Kyle Whittingham’s departure from Utah didn’t surprise many since the Utes already had a head coach-in-waiting. The same can’t be said about his decision to join Michigan. When faced with the decision to take on the challenge, the former Utah head coach turned to his friend and mentor, Urban Meyer, who doesn’t have anything good to say about the Wolverines. Even then, the former Ohio State head coach could see how the opportunity made sense.

“I’m a Buckeye, so my first thought was, ‘What?’” Meyer told On3‘s Chris Low. “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.”

Meyer served as the Utes’ head coach from 2003 to 2004, with Whittingham serving as his assistant. While the pair struck a remarkable friendship during their time together, Meyer went on to coach Ohio State from 2012 to 2018, a program with a storied rivalry against the Wolverines.

As a result, he was not just thinking about his friend getting a new job; he was heavily considering the rivalry between the Wolverines and the Buckeyes. In fact, Meyer did not mention “Michigan” in his comments. For every Buckeye, the Wolverines are the team up North.

However, he soon set aside the rivalry and allowed friendship to prevail. Meyer eventually admitted the Wolverines have struck gold with Whittingham, who seems like the missing piece in their puzzle. Even before deciding to join the Wolverines, Whittingham had informed Meyer, who was very supportive.

“So when Kyle told me that, I said, ‘Kyle, it’s a no-brainer. You could win a national title there.’ It’s a hard job. I mean, he’s going to be under scrutiny, he’s never been under before at Utah. This is a blue-blood program. You can get any player you want. You have elite academics. You’ve got the challenges in recruiting that northern schools have.”

Whittingham had built a reputation in college football, where knowing him was as good as knowing the Utes. He had spent 32 years with the program and 21 years as head coach. No way in the world would anyone have thought of a possible disagreement between Whittingham and the program’s athletic department. He not only did more with less but also became the winningest coach in program history, with a 177-88 record and two conference championships to show for it.

But Michigan saw the chance and hired Whittingham following Sherrone Moore’s firing, who was accused of having an improper relationship with a female staff member.

Meyer shows respect for the Wolverines despite the rivalry 

The Buckeyes and the Wolverines have a 128-year rivalry that is recognized by the Encyclopedia Britannica as one of the ten greatest sports rivalries in history. While he participated in the rivalry, Meyer ensured he had seven straight wins over Michigan, with no losses. Despite his desire to see them destroyed, he claims he respects them so much.

“We started talking about the Wolverines and my comment was… yes,” Meyer said about his conversation with Whittingham on Wake Up Barstool. “There’s a rivalry, there’s hatred. But you name someone who respects that school more than me, and I’d probably argue with you.

“I have so much respect. Bo Schembechler was a friend. And the reason that we worked so hard to beat their a-s is that we respected them so much. We worked on them every day. Every day of our career.”