Michigan Football: Greg Mattison is a traitor for joining Ohio State

There have been rumors of an assistant leaving Michigan football for Ohio State but the decision by Greg Mattison to join the Buckeyes is shocking.

With the lack of loyalty that exists nowadays, it’s hard to be surprised by anything. However, when it was reported by Wolverines Wire that Greg Mattison is leaving Michigan football to become the defensive coordinator at Ohio State, it was shocking.

Of course, the fact that a Michigan football coach is leaving for Ohio State isn’t stunning. At least it shouldn’t be, as there have been rumors circulating about it for weeks. Yet, many thought it would be Al Washington, who had connections to Ryan Day, the Buckeyes new head coach.

Instead, long-time Michigan football assistant Greg Mattison, who was the defensive coordinator under Brady Hoke and who has coached the defensive line under Jim Harbaugh, has decided to become a turncoat, leaving the good guys to join the dark side.

In other words, Mattison is a traitor.

I understand his contract is expiring and that he has to do what’s best for him, but there is still something pretty low about leaving the Wolverines for the Buckeyes. Of course, this isn’t the first time Mattison has left Michigan football to work for a rival. He did the same thing in the 90’s when he left the Wolverines to be the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame.

Now, it looks like Mattison will take over as defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes. The timing seems a little strange considering Mattison could have had a chance to take over the same position at UM, provided Don Brown takes the head-coaching job at Temple, which still seems like a possibility.

Instead, Mattison decided to become a turncoat. How he could look his fellow coaches in the eye and tell them he is leaving to be a top assistant with arch-rival Ohio State is beyond me. The fact that anyone ever considered Mattison a “Michigan Man” at any point in time is sickening.

When Mattison left the Baltimore Ravens back in 2011 to join Hoke’s staff, it was a great move for the Wolverines. He has also did a fine job, by all accounts, of coaching the D-line under Harbaugh and while his return wasn’t guaranteed, it was assumed.

There didn’t appear to be any rift between Mattison and Harbaugh and outside of Chris Partridge, he would have been a top candidate to coordinate the defense if Brown left.

At any rate, any coach that would spend 13 years on the sideline with the Wolverines, only to turn around and take a job at Ohio State is someone Michigan football shouldn’t want — period.

And at the end of the day, regardless of how many years Mattison spent in Ann Arbor, he threw that all away Monday. Now, he should be known forever to Michigan football fans as nothing but a no-good, back-stabbing, turncoat.

Mattison is a traitor, Benedict Arnold, and from this moment on, he deserves nothing but pure hatred from every true Wolverines fan.