We're innocent: Jim Harbaugh's post-championship quote induces CFB eyerolls

At long last, Jim Harbaugh is a national championship-winning head coach. But that doesn't make him any more likable.

After beating Washington in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, the Michigan Wolverines head coach dropped a quote that had half of CFB Twitter rolling its eyes.

"We're innocent. We stood strong and tall because we knew we were innocent," Harbaugh said at the postgame press conference after his players were asked about playing through the off-field distractions of a sign-stealing scandal.

No offense to Harbaugh, but no one should take a coach who was twice suspended for breaking NCAA rules this season at his word on that one.

Jim Harbaugh's innocent talk is cringey

There is a mountain of evidence, collected by literally every other program in the conference, supporting the allegations that a Wolverines staffer, at the very least, was coordinating a nationwide illegal sign-stealing scheme for the benefit of the team in Ann Arbor. Michigan fired alleged sign-stealer Connor Stallions. They fired another assistant coach for an infraction related to the investigation. They accepted a three-game suspension from the Big Ten for Harbaugh during the most important stretch of the campaign.

They are not innocent.

The individual players who weren't party to the activities of the staff are innocent. But the program at large certainly isn't.

Harbaugh's comments rubbed much of CFB Twitter the wrong way.

Michigan's players overcame a whole lot of distractions created by the adults in the room this season. They deserve all the praise for coming together and achieving their goals. And that question was directed towards them. They were more than capable of answering it. Instead, their head coach jumped in to cause a stir.

Harbaugh can talk about innocence as much as he wants. He wouldn't be the first guilty person to do so.