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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh and the NCAA are in discussions about a so-called negotiated resolution for a four-game suspension in the 2023 season, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.
The looming suspension is tied to an NCAA recruiting investigation into Michigan in which Harbaugh faces a Level I violation, the most serious kind in the NCAA’s purview, for not cooperating with NCAA enforcement.
While the suspension and negotiations with the NCAA have not been finalized, the expectation is that Harbaugh would miss the first four games of Michigan’s season. That includes four home contests in which Michigan is the prohibitive favorite — East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green and Rutgers.
Harbaugh’s attorney, Thomas Mars, said in a statement: “We are continuing to work cooperatively with the NCAA staff on an enforcement matter. At this time, we are not allowed to comment on possible penalties or other aspects of the matter.”
“We are continuing to work cooperatively with the NCAA staff on an enforcement matter,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel added in a statement Tuesday. “At this time, we cannot comment further on any aspect of the matter.”
The alleged recruiting improprieties are tied to alleged violations that took place during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period. The initial investigation into Michigan included just four Level II violations, which are less significant in scope. But the failure to cooperate emerged during the investigation, and in January, there were multiple meetings between Harbaugh and the NCAA in which he refused to admit he lied during the investigation.
According to a source, Harbaugh still has not acknowledged specifically that he misled or lied to NCAA staff investigating the matter. But the negotiated resolution reflects that he did accept responsibility for recruiting violations in the case.
Yahoo Sports first reported Harbaugh’s likely suspension Tuesday and noted it could take up to a few weeks for the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions to finalize the penalty.
The way NCAA rules are currently written, a four-game suspension for a head coach would mean that the coach could not be present “in the facility where the contests are played and have no contact or communication with football coaching staff members or student-athletes during the suspension period.” Per the NCAA’s recent Tennessee ruling, that includes “all coaching activities for the period of time that begins at 12:01 a.m. on the day of each contest and ends at 11:59 p.m. on those days.”
According to the NCAA — which gave a general interpretation of the rules as it cannot comment specifically on Harbaugh or any ongoing investigation — this means that a suspended coach such as Harbaugh would be able to coach practice during the week during the four-game suspension but would not be allowed in the stadium or to have any contact on game days.
The potential severity of the suspension makes it clear that Harbaugh’s actions during the investigation significantly increased the severity of the potential penalty from the initial investigation. And the advanced negotiated resolution discussions are a sign Harbaugh is looking to put the mess behind him while being expected to admit some level of culpability in the matter.
The scope of the investigation and penalties isn’t limited to Harbaugh within the Michigan program. Sources confirmed that two current Michigan assistant coaches, offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore and tight ends coach Grant Newsome, are both expected to be sanctioned in the investigation. Sources indicated to ESPN that those will be significantly lesser in scope than Harbaugh’s expected four-game penalty.
Yahoo also reported that former Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, now with the Baltimore Ravens, is expected to receive a one-year show-cause penalty. Macdonald’s status as a current NFL coach makes the punishment essentially irrelevant.
The news comes amid a boom time for Michigan football, as it reached the College Football Playoff in consecutive seasons. Michigan entered Big Ten media days this week with the expectation that it’ll have its best roster out of the past three seasons, as it returns star quarterback J.J. McCarthy, tailback Blake Corum and a defense that’s considered among the elite in the country.
The past two seasons have been a collegiate renaissance for Harbaugh, who brought the program back from a 2-4 record during the COVID-19-shortened season in 2020 and in 2021 snapped an eight-game losing streak to archrival Ohio State. Michigan has lost to Georgia and TCU in the semifinals of the past two College Football Playoffs.
Harbaugh has flirted strongly with NFL jobs the past two seasons, having significant discussions with both the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings over that time.
Harbaugh is 74-25 during his tenure at Michigan, including going 25-3 overall and 17-1 in Big Ten play over the past two years. Harbaugh went 44-19 as coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014, which included a Super Bowl appearance and three NFC title game appearances.
