The Michigan Wolverines football program is facing some serious allegations of an alleged elaborate sign-stealing operation. And it seems like this scandal will impact Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh in a huge way financially.
The scandal stems from a member of the Wolverines recruiting department named Connor Stalions, who is being accused of scouting future opponents in person, which has been deemed illegal by the NCAA since 1994.
Stalions has since been suspended indefinitely by the Michigan program, but there are obviously far harsher sanctions potentially coming for Wolverines football as a whole, which could include Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh has denied knowledge of any sign-stealing going on under his watch, and stated that he will cooperate in the NCAA’s investigation on the matter. However, it seems like regardless of whether Michigan is found guilty of these allegations or not, this scandal will negatively affect Harbaugh in a big way.
According to The Athletic, Michigan had been working towards a huge contract extension with Harbaugh before this scandal emerged. The extension was reportedly supposed to be done by the end of the month, and would have made him the highest-paid head coach in the Big Ten. Those talks have since been put on hold due to this investigation the program is now facing.
This is not the first NCAA investigation that Harbaugh has been involved in as of late, so it makes sense that the Michigan program may now be cautious with extending him.
It is also interesting because it could bring back the possibility of an NFL return back on the table, especially if Michigan is indeed hit with massive sanctions due to this scandal.
Regardless, it seems like the Michigan program is in absolute ruin at the moment… And Harbaugh is not exempt from that one bit.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.