Big Ten coaches push conference to act on Michigan cheating scandal

Big Ten coaches are furious over Michigan's sign-stealing scandal and want conference commissioner Tony Petitti to do something about it. It is untrodden territory for everyone involved.
Tony Petitti, Big Ten
Tony Petitti, Big Ten / Michael Hickey/GettyImages
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To say the Big Ten coaches are furious at Michigan for alleged sign-stealing would be such a gross understatement. On Wednesday, the league's football coaches met with new Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti to voice their frustrations about all that Michigan is supposedly doing. Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh was on the call for league-centric matters before he quietly recused himself.

ESPN's Pete Thamel is about as tapped into the wonderful world of college football as anyone, so when he has got the scoop, listen up. According to his five sources who were familiar with what went on in the video conference call, the hour-long discussion without Harbaugh in the room was seen as "heated" and "intense." Obviously, most of the league's other coaches want Michigan to be punished.

Petitti may be new to the job, but the Big Ten football coaches want him to do something about this.

Here are some of the things Thamel's sources had to say about the call and Michigan cheating.

"Collectively, the coaches want the Big Ten to act -- right now. What are we waiting on? We know what happened."

Some coaches said the Big Ten didn't seem to get how big of an advantage Michigan had over others.

"People don't understand the seriousness of it. How it truly impacted the game plan. To truly know if it's a run or a pass, people don't understand how much of an advantage that was for Michigan."

Another of Thamel's sources believes that everything Michigan has done since 2021 "is tainted."

"Every game they played is tainted."

This call was about the Big Ten trying to demonstrate leadership. Instead, it showed cluelessness.

"I don't think the Big Ten understood how upset everyone was. The tenor of the call was asking the Big Ten to show leadership -- the conference and the presidents. An unprecedented violation of the rules would require unprecedented action from the Big Ten."

Preventing Michigan from playing in the Big Ten Championship is something Petitti and the other university presidents could conceivably vote on. Then again, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee had no issues ranking the Wolverines as the No. 3 team in the nation behind No. 2 Georgia and the arch-rival Ohio State Buckeyes, who came in at No. 1. This is going to get so nasty, is it not?

Big Ten leadership failed to understand coaches' Michigan frustrations

With Harbaugh having already served a three-game self-imposed suspension over some burgers, as well as his combative personality to begin with, some coaches in the Big Ten are just plain sick of the guy. If he were to leave Michigan for the NFL, he would have many suitors, including jobs like the Las Vegas Raiders vacancy, as well as a few others like the Chicago Bears or Washington Commanders.

To me, I think the outrage and what the punishment will be will not be one and the same. The Big Ten could do something, or just let the NCAA take its sweet time in conducting its own investigation. As far as the College Football Playoff is concerned, the Selection Committee will do what it is designed to do and put the four best teams into a four-team tournament so that those competitors can have it.

Overall, the longer this goes on and remains unresolved will continue to be a bad look for the Big Ten. If Michigan really did gain a decided edge over its competition, in an illegal manner, then yes, the Wolverines should be punished for their actions. However, just because pretty much all of the other Big Ten coaches are furious at Michigan does not guarantee that the Big Ten will do anything about it.

Selection Sunday is a little more than a month out, so buckle up. It is going to be a bumpy ride, alright.

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