Harbaugh and DAy don't like each other. 
But the rivalry is better because of it

When Michigan defeated Ohio State last 

year, Jim Harbaugh couldn’t help himself.

The Michigan coach was about ready to 

wrap up his postgame press conference where 

he spoke of “moving forward with humble 

hearts” and “taking the high road.” But then, he 

decided to get a quip in before he left.

“Sometimes people standing on third base 

think they hit a triple,” Harbaugh said. “But 

they didn’t.”

It doesn’t take much reading between the 

lines to know who Harbaugh was referring to: 

Ohio State coach Ryan Day. Day has only faced 

Harbaugh twice, but both coaches have been 

trading jabs since Day took over in Columbus 

in 2019. Harbaugh’s comments following his 

first win over the Buckeyes were just the latest 

installment in their war of words.

In their inaugural meeting, Day and his 

squad dominated with a 56-27 beatdown. Ohio 

State was a heavy favorite entering the game 

and looked the part. There wasn’t much else to 

say at that point, but it wouldn’t take much lon-

ger for tensions to explode.

It began in the summer of 2020 during a Big 

Ten coaches conference call. There, Harbaugh 

reportedly interrupted Day, accusing him of 

providing on-field instruction to his players 

during the summer and allegedly violating 

NCAA rules. 

Day didn’t take kindly to Harbaugh’s accusa-

tions, and he wanted revenge on the field. His 

reported response: Hang ‘100’ on the Wolver-

ines.

JOSH TAUBMAN

Daily Sports Editor

The Buckeyes didn’t get a chance to attempt 

that feat in 2020, when the game was canceled 

due to COVID-19. The Buckeyes, however, 

made a run to the National Championship 

Game, cementing Day as a premier coach in 

the sport in only his second year at the helm. 

This success came much to the chagrin of Har-

baugh, who had hit his coaching low point with 

an abysmal 2-4 season — causing fans to call for 

his head.

With his job on the line, Harbaugh threw 

down the gauntlet at 2021 Big Ten Media Day. 

He put the team’s goal of beating Ohio State out 

in the open. 

“That’s what we want to do,” Harbaugh said. 

“And we’re going to do it or die trying.” 

When the two finally faced off again, Har-

baugh brushed death aside, emerging the vic-

tor. Thus, he felt entitled to take another shot 

at Day.

That’s what their relationship has become. 

There is no love lost between Harbaugh and 

Day. They are building their programs with an 

eye not only on the College Football Playoff and 

winning Big Ten Championships, but also with 

the goal of destroying each other in the process. 

And, despite all the bitterness encircling their 

relationship, that’s a good thing. 

It’s difficult for college football rivalries to be 

player-centric. There is too much roster turn-

over for a constant string of players to headline 

a rivalry. The coaches, however, are mainstays, 

and two great ones with strong personalities 

make a rivalry hum.

With 
Harbaugh 
and 
Day 
seemingly 

entrenched with their programs for the long 

run, that only further fuels storylines and 

anticipation for The Game.

Given Harbaugh’s involvement, though, this 

tension was easy to see coming.

He hasn’t shied away from rival coaches 

before. At Stanford, he jawed with then-USC 

coach Pete Caroll, beginning in 2009 when 

Harbaugh went for two already up 53-21 against 

the Trojans. In the postgame handshake, Car-

rol had a simple question:

“What’s your deal?” 

Harbaugh barked back: “What’s your deal?”

That animosity carried over to the NFL 

with Caroll leading the Seattle Seahawks 

against Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers 

between 2011-2014. In 2013, after a blowout loss 

to Seattle, Harbaugh accused the Seahawks of 

using PEDs. 

Then, when Harbaugh took over at Michigan 

in 2015, going toe-to-toe with Urban Meyer, he 

never minced words about the former Buck-

eye head man, once claiming that everywhere 

Meyer goes “controversy follows.” 

But the trash talk always rang a little hollow, 

as Caroll and Meyer both had multiple cham-

pionships to their name while Harbaugh’s shelf 

remained bare. On top of that, Caroll defeated 

Harbaugh in their only playoff meeting and 

Meyer went 4-0 against Harbaugh during his 

tenure. Harbaugh never hid his brash person-

ality when facing his coaching adversaries, 

though that approach was used 

in part to compensate 

for 
what 
his 

team hadn’t accomplished on the field.

But Day and Harbaugh’s relationship is dif-

ferent — for the first time, both coaches feel like 

they have something to prove. Day doesn’t quite 

have the resume to outdo Harbaugh, at least not 

yet. And while Harbaugh ignited the sparring 

match, Day hasn’t been afraid to punch back.

It’s early, but it’s hard to ignore the shades of 

another great Michigan-Ohio State coaching 

rivalry — perhaps even following in the foot-

steps of the Ten Year War.

Back then, from 1969-1978, Woody Hayes 

and Bo Schembechler — both magnanimous 

personalities with patented looks — squared 

off, often for a shot at a Big Ten Championship 

and a Rose Bowl berth.

 

Flash forward to this year, and Day and Har-

baugh, for the second season in a row, have 

their teams fighting to be the class of the Big 

Ten. Based on both teams’ recent success, they 

could very well battle for conference suprema-

cy for the foreseeable future.

Now, Harbaugh can say what he wants, but 

Day isn’t getting off the bases anytime soon. 

Together, even if the pair wants nothing to do 

with each other, they can take this next decade 

of games into the stratosphere. 

The Game speaks for itself. But a 

great coaching rivalry, like the one 

Day and Harbaugh are forming, 

transcends it.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Thursday, November 17, 2022 — 9

EMMA MATI/Daily

