing the full story.

“He doesn’t have any,” Sarkisian said when asked if Manning is experiencing pain while passing. “I don’t know. I’ve never filmed any of you guys when you’re using the restroom. So, I don’t know what faces you make when you’re doing that.”

Finebaum joined The Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday, where he addressed the situation. He argued that Sarkisian’s response made this a bigger story than it would have been if he simply answered the question normally.

“What Steve Sarkisian did this week was just so wildly weird and inappropriate,’ the SEC Network analyst said. “Maybe we’re too close to the sun here, but when you turn a simple question into a two or three or four-day story, you’ve made a terrible mistake. And Sarkisian is a really smooth operator. This isn’t some yokel clown who can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.

“The question came up about Arch appears to be in pain when he was throwing the ball Saturday and Sark just went crazy and turned it on the reporter. How would anyone know what his condition is? One thing’s for sure, (Manning)’s not nearly as good as I said he was and a few other people thought he was.”

The comments from Steve Sarkisian came amid some criticism against Manning and Texas to start off the season. After the Longhorns opened up with a loss against Ohio State in Week 1 and didn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter, some began to wonder whether the QB was as good as advertised.

He bounced back to throw for 295 yards, four touchdowns and one interception against the much lesser San Jose State. However, people are going to expect him to perform once SEC play ramps up as well.

Regardless, Sarkisian probably should have handled the situation better. Scrutiny is something that comes with being at a big program like Texas, especially when you have a name like Manning at QB.