Jim Harbaugh was viewed as a home-run hire by Michigan back in 2015.
He checked all the boxes. As a Michigan alum and player under Bo Schembechler, he understood "The Michigan Way." As a coach, he had guided San Diego and Stanford to power, before leading the 49ers to a Super Bowl and three straight NFC championship games.
The Michigan turnaround seemed to happen almost overnight. The Wolverines went from 5-7 in 2014, to 10-3 in 2015 with a win in the Citrus Bowl. While it took Harbaugh some time to take Michigan to the next step from there, he eventually guided the program to a win over rival Ohio State, a Big Ten title and a trip to the College Football Playoff in 2021, then turned around and did it again in 2022.
Through much of the 2023 season, the Wolverines appeared on course to go even a step further. Michigan looked like the most dominant team in the country, with many predicting a national championship for Michigan, its first since sharing a title in 1997 and its first time ever winning a championship game.
MORE: Latest updates on Michigan's sign-stealing scandal
But the 2023 season for Harbaugh and the Wolverines has now been marred by an investigation into sign-stealing allegations, a scandal that follows closely on the heels of another of alleged recruiting violations and lying to the NCAA during its investigation. His program has also come under further scrutiny when former quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was fired after the 2022 season amid an investigation into computer access crimes.
Over the years, he's also had his fair share of other moments that have drawn the ire of either other programs or the public, though that were not ultimately met by any disciplinary action from the Big Ten or the NCAA.
Here's a look back at Harbaugh's timeline of college football controversies.
Jim Harbaugh timeline of trouble
Satellite camps
It didn't take Harbaugh long at Michigan to start stirring up some controversy. Satellite camps, which were camps hosted by high schools and some small colleges where higher-level college coaches were invited in as guest coaches, were recruiting hotbeds where plenty of top recruits would visit during the summers. At those camps, college coaches would interact with the recruits, so long as it was past a 50-mile radius of that college coach's program.
Harbaugh quickly became the king of satellite camps. In 2015, the Wolverines planned to visit nine in June. In 2016, his program was lined up to visit 34 in June alone. The practice frustrated coaches in the ACC and SEC, which faced conference rules keeping them inside the 50-mile radius of their facilities, limiting their ability to participate in satellite camps.
"Anybody can have a camp now and if they have a prospect, they can have a camp," Alabama coach Nick Saban said back in 2016. "Then you're expected to go to that camp and then they can use you to promote that camp because Ohio State's coming, Alabama's coming, whoever else is coming. Somebody sponsors the camp. They pay them money. What do they do with the money? Then who makes sure the kid paid to go to the camp? I mean, this is the wild, wild West at its best because there's no specific guidelines relative to how we're managing or controlling this stuff."
Harbaugh pushed back on Saban's comments.
"Amazing" to me- Alabama broke NCAA rules & now their HC is lecturing us on the possibility of rules being broken at camps. Truly "amazing."
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) June 1, 2016
The NCAA issued a ban on satellite camps in 2016, but the ban was rescinded less than a month later. However, a year later, a limit was placed on the camps that allows FBS coaches to go to camps in just 10 days in June and July. Coaches also can only work at camps if they're run or partnered with an NCAA school.
This was not an issue in which Harbaugh faced any direct action, and he was certainly not the only coach that used satellite camps for recruiting advantages. However, he was the most prominent to use them and drew plenty of ire from SEC and ACC coaches.
MORE: What to know about Jim Harbaugh's Michigan coaching history
Controversial comments
Harbaugh has been known for many things during his time as a coach in college football and the NFL. Having a filter is not one of them. He never shied away from making bold statements before he arrived at Michigan, and that hasn't changed since he arrived in Ann Arbor.
Several of his comments made have been directed toward other coaches, particularly those of arch-rival Ohio State. Back in 2019, Harbaugh gave a bit of a two-sided appraisal of former coach Urban Meyer's career.
"Urban Meyer's had a winning record," Harbaugh said. "A really phenomenal record everywhere he's been. But also, controversy follows everywhere he's been."
When Michigan beat Ohio State for the first time under Harbaugh in 2021, snapping his 0-5 drought against the Buckeyes, Harbaugh then took aim at Ryan Day, Meyer's successor at Ohio State.
