WHY NOW; AGAIN MICHIGAN ASSISTANCE COACH HAS FIRED OUT O.

Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, is suspended for the remainder of the regular season.
When Ohio State plays the Wolverines in Week 13, Jim Harbaugh won’t be sitting on the sidelines.

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is anticipated to serve a suspension that will last the remainder of the regular season, as reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Throughout the week, Harbaugh is permitted to lead the team.

In order to enable Harbaugh to coach this Saturday against No. 10 Penn State, Michigan is anticipated to request a temporary restraining order, according to The Action Network.

On November 25 at Noon E.T., Michigan Stadium will host a game between the No. 3 Wolverines and No. 1 Ohio State that could determine the Big Ten East division.

The Big Ten fine was imposed after Commissioner Tony Petitti, in accordance with the sportsmanship policy, sent Michigan a notice of disciplinary action “in the event it becomes clear that an institution is likely to be subjected to” penalties.

The NCAA’s investigation into the sign-stealing scandal, which allegedly started in 2021, is what led to the suspension. The inquiry got underway on October 19. Connor Stalions, a recruiting analyst for U-M, was designated as a person of interest one day later. The Wolverines broke NCAA regulations under Stalions by using a system in which they would self-scout potential opponents.

According to sources, the Stalions spent $15,000 on travel and ticket expenses for the 2023 season, and they bought seats for over 35 games at 17 different stadiums. Last month, Stalions, who had been placed on program suspension, announced his resignation.

As part of the NCAA’s investigation into recruiting violations during the COVID dead period, Harbaugh, who has guided the Wolverines to back-to-back Big Ten title championships and College Football Playoff berths, previously served a self-imposed three-game suspension at the beginning of the regular season. As of right now, the NCAA has not penalized Harbuagh for his Level I infraction of lying to investigators or refusing to cooperate.

The typical Big Ten policy was to pay a $10,000 fine in addition to serving a maximum suspension of two games. But according to ESPN’s Heather Dinich, the Big Ten could impose a harsher penalty with approval from an executive board.

In order to talk more about the situation, Petitti traveled to Ann Arbor last week to meet with Santa Ono, the president of the school. This past week, UM athletic director Warde Manuel chose to stay behind and take care of program-related matters rather than travel to Grapevine, Texas, to meet with the College Football Playoff Committee.

Presidents, athletic directors, and other coaches put pressure on Petitti earlier this month to punish Michigan for the sign-stealing incident.

Both committee chairman Boo Corrigan and CFP executive director Bill Hancock stated that the committee will keep an eye on what transpires on the field when it comes to the College Football Playoff. The committee sees this as “an NCAA issue, not a CFP issue,” according to Corrigan.

Next week, the Wolverines will play in Maryland before coming back to Ann Arbor for the season finale.

In the event that the Big Ten upholds Harbaugh’s suspension for Saturday’s State College game against the Nittany Lions, it is unknown who will take over as interim head coach.