The ‘Game’ will not just carry those centuries-long stakes for former OSU head coach Urban Meyer now. It would also be a battle between two of his former pupils. It feels almost like the choice old Obi-Wan Kenobi had to make between Luke and Anakin. For Meyer, supporting Michigan might be no less than supporting the Sith. And yet, the dark side tests his loyalties, courtesy of his old Utah Padawan, whom he even helped land in Michigan.
The Rose Bowl against Washington in 2018 was Meyer’s last game for Ohio State. In an unofficial ceremony after the game, the former head coach placed a whistle around Ryan Day’s neck in the locker room, announcing him as his successor. But many OSU fans might not know that he did a similar ceremony for now-Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham at Utah in 2004. That two-decade-old bond has Meyer confused about his ‘hate’ for the team up north.
“Let’s say there was a college football draft and Ohio State is up. Urban Meyer is out to do the pick, and the draft is being held in Ann Arbor, Michigan,” Rob Stone asked Meyer on the Triple Option podcast. Meyer quickly displayed his ‘hate’ for Michigan in the hypothetical scenario. “I’d bring my kid up like Mark [Ingram] did and say the Wolverine still s–k.” However, the former OSU HC immediately remembered his long-time “friend” is now UM’s head coach.
“I can’t. You know. I can’t. Can I still say that with Kyle Whittingham there?” a confused Meyer asked his co-hosts Mark Ingram and Rob Stone. Both Rob Stone and Mark Ingram assured Meyer that he can still say that for Michigan, since he is “contractually obligated” to say it. But it still shows Meyer’s love for his former assistant and the bond they share.
Can @CoachUrbanMeyer still use this four-letter word to describe Michigan with his friend Kyle Whittingham at the helm?
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— The Triple Option (@3xOptionShow) May 7, 2026
Before winning two national championships with Florida, Meyer was the head coach at Utah from 2003 to 2004, where he compiled an impressive 22-2 record. Like many coincidences in his life, Kyle Whittingham was Utah’s DC under Meyer after the former OSU head coach retained him from the previous staff. Two years might not look like much, but for Whittingham, it was the turning point in his coaching trajectory.
“I don’t think I would be where I am today if I had not had that opportunity to work for Coach Meyer for those two years,” Whittingham said about his former boss. “And as I said, I found out right away that I wasn’t ready for the job when I thought I was. But two years later, I learned so much from him that I felt very comfortable taking over. And that’s how it laid out.”
Because of the principles Meyer brought to Utah and the 10 years’ worth of experience Whittingham had as an assistant, he finally became the team’s head coach in 2005. But before Meyer departed for newer pastures, the duo kindled a lasting bond and a mutual respect that gradually turned into a “close friendship.” So much so that when Whittingham was pondering joining Michigan, he turned to the very man who terrorized UM for the better part of a decade.
Urban Meyer opens up on Whittingham reaching out to him for his UM decision
OSU head coach Ryan Day has a crystal-clear memory of being garlanded with the whistle that Urban Meyer once strutted around his neck. He calls it a “very memorable experience” and relishes it to this day. The same happened for Kyle Whittingham, who said that he “had the same whistle ceremony” and still calls it a “great experience.” Most importantly, Whittingham took his friendship with Meyer to another level, and Meyer proved to be a true friend.
“I’m a Buckeye, so my first thought was, ‘What?’” Meyer said when Kyle Whittingham asked for his advice regarding his Michigan move. “He’s my friend. Kyle and I are really close, but it didn’t take long for me to put two and two together. Not only did I tell him that I think it was a great move, but it was exactly what that school in Ann Arbor needed. They fell into the perfect guy. So when Kyle told me that, I said, ‘Kyle, it’s a no-brainer. You could win a national title there.”
It’s not just about being Meyer’s former assistant now. Whittingham is now the head coach, whom Urban Meyer helped become the head coach in Ann Arbor. Rooting against him would undoubtedly be hard, and it won’t be a surprise if we catch a sly smile on Meyer’s face after a dominant Michigan play. But at the end of the day, those seven years with Ohio State will probably reign supreme, and that UM ‘hate’ should overpower that old ‘Padawan’ connection.
