Michigan's Kerry Coombs, Kyle Whittingham Have Similar 'No Hate' Approach for Ohio State

Kerry Coombs has now been on both sides of the rivalry.

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

After one of the worst seasons in recent memory for the Michigan special teams, one of Sherrone Moore's final decisions as a head coach was to hire former Ohio State coach Kerry Coombs to run the special teams.

Coombs coached under Moore for just days before Moore was fired from Michigan. And with a great track record, Kyle Whittingham kept him on board in his first full season as the Wolverines' head coach.

Coombs, who knows all about 'The Game', coached at Ohio State from 2012-2017, and then again from 2020-2021, has a similar sentiment as Whittingham regarding the rivalry. Let the play do the talking, and there doesn't need to be hate involved.

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

"I think here's what I think. 
It is the greatest rivalry in sports," Coombs said. "And it's not just a rivalry between the two football teams. It's a rivalry between the universities. 
It's a rivalry between the states. People that live there, I live there, people that live here, it's real. And we don't discount that at all. 


"At the same time, there's no reason. There's no reason. I grew up with Woody and Bo. 
And one of the reasons why I'm a football coach is 'cause I grew up with Woody and Bo. And there was no reason for any of it to be nasty. It doesn't have to be hateful. 
It doesn't have to be unnecessarily violent. The violence between the lines during the game, that's what we do. But it doesn't have to be — those things don't have to be."

The human element involved

For someone like Kerry Coombs, who has coached at multiple places like Cincinnati, Ohio State, Tennessee, and now at Michigan, he has come to know a lot of different coaches around. He told the media on Thursday that he knows a lot of the staff on the Buckeyes, including both Arthur Smith and Matt Patricia.

Make no mistake, Coombs wants to beat Ohio State and when the time comes, he's going to be excited to play his old team, but he doesn't believe the rivalry needs to be nasty.

USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

"I got friends coaching on that staff," Coombs said. "...I mean, these are, you know, these are good people, so we're not, to me, the game is going to be the game. Those cleats are gonna ground into the dirt, and we're gonna come off and try to knock the crap out of each other. That's the game. 
That's what it's supposed to be.

"And we're supposed to, everybody's supposed to be excited about that game. But I think what Coach was saying was, I don't speak for him, but it doesn't need to be nasty. 
It doesn't. And so I'm excited... You can't be in the game of football, not be excited to be in that game. 
You can't. And I'm thrilled that I get to do it again."

Fans are likely going to have a different mindset than Coombs on this, but maybe not. Michigan vs. Ohio State is the biggest rivalry in all of sports and both fan bases want to see their team win the game to have bragging rights for the next 365 days.