“Some people are born on third base and act like they’ve hit a triple," Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh later walked back the comment on Day somewhat, saying it was made only as a response to Day's preview of the game by saying Ohio State was going to "hang 100 on them."
“It was definitely a counterpunch by me, to the comment that they were going to hang 100 on us, etcetera. Kind of like Sugar Ray Robinson,” Harbaugh later said. “But, the fact is I think Ryan Day’s a great coach. I think he is a tremendous football coach, truth be known, that’s how I feel. You can see it week after week, you can see it with his team, as good a coach as there is in football.”
But Harbaugh's comments have not just been limited to coaching. He's also been public about his feelings on several social issues, ranging from Colin Kaepernick's kneeling to his stance on abortion. Kaepernick, who Harbaugh coached with the 49ers, became a controversial figure in the NFL for kneeling during the national anthem because he did not want to show pride for a nation that oppresses people of color.
On Kaepernick in 2016, Harbaugh said, "I acknowledge his right to do that. I don't respect the motivation or the action," before later walking back the comments in a tweet.
I apologize for misspeaking my true sentiments. To clarify, I support Colin's motivation. It's his method of action that I take exception to
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) August 29, 2016
In the years since, Harbaugh has been a major defender for Kaepernick, making him an honorary captain at Michigan's spring game in 2022 and even reportedly having interest in bringing him on as a quarterbacks coach if he was hired in the NFL again to be a head coach.
Harbaugh also marched in a rally against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
"All injustice should be confronted and punished. It has to be equal and fair to all, and no one can be above the law," Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh has been outspoken on his views on abortion. In 2022, he spoke at an anti-abortion fundraising event, where he suggested that if a player were to get someone pregnant and it wasn't planned, that that player should go through with it. He added that if needed, he and his wife, Sarah, would "take that baby."
"Let's discuss it," Harbaugh told ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski. "I've told [them] the same thing I tell my kids, boys, the girls, same thing I tell our players, our staff members. I encourage them if they have a pregnancy that wasn't planned, to go through with it, go through with it. Let that unborn child be born, and if at that time, you don't feel like you can care for it, you don't have the means or the wherewithal, then Sarah and I will take that baby."
NCAA 'cheeseburger' suspension
Harbaugh had run a clean ship at Michigan since his hiring. But he started to find himself in some NCAA trouble starting in 2020.
Though the allegations did not come to light until much later than 2020, Harbaugh was accused of having met with recruits during the 2020 COVID-19 recruiting dead period. The NCAA reportedly found a receipt for cheeseburgers from The Brown Jug, which was allegedly a meal between Harbaugh and a pair of recruits. The meeting was held during a time period when coaches were prohibited from recruiting.
Further, it was reported Harbaugh "wasn't completely honest" when he was confronted by the NCAA with the receipts, which was what drew the more severe penalty from the NCAA.
The incident coming to light caused many to decry the investigation as the NCAA having it out for Harbaugh, with many saying he was being investigated over a cheeseburger.
However, in a rare public statement, NCAA vice president of hearing operations Derrick Crawford rebuked the claims it was over a burger, saying that it was the timing of the visit and Harbaugh's attempt to cover it up.
"The Michigan infractions case is related to impermissible on- and off-campus recruiting during the COVID-19 dead period and impermissible coaching activities — not a cheeseburger," Crawford said.
The NCAA and Michigan had reportedly agreed to a four-game suspension for Harbaugh. However, the NCAA wound up rejecting the plan and said the investigation was still ongoing. Michigan self-imposed a three-game suspension to Harbaugh in the hopes of bringing on a lighter punishment from the NCAA once its investigation is completed.
"It is not uncommon for the [committee on infractions] to seek clarification on key facts prior to accepting," Crawford continued in the statement. "The COI may also reject an NR [negotiated resolution] if it determines that the agreement is not in the best interests of the Association or the penalties are not reasonable. If the involved parties cannot resolve a case through the negotiated resolution process, it may proceed to a hearing, but the committee believes cooperation is the best avenue to quickly resolve issues."
Given that the NCAA rejected a four-game suspension, it is possible that Harbaugh will face a harsher penalty in the future when the NCAA completes its investigation.
Matt Weiss investigation
Weiss has been around the Harbaughs for a long time. He rose up with the Ravens and John Harbaugh starting in 2009 as assistant to the head coach, and worked his way up to being the running backs coach in 2019-20. Jim Harbaugh then brought him over to Michigan in 2021 as quarterbacks coach and he was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2022.
Following the 2022 season, in January 2023, Weiss was placed on administrative leave with the school investigating "a report of computer access crimes" that took place in December at Michigan's football facility, per ESPN. It wasn't much later that Weiss was fired by Michigan.
“After a review of University policies, the athletic department has terminated the appointment of co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss," Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. "Consistent with university policy, we will have no further comment on this personnel matter.”
According to the Detroit News, a Michigan employee told police university email accounts had been accessed without authorization from the football offices at Schembechler Hall, and the police log reported that it was "found that a crime may have been committed."
In February, it was reported Michigan told Weiss it had evidence he "inappropriately accessed" email accounts, per the Associated Press. ESPN reported in October that the FBI was joining the University of Michigan police department's investigation into Weiss, which is still ongoing.
Michigan sign-stealing scandal
Lastly, we arrive at the big one, the one that has dominated headlines all season: the sign-stealing scandal.
Back on Oct. 19, Yahoo Sports reported the NCAA was investigating allegations that Michigan had engaged in in-person scouting in an effort to steal signs. Teams are allowed to steal signs in college football — in fact, it is very common — however, they are prohibited from sending personnel to scout future opponents and they're not allowed to use electronics to assist in stealing signs, beyond the all-22 footage provided to coaching staffs before games.
From there, the story quickly evolved. The NCAA's investigation was confirmed by the Big Ten, with the timeline of possible events having potentially gone back to 2021. In addition to scouting future Big Ten opponents, it was reported Michigan was being investigated for scouting possible College Football Playoff opponents.
At the center of the investigation was off-field analyst Connor Stalions, who was alleged to have created a network where he would buy tickets for games of future opponents and send people to those games, where they would film the opposing sidelines and review them to break down the signals. Multiple tickets were found to have tickets purchased by Stalions. And in another weird twist, it was believed by some that Stalions was seen on the sidelines of Central Michigan wearing CMU gear as the Chippewas played Michigan State. That part of the investigation is, as is everything else, ongoing.
MORE: Who is Connor Stalions?
Stalions was suspended by Michigan in late October, and was fired in early November.
The story has just kept getting more intriguing as it has gone on in the short time period since the investigation began. There were rumors that Day and his family were connected to the Big Ten's and NCAA's investigation into the allegations, but those rumors have proven to be unfounded to date. It was also reported that Michigan's signs were stolen by Ohio State and Rutgers in 2022, who then shared the signs with Purdue ahead of the Big Ten Championship between the Wolverines and Boilermakers. Day denied sharing play signals with Purdue.
Yahoo Sports reported the NCAA shared its findings with the Big Ten, and noted there was not a connection between in-person scouting and recording of opponents' sidelines to Harbaugh, though the conference has still considered suspending Harbaugh due to the scandal still happening under his watch.
It has been widely reported that Big Ten coaches have pressured commissioner Tony Pettiti to discipline Michigan during the 2023 season, while Michigan argued in a letter to the commissioner that the conference needs to wait for the NCAA investigation to conclude and for Michigan to have the benefit of due process before a punishment is handed down.
And on the Friday before the game with Penn State, the Big Ten announced it would be suspending Harbaugh for the final three games of the season, allowing him to coach during the week at practice but prohibiting him from coaching on the sidelines on game days. It also noted that it could still penalize Harbaugh further if more information comes to light that warrants additional punishments.
The release noted that the conference has not received any “information indicating that Head Football Coach Harbaugh was aware of the impermissible nature of the sign-stealing scheme.” However, it described the punishment as a sanction against Michigan rather than Harbaugh. It said the punishment allows the student-athletes to continue competing while indicating Harbaugh's position as embodying the "University for purposes of its football program."
