HOUSTON– Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has won at every stop during his highly successful career.
He has taken San Diego to two consecutive Pioneer League titles, taken Stanford to two major bowls in four years, the San Francisco 49’ers to three straight NFC title games, and now the Wolverines to three straight B1G titles and Mondays national championship game against Washington.
Along, the way, he has created constant speculation about his future.
The latest rumors have him going back to the NFL as head coach of the Los Angles Chargers or the Las Vegas Raiders.
Don’t laugh.
It could become a viable option if two NCAA investigations produce evidence Michigan sough competitive advantage in a sign stealing scandal that allegedly.
spanned multiple seasons and alleged recruiting violations that occurred during the dead period Covid-19 season coupled with a failure to cooperate that could taint the top-ranked ‘ perfect season and possibly force NCAA sanctions that include vacating wins.
It is no secret that college football teams try to steal signs from opposing sidelines and from game film, but the NCAA prohibits off campus sign stealing. The Big Ten this season suspended Harbaugh for the final the three games of the regular season– including the Ohio State game– and the scandal has already led staffer Connor Stallions to resign Nov. 3. He has been quick to defend himself, saying any talk of NCAA is purely, ‘living in the world of rumorville or speculation.”
“We simply don’t any room to be doing that at this point, he added. ”Our time’s spent elsewhere.”
Michigan is coming off an epic overtime win against SEC goliath Alabama in the national semi-finals at the Rose Bowl They have won seven straight games since the sign scandal was revealed, including three victories over Top 10 teams. Quarterback JJ McCarthy in particular was great against Alabama, throwing for three touchdowns and igniting the fuse that fueled Michigan’s comeback against the Tide in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter.
But these nagging negative stories aren’t going away and can’t help but be a distraction to their preparation for an explosive Washington team and have led the players to voice a full throat defense of their role in the program.
“We did things the right way as players,” Wolverines quarterback JJ McCarthy said. “I feel like it’s so unfortunate — I don’t want to say a good number– 80 percent of the teams steal signs. it’s just a thing about football. It’s been going on for years.
:”We actually had to adapt because in 2019 or 2020 when Ohio State was stealing our signs, which is legal and they were doing it, we had to get up to the level they were at, and we had to make.
it an even playing field. It sucks because we do work our butts off. We do watch so much film and look for ”little tendencies and spend like 10,1 5 minutes on one clip along just looking at all the little details of the posture of the linebackers or defensive ends. It’s like, Ok, you can say it’s sign stealing, but you know, there’s a lot more than goes into a play– a lot of work that gets masked just because of the outside.”
McCarthy wasn’t on those teams, but he was repeating the belief that Ohio State’s ability to identify the Wolverines defensive formation in 2018 and 2019 made it became easier for the Buckeyes to call
crossing patterns that led to two blowouts as the Buckeyes scored 62 and 56 points.
So far, the NCAA has not come up with any widespread knowledge of the organized scheme, including Harbaugh. It is unlikely any player was involved. but every team employs someone who specializes in de-coding other teams’ signals.
Connor Stallions was that guy on Michigan, a football recruiting analyst with a Naval Academy background who was paid an annual salary of $55,000. He reportedly purchased tickets to more than 35 games in17 stadiums around the country involving Michigan opponents in the Big Ten and potential College Football Playoff opponents. He hired analysts to sit close to the bench so he could record opposing sidelines on his smart phone, the sending it to staff analysts for immediate breakout. It probably didn’t help when a tape surfaced showing Stallions talking to Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore on the sidelines during the Michigan State game.
The Advanced Scouting rules exists. Stallions was just unlucky enough to get caught doing illegal scouting, opening Michigan up to sanctions.
There is a torch wielding mob, particularly in Columbus, who would like nothing more to see Michigan lynched in a public square by the NCAA.
McCarthy’s recent comments and similar comments by wide out Roman Wilson haven’t helped Michigan’s desire for legitimacy. They have only kept the speculation alive by highlighting the issue and invited more scrutiny by the media instead of sympathy.
You can rationalize the problem, say everybody does it. But both these scandals gave Michigan a competitive advantage. If you aren’t going to call a penalty off the field, how can you call a penalty on it.
In this society, there are rules for some, not others. It’s up to the NCAA to put a stop to unequal justice for all. Coaches have been fired for deciding not to cheat.
