Folks, we might be experiencing some college football déjà vu. Over the last two seasons, Michigan State fans were forced to sit through some of the most mind-numbingly frustrating press conferences from Jonathan Smith because it was clear that he just didn’t get the Spartan culture.
Now, it sort of looks like Michigan is getting ready to start that same exact experience.
Although I do believe Kyle Whittingham is a really good coach, I don’t really see the fit at Michigan. His recent comments regarding the Ohio State rivalry have me feeling slightly vindicated before the Wolverines ever kick off a single game. He basically said “hate is a strong word” in regard to Ohio State and he doubled down on that in a Monday afternoon press conference.
Let’s just say Michigan fans aren’t too thrilled about him doubling down.
#Michigan HC Kyle Whittingham on his comments about not hating Ohio State from Big Ten media days:
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) August 10, 2026
“Do we have a better chance of winning if I hated them? I don’t understand. Whatever gives us the best chance to win, I’m all for it. I want to beat them worst than anybody.” pic.twitter.com/e4fjLPBltT
It makes sense why Whittingham has such a tame take regarding Ohio State, and that’s because his former boss and really good friend Urban Meyer coached there for the better part of a decade and he doesn’t want to disrespect his pal. On the other hand, Urban has been very open about his dislike of Michigan and I doubt that’s going to lighten up with Whittingham in charge.
Michigan fans want a head coach who hates his rivals to their core the way that Jim Harbaugh or Lloyd Carr did. They don’t want a Jonathan Smith clone in Ann Arbor.
Obviously Smith and Whittingham have completely different personalities and I don’t doubt that Michigan’s new coach has a little more fire than the ex-Spartan, but he might need to learn to like the word “hate” or he’s not going to be at Michigan for very long.
Jonathan Smith echoed similar sentiments
A huge knock that Michigan State fans had on Smith was that he didn’t have much of a personality and he didn’t fit the Spartan culture because he didn’t understand the Michigan rivalry enough.
Smith coached in the Oregon-Oregon State rivalry as well as played in it, but there’s apparently not enough hatred in that in-state battle to build an understanding for the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry. Not all rivalries have as much hate as the Michigan-Michigan State one as well as Michigan-Ohio State, so hearing that Whittingham doesn’t yet have hate for the Buckeyes has Spartan fans empathizing with the Wolverines (not really).
The former Oregon State coach said “after experiencing that sucker, I won’t forget that thing” in reference to losing the 2024 game against the Wolverines. That was how he responded to losing a huge rivalry game against the program that has mocked Michigan State since Mark Dantonio retired — and well before that.
He basically had a “go beat the crud” out of them demeanor heading into Michigan games. Woof.
That was unacceptable and held similar weight to Bobby Williams’ infamous “I don’t know” when responding to a question about if he had lost his locker room.
Whittingham’s comments don’t look good right now, but he has time to prove that “hate” for Ohio State isn’t necessary. It didn’t work out well for fellow West Coast guy Smith.
Again, Whittingham is a good coach so he can win anywhere, but everyone thought the same about Smith.
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