The fire inside the ESPN Press Room is only getting brighter with each passing day. The latest conundrum? Well, former ESPN analyst Jason Whitlock has shared his two cents on the ongoing Ryan Day scuffle that already has the network’s analysts divided into two halves. And, boy, did he show his allegiance! But before we get to the meat of the story…

To give you some context, we’re talking about two teams here—Team Day: Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit. Team Anti-Day: Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith. The controversy arose when, after the Buckeyes’ big 42-17 win against Tennessee Volunteers on December 21, Herbstreit took a direct shot at his colleagues, “’First Take’ tried to fire him. They thought he was done, so I’ll be excited to see what they talk about on Monday after this performance. They had him out and were trying to find replacements, but here he is. He’s still got his hat on, and he’s still coaching.”

The comments were a response to Smith’s remarks about the Ohio State HC. On the December 19 edition of the sports debate show, he had said about Day: “Are you kidding me? With a $20 million roster, you came into 2024 talking national championship… The mandate is to beat Michigan and put yourself into a position to win a national championship… If this man gets bounced out of here this weekend, he got to go.” And it wasn’t long before Fowler and Herbstreit fired back.

After Ohio State performance on Saturday, play-by-play announcer Fowler chimed in, saying, “When you hear pundits on this network or other places talk about that with certainty, it’s nonsense, frankly. The public doesn’t pull the trigger and get rid of a coach. The administrators do, and they’re behind him [Day],” prompting Herbstreit to take a direct shot at his colleagues.

“’First Take’ tried to fire him. They thought he was done, so I’ll be excited to see what they talk about on Monday after this performance. They had him out and were trying to find replacements, but here he is. He’s still got his hat on, and he’s still coaching,” the former Ohio State QB said.

It has been a quite a while that Day has been brought under a microscope. After all, with the HC at the helm, the Buckeyes lost to Michigan Wolverines four times in a row. The desperation to get rid of Day became so vivid among fans that Day’s buyout figure worth $37.3 million started to make rounds. Now that the controversy had taken up momentum, analyst Whitlock dived into the fight between the two groups. It was evident from Whitlock’s statements that he intended to weigh more on Herbstreit and Fowler’s side. 

Sharing a clip of the Fowler-Herbstreit conversation on his YouTube channel, the veteran opined, “There’s a lot of truth in what Kirk Herbstreit and Fowler are pointing out. Like, ‘Hey man, the people with no connection to college football’…And so the inference of what they’re saying is that, ‘Hey, look man, I talked to the administrators, and the people connected to this university, who will make the decision about Ryan Day’. And those people, according to Fowler and Herbstreit, had no interest in firing Ryan Day.”

Well, let’s be honest. Day hasn’t totally failed his team—they’re currently on an overall 11-2 record. The team’s QB, Will Howard, also showed up to the occasion all guns blazing, especially during the team’s latest clash. His 82.8% completion rate marks the seventh time this season, that he’s completed at least 80% of his passes. Till now, he’s had a 73.2% completion rate, with 3,171 passing yards and 29 touchdowns. Sailing through to the playoffs, the team will now meet the Ducks in the Rose Bowl on January 1. And the road will only get steeper from here. But if you listen to reports, the management is confident in Day’s abilities…

Whitlock said, “Now, they’re saying this at the end of a blowout game…that, ‘Hey, even if this game hadn’t gone the way that we anticipated, Ryan Day has done such a good job. Yes, he struggled against Michigan, but we are in no mindset given the recruiting, given the talent we have, given the results he’s got in every place else. We’re in no mindset to fire Ryan Day’. And so, the inference from Fowler and Herbstreit is like, ‘People that don’t even watch college football, never talk to the decision makers in college football, are on ESPN platforms talking about Ryan day getting fired without any connection to reality’.” But that’s not the end of his subtle support…

The former Kansas City Star columnist also heavily appreciated Herbstreit, saying, “[He] played quarterback at Ohio State, and is the largest, most impactful voice in college football. He played football at Ohio State, and he’s the largest voice in college football. He has some influence…and the knowledge of what Ohio State’s brass and decision makers are thinking.”

Well, not so subtle, is it? Notably, Whitlock’s comments come days after Smith had provided an explanation for his earlier comments, with Sharpe taking it even a notch higher. “What I said was this man Ryan Day, if he doesn’t get a national championship he should go. Even with a 66-10 record, I didn’t stutter one bit. I ain’t stuttering now. You get the job at The Ohio State, which you know, Kirk Herbstreit, you’ve got to beat Michigan. This man has lost four years in a row. Three straight to Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore, OK, and then not only did you lose four straight to Michigan, you get to the College Football Playoff and you get bounced out by Tennessee, that’s what I was saying, you can’t lose to Tennessee now. You gotta go handle your business. To their credit, they blew them out,” Smith had said.

“Mr. Fowler, Mr. Herbstreit, love you guys, appreciate y’all, y’all do a great, great job. You know I love you, Kirk, you know that, but you’ve got to quote me accurately,” he said further, before Sharpe fired back.

“I’m gonna be a good teammate,” Sharpe said to Smith. “I’m gonna let it slide. Everybody’s at ESPN. Because had you not taken the route you’ve taken, I would’ve lit their a–es up. If we’re going to be on the same team, if we’re gonna work for the same network, don’t do that…Kirk, Chris Fowler, I promise you, if you ever mention any platform that I’m on again talking about ‘I wonder what they’re going to say as negativity,’ I promise you, ESPN ain’t got enough bosses to keep me off y’all for what I’m going to say. Don’t play with me.”

Well, a lot seems to have gone down these past few days. But what about Whitlock? What’s his deal with ESPN, and how does he fit into the picture?

What made Jason Whitlock take ESPN’s side? 

There was a time when Whitlock was the common face for ESPN’s famous show The Undefeated (where he served as the editor-in-chief). But in October 2015, the broadcasting platform confirmed that the company would no longer employ him. ESPN did not take much time to move on from him. They even replaced Whitlock with Leon Carter as the lead editor of the program. 

“When ESPN ran me out of there, that was them sending out a bat signal of ‘men with b–ls aren’t welcome,” Whitlock later shared how he felt. That marked the end of his two-year-long journey after reported accusations of his shortfalls as a manager. Maybe, Whitlock has moved on from the ESPN snub. But he is yet to forgive Sharpe for the comment he made about him. 

Once on the ‘First Take’ show, Shannon Sharpe claimed that Jason Whitlock was fired from FOX Sports. So what he did instead was hit back at Sharpe about his dark past with Undisputed, “I know what happened at FS1. And if Shannon and Stephen A. keep pushing this agenda, I’m going to expose all that I know.” So, that’s how the past hoopla took shape in the Ryan Day controversy.    

That brings us to the most important question: Whose side are you on in this ESPN battle? Let us know in the comments below!