By Scott Salomon
Despite facing allegations of cheating and other egregious activities surrounding his coaching staff, Michigan Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh is in line for a contract extension that could make him the highest-paid coach in the Big 10, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.
Should this occur, prior to the NCAA investigation being complete and Michigan being forced to face the music for these illicit activities, the school would basically be spreading the message that this is a win-at-all-costs society and that it is forgiving Harbaugh for acts that he either knew of or should have known were taking place in his program.
Thamel reports that Michigan is looking to get this deal done on an expedited basis despite the fact that it could face severe NCAA sanctions for the alleged acts of staffer Connor Stalions. Stalions is accused of filming and in-person scouting of other Big 10 opponents, which is against NCAA rules.
Stalions, whose official title is analytics assistant, is believed to have purchased tickets to over 30 college football games over the past three seasons in an effort to film the signals being called from the sidelines of 12 other Big 10 teams. This would tip off the Wolverine coaches and players when they say the signals being sent in when they played a particular team.
It has been reported that he would then transfer certain tickets to associates and contribute to their travel expenses so that they could assist in the caper. Signal stealing is not, per se, prohibited under NCAA rules, but teams cannot in-person scout future opponents or use electronic data to record or transmit data. Stalions and his cohorts are accused of using their cellular telephones to record the signals being sent in from the sidelines.
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“I was cautioned the other night to not report that the contract offer has been rescinded. It did seem logical that there would be a bit of a pause,” Thamel reported of Harbaugh’s situation. “I will say this, if you go back to last year, when he had his flirtation with the Broncos, and then the year before on signing day, when he interviewed with the Vikings, there’s been some flirtations. There’s a new president at Michigan. … I think he realizes that Jim Harbaugh is an asset to the University of Michigan, in a significant way. Look, Bill Self got a lifetime contract while they were under NCAA investigation from the federal basketball scandal.
“If there is a contract given to Jim Harbaugh in the upcoming weeks, it would really be one of the ultimate middle fingers to the enforcement folks in Indianapolis. Basically saying what the NCAA says and rules doesn’t matter, the University of Michigan is just going to plow on. It doesn’t really care about your multiple investigations.”
These remarks were made on The Pat McAfee Show earlier this week.
It has been widely speculated that Harbaugh has not inked the extension as of yet because Michigan has requested that the contract have an integrity clause that would allow them to terminate the contract without penalty should Harbaugh violate the integrity of the game or the University.
While this negotiation is pending, Thamel also reported that Big 10 coaches spent nearly 60 of the 90 allotted minute-coaches call discussing Michigan and the in-person scouting, and a “chorus of voices encouraged the Big 10 Commissioner Tony Petitti to take action against Michigan”.
One coach, whose identity is being withheld by certain reports and Thamel’s description of the phone call, asked, “What are we waiting on? We know what happened.” Other coaches used words like “tainted,” “fraudulent,” and “unprecedented” when discussing the situation in Ann Arbor.
A source told Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic that Big Ten coaches are unhappy that “The playing field is not level right now. How can you have a team that you know has a competitive advantage over you still being allowed to play? That’s what the coaches are grappling with.”
Pete Thamel reported tonight that in the Big Ten Athletic Directors meeting with Tony Petitti, the most powerful message came from Michigan State athletic director, Alan Haller.
While is has been rumored that Ryan Day has been the most vocal coach, Haller’s message is being… pic.twitter.com/ps4k8WT5BW
— The College Huddle 🎙️ (@CollegeHuddle) November 3, 2023
Petitti should take action against the Wolverines, now pending the NCAA dragging their feet on the matter, and it should include a bowl sanction and the forfeiture of wins and, most importantly, a bowl ban, which would remove them from the playoff picture this season. Petitti has the authority to serve sanctions upon Michigan under the conference’s sportsmanship policy, per Michigan blog, mlive.com.
Petitti has the authority to punish Michigan because of the Big Ten’s sportsmanship cause, which is about the “integrity of competition” in the “competitive arena,” if the discipline is “standard” or “major.”
Michigan is coming off of two Big 10 championship seasons that saw them make the College Football Playoff. They are currently 8-0 and ranked third by the CFP committee and are in line for yet another playoff appearance, should they win the remainder of their games.
Harbaugh, who was not on the call, as he dropped off after coaches made other remarks, denied any knowledge of involvement in the allegations, according to Thamel.
Meanwhile, FOX analyst Joel Klatt took to the platform formerly known as Twitter, opposing the imposition of sanctions pending a full NCAA investigation.
Klatt is the analyst for FOX’s No. 1 team and is paired with veteran play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson. He is also the host of the Joel Klatt Show, a college football podcast.
Lots of sources and articles about how "mad" opposing coaches are about Michigan…The level of anger has a direct relationship with the success Michigan has had over the last two+ seasons…Also, the level of anger is not grounds for an unprecedented overreach from the commish
— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) November 2, 2023
“Lots of sources and articles about how “mad” opposing coaches are about Michigan,” Klatt wrote on Thursday evening. “The level of anger has a direct relationship with the success Michigan has had over the last two + seasons. Also, the level of anger is not grounds for an unprecedented overreach from the commish.”
Klatt also believes that the other Big 10 coaches said what they said out of jealousy of Michigan’s success in the conference and their possible CFP invitation to close out the season.
It should be noted that the NCAA has opened an investigation into the Stalions Scandal at Michigan, but no timetable has been established as to when it will conclude. If you look at how slow the NCAA churns its investigations, it could take months or years for them to render a decision and level sanctions.
According to Klatt, “The investigation should run its course and a notice of allegations sent to the program.” Klatt also questions why there should be a different process for Michigan despite all of the evidence against them that has surfaced. “Why would we have a different process for these allegations than we would for a tampering case?”
Notwithstanding Klatt’s opinion, the Big 10 should act now and take action against Michigan and Harbaugh as the hand-writing is all over the wall that certain illicit acts took place concerning the Wolverines’ scouting of opponents, and they should be forced to pay the ultimate penalties immediately.
