Kyle Whittingham hire: Ari Wasserman predicts how Ryan Day reacted to Michigan move

Plenty of reactions have come in regarding the new Michigan head coach, Kyle Whittingham. After firing Sherrone Moore, the Wolverines have brought in one of the more respected coaches in all of college football. You have to imagine people in Ann Arbor are quite happy to have Whittingham running their program. But what about in Columbus?

On3’s Ari Wasserman was asked by On3’s Andy Staples what he thinks the reaction to the news from Ohio State‘s Ryan Day would be. Wasserman gave a hilarious but insightful answer, giving us a peek at what Day’s mindset about the rivalry moving forward might be.

“‘Oh shit, this is going to be a challenge,'” Wasserman said. “‘But at least he’ll be respectful during it.'”

It’s no secret where Day has stood with previous Michigan head coaches since he took over the job full-time at Ohio State. He and Jim Harbaugh did not exactly get along. Harbaugh produced the famous “born on third base” quote when talking about Day replacing Urban Meyer. And then Moore was an extension of the Harbaugh era over the course of three years.

However, Day and Whittingham both come from the Meyer coaching tree. Whittingham also succeeded Meyer as the Utah defensive coordinator. He might be the Michigan head coach but there might be some mutual respect between the two.

“There will be less of a kind of outward meanness to it,” Staples said. “But Whittingham is going to challenge Ryan Day.”

Unsurprisingly, an Ohio State question popped up during Whittingham’s first press conference. It’s a rivalry game the Wolverines just lost for the first time in a few seasons. While Day got a massive weight lifted off his shoulders, Michigan felt as if control in The Game shifted back away from them.

Whittingham will likely learn quite quickly how much this game means to everyone in Ann Arbor. He even admitted to following Ohio State throughout the years.

“I do now, I guess,” Whittingham said when asked if he dislikes Ohio State. “Like I said, I followed them for quite a while. Me and Urban were on the same staff at Utah. I was his defensive coordinator. So, there was a real tight bond there. And I followed his career and obviously stayed in touch throughout the course of his career, and had great success there. But now, I’m on the right side of the deal now.”