Jim Harbaugh facing 4-game suspension over NCAA violations

The NCAA and Michigan are reportedly working towards a resolution that would suspend head coach Jim Harbaugh for the first four games of the season.

The 2023 college football season is nearly upon us, and predictions are going to begin to fly as to which teams will win their conferences, who will make it to the College Football Playoff, or who will win the National Championship. For the Michigan Wolverines, the expectations are high once again, after they made it to the Playoff, but got eliminated in the semifinals.

But, the Wolverines are expected to be without head coach Jim Harbaugh for the first month of the season.

According to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, Michigan and the NCAA are working towards a four-game suspension for Harbaugh for alleged false statements stemming from recruiting violations that occurred during the 2020 season.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh facing four-game suspension due to recruiting violations

Per Dellenger, the NCAA enforcement staff alleged that Harbaugh was being dishonest about the violations when he initially met with investigators. Dellenger also notes that Harbaugh refused to admit that he lied to the NCAA staff.

The violations stem from Harbaugh and the Michigan football program allegedly making contact with recruits during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period. Specifically, they met with two recruits, sent text messages to a recruit past the allowable time period, coaches watching workouts on Zoom, and had analysts participate in on-field activities during practice.

The suspension has yet to be finalized as of this writing.

Former Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald is expected to receive a one-year show-cause penalty, which means that if he were to get hired by another college during that span, they would pick up the penalties. Macdonald is currently the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens.

Wolverines offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore and tight ends coach Grant Newsome are also expected to receive sanctions, per Dellenger.

This past offseason, Harbaugh interviewed with the Denver Broncos for their vacant head coaching position. Harbaugh announced shortly afterward that he would stay at Michigan. The Broncos ultimately traded for Sean Payton to be their new coach.

If the suspension is to be finalized, Harbaugh would be out for Michigan’s first four games of the season against East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green, and Rutgers. All of those games will be held at home at Michigan Stadium.