Kirk Herbstreit knows a thing or two about Ohio State football. Joey Galloway does, too. The two former Buckeyes have spent plenty of time talking football, but one recent conversation had less to do with the game and more to do with being a father.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
On their Nonstop with Kirk & Joey podcast, Joey Galloway opened up about coaching his son, Michael, and the awkward line between demanding more from your kid and simply enjoying what he is doing. Kirk Herbstreit liked the message enough to share it with his own audience.
“Great advice from @Joey_Galloway here— Be a dad first, not a coach first,” he posted. “Congrats to Mikey for a great start to the season!”
Joey Galloway had just watched his son help his team earn its first win. He was involved with the pass offense, which meant there were plenty of opportunities to slip into football mode. He also admitted he can be harder on Mikey than the other players, but that wasn’t really his problem. Celebrating his son was.
Mikey had put together two big games to start the season for Dublin Scioto High School, Ohio, and his dad had seen the work behind those performances. He had been part of it. Still, he said he sometimes struggled to switch off the coach in his head and just enjoy watching his son succeed.
“At times you sort of have to remember I’m his dad first, his coach second,” he said.
Then, he dropped valuable dad advice.
“For all you dads out there that coach, I’m just going to tell you, remember, you are a dad first and then a coach,” he said. “It is okay to be happy, to celebrate your son while also coaching him.”
That exchange hits home for Kirk Herbstreit, whose youngest son, Chase Herbstreit, is a QB at Michigan. It’s a strange choice for someone whose father played QB at Ohio State from 1989 through 1993. The family’s connection to the Buckeyes runs deep, too.
Kirk Herbstreit’s father also played at Ohio State while his wife was an Ohio State cheerleader. But Chase chose Michigan after the Wolverines offered him a scholarship and the Buckeyes did not pursue him to that point. For a family tied so closely to OSU, it could have become awkward, but Kirk has made it clear that his son gets to live his own football story.
“My last son, even though I’m an Ohio State guy, went to the University of Michigan,” he said of Chase in an interview with PEOPLE earlier this year. “He’s there now, and so I’m just a dad.”
That line shows why Joey Galloway’s comments probably landed so well with him. Kirk Herbstreit has supported Chase despite the rivalry, even attending Michigan’s spring game. He avoided wearing Wolverines gear, though, opting for plain navy clothing. That’s about as diplomatic as an Ohio State father can get in Ann Arbor.
There is also something fitting about the two former Buckeyes having this conversation. Joey Galloway and Kirk Herbstreit were teammates at Ohio State in the early 1990s. These days, they’re ESPN colleagues. So their football conversations can involve rankings, recruits, and rivalries, but sometimes the real lesson is much simpler. The coach can worry about the mistakes, but the dad should probably enjoy the touchdowns.