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NFL won’t let Jim Harbaugh use league to avoid suspension

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh's college football program is being investigated for sign-stealing. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

NFL won’t let Jim Harbaugh use league to avoid possible NCAA suspension

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 10/30/23

Many assume it’s a foregone conclusion that University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh would make the jump to the NFL should the NCAA punish him as part of its investigation into sign stealing by a Wolverines staffer.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, the league has no intention of letting Harbaugh take an NFL coaching opportunity as a way to avoid any penalty handed to him by the governing body of college athletics.

“The NFL is unlikely to make itself a safe harbor for Harbaugh to escape what could be substantial NCAA discipline, league sources say, raising the strong possibility Harbaugh would need to serve some or all of any possible suspension he could face in college if he returns to the pros,” Rapoport and Pelissero said.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Michigan had rescinded Harbaugh’s contract extension after news of the alleged sign stealing broke, although Harbaugh himself refuted the report on Monday.

Jim Harbaugh says reports about his contract being "rescinded" are not accurate. He also took several questions about the ongoing NCAA investigaton.#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/HxljIEls7B
— The Winged Helmet (@TWH_Chris) October 30, 2023

The 59-year-old coach is already facing potential NCAA discipline for his role in Michigan’s alleged recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period, and pending the outcome of the NCAA’s sign-stealing investigation, Harbaugh could be looking at a lengthy suspension — one that could include a full-season ban.

Harbaugh has denied knowing anything about Michigan staffer Connor Stalions, who’s the center of the NCAA’s investigation for reportedly buying tickets to all of Michigan’s Big Ten opponents and a few non-conference opponents with the believed intent of stealing signs from the opposing team’s sideline.

Some have suggested rather than sit out any period of time, Harbaugh could simply take a head coaching job with an NFL team as a way to thumb his nose at the NCAA and avoid having to take any accountability for his actions.

Rapoport and Pelissero cited the league’s handling of former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel as a precedent for how it would likely handle the Harbaugh situation. Tressel was suspended by the school for the first five games of the 2011 season for NCAA violations in which multiple players traded memorabilia for cash and tattoos.

He subsequently resigned and took a job as a game-day consultant with the Indianapolis Colts, and the league ruled that he had to serve his five-game suspension before he could begin working in the NFL.

“There isn't a bylaw governing the matter but … that precedent could prove relevant for Harbaugh, who interviewed for the Vikings and Broncos head coaching jobs the past two offseasons, respectively,” Rapoport and Pelissero stated.

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