Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh shows again he can't get out of own way with latest misstep

INDIANAPOLIS — In a sport rife with shady actors and scoundrