TTUN doesn't have a serious head coach right now. The gap between the two rivals in "The Game" may be at a modern high, assuming Ohio State can find an answer under center after Julian Sayin's throwing shoulder injury.
Despite his Wolverines falling to 4-3, in a season they should be 3-4 after the refs gifted them the Western Michigan game, Whittingham wrote off home losses to Indiana and Iowa and a road loss to Minnesota.
As Whittingham says, his team was just a play away from being undefeated.
"Right now it's not the time to panic. We're a play away from 6-1 or 7-0," Whittingham said Monday during media availability.
If you're not panicking with three losses, that means you're okay with four losses. Anything short of running the table should be unacceptable at TTUN.
That is, unless the bar has really fallen that far in the three years since Jim Harbaugh left behind a mess of a program.
Ohio State should want Kyle Whittingham around indefinitely
Whittingham signed a five-year, $41 million contract with the Wolverines. That contract includes a clause that owes him 75% of his remaining base salary if he is terminated without cause. As of right now, that number is $25.8 million.
With as much revenue as pours through TTUN every year, you'd rather have Whittingham stick around than the team set $25.8 million on fire for not even a season of utter failure.
While a new coach could energize spending, Whittingham sticking around could slowly waste money on a roster that will never have the lead voice to do anything special. The Wolverines could slowly lose relevance, as opposed to bottoming out quickly and catching momentum on the way back up.
Why wouldn't Buckeye fans want to see more of Whittingham over the next several years?
Kyle Whittingham makes 'The Game' a one-sided rivalry
The way Whittingham talks about "The Game" alone should be reason enough for Ohio State to want the current coaching staffs for both programs to wage wars in this rivalry game for years to come.
“Hate is a strong word, but I want to win that game as badly as anybody in Ann Arbor. ... I just think a rivalry can be intense and emotional without the hatred factor. I don’t think there’s any place for that personally. I think Ryan Day is a good person. To sit here and say I hate Ryan Day, I’d be making crap up because that’s not true," Whittingham said at the 2026 Big Ten Football Media Days in Chicago this past August.
Whittingham just doesn't get it. And that's okay on this side of the rivalry.
Up north, this is only going to cause headaches and heartbreak for as long as he's employed. Whittingham seems like a nice man, but he doesn't have the killer instinct the modern-day Big Ten requires.
No matter. The longer he's around, the less Buckeye Nation needs to concern itself with the Maize and Blue as a threat.
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