Let’s begin by declaring the obvious. The often contemplated, decidedly feasible and very probable. Yet, the seldom flat-out expressed, at least locally.
Jim Harbaugh must go.
While Harbaugh is an outstanding coach, he has led a Michigan football program which has increasingly put the “i” in insular.
The Connor Stalions on-site sign gathering scandal is the point where The Titanic crashed into the iceberg. The bow is vertical to the freezing water, about to plunge. It’s the latest, and most egregious, incident displaying a lack of institutional control, and even worse, disregard about it at the University of Michigan.
The tail, in this case the football program, is wagging the Wolverine.
This season should be Harbaugh’s masterpiece, a reaching of an apex after nine seasons of ups and downs capped by ultimate triumph. The Wolverines are loaded with talented players, genuine top competitors with consummate character. It’s entirely possible Michigan will win the national championship for the first time since 1997. But unfortunately, Michigan’s players have been victimized by poor coaching and administrative leadership.
The deep respect Michigan football garnered over more than a century for “doing it the right way” has evaporated.
Michigan doesn’t have to cheat, or even bend the rules dangerously close to the line, to win. The football program has as many resources as any in the nation.
Yet, Michigan self-imposed a 3-game suspension of Harbaugh for violating the rules during the COVID period. When have you ever heard of a high-level assistant, in this case offensive coordinator Matt Weiss, fired for inappropriately accessing computer accounts? There are other things, too, the mishandling of the Mazi Smith situation and not properly vetting Shemy Schembechler come to mind.
But violating the boundaries of sign stealing is appalling.
It’s like Anderson Hunt sitting in the hot tub of the UNLV booster, the Matt Walsh tapes in the Patriots’ “spy gate,” and the Astros’ infamous garbage can. There seems to be this notion that Michigan, even though it doesn’t need to, nonetheless broke the rules.
Why? Because they are Michigan and apparently think that means they can.
Michigan is being called out for this, by coaches and administrators, and it’s justified.
The NCAA, emboldened by its member institutions, is aggressively investigating Michigan. It would be anything but a shock if the Big Ten does the same after recent meetings between football and athletic directors with the commissioner.
In the process, the success of Michigan’s football program has been tainted. Few are talking about the Wolverines’ brilliant players, and a lot discussing the allegations Michigan cheated.
That’s not the fault of mainstream media, social media or the Wolverines’ rivals. It’s self-inflicted.
Can you imagine the outrage if Harbaugh were signed to a long-term contract extension, even if Michigan captures the College Football Playoff title? Not in regard to the sycophantic UM fans, who are more than willing to defend the indefensible, but the rest of the world? It’s highly unlikely it will be allowed to fly.
Ideally, this ends with some sort of peace treaty with Harbaugh leaving voluntarily for the Raiders or the Bears or some other NFL stop, reducing the penalties Michigan faces so the next coach is more than just a custodian cleaning up his mess.
Considering the difficulty of Michigan’s schedule next season and the loss of high-end player talent without obvious replacements, in addition to this utter embarrassment, it’s the perfect cutoff point for Harbaugh and Michigan.