Pushing Back: Michigan Selects Jim Harbaugh as Honorary Captain Amidst NCAA Nonsense

By Beck Silver

After leading the Michigan Wolverines to an undefeated national championship season in 2023, head coach Jim Harbaugh was ready to transition back into the NFL. After a year of questionable accusations from the NCAA, aggressive punishment from the Big Ten Conference, and undeterred success within his program, Harbaugh took a job with the Los Angeles Chargers.

While fans were disappointed to see Harbaugh leave, they’re hopeful about his replacement Sherrone Moore . Moore has already beat the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Ohio State Buckeyes during his stint as interim head coach last season after Harbaugh was suspended by Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti.

Harbaugh likely thought he was done facing criticism and punishment within the football world when he took the HC position with the Chargers, however this is not the case. Earlier this week, the NCAA announced a one-year suspension and four-year show-cause penalty waged against Harbaugh . A show-cause penalty essentially makes it more difficult for a school to hire Jim Harbaugh in any capacity. The institution would have to demonstrate to the NCAA why the hire is necessary. Additionally, even if the institution could get through the NCAA show-cause (which is unlikely), Harbaugh would have to serve a one-year suspension prior to taking over the head coach responsibilities.

The show-cause was allegedly issued in response to the “BurgerGate” scandal which involved impermissible recruiting during the COVID-19 dead period. However, many believe the NCAA was attempting to steal headlines away from the release of Netflix’s “UNTOLD” documentary series , though this idea is speculative. The series includes an episode titled “Sign Stealer” and will likely debunk various embellished storylines and accusations promoted by the NCAA and other entities within College Football last season. This documentary is covering the allegations against former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions and is unrelated to the BurgerGate scandal. The alleged “sign-stealing” scandal has also led to continued harassment from the NCAA as they released a draft notice of allegations against the Wolverines last week as well. It should be noted this draft only outlined level two violations, making the idea of vacating wins or imposing post-season bans quite unlikely (despite what certain fanbases might hope).

Amid the finger-pointing, questionable allegations, and punishments, the Michigan Wolverines have named Jim Harbaugh as the honorary captain for their season-opener against Fresno State. This game kicks off a brutally difficult schedule which includes conference games against Oregon, OSU, Washington and USC and a non-conference game against the Texas Longhorns. The Wolverines will appreciate the support of their former leader on the sideline helping them drown out the noise and start the season on the right foot.

Was this selection a targeted call-out against the NCAA or a coincidence of timing? It’s unconfirmed; however the Wolverines go into this season facing an interesting mix of hatred from various parties and being completely overlooked by others. This is a dangerous combination— but not for the Wolverines. They faced a similar combination last season and used the chip on their shoulder to propel their success. Will they be able to do the same this year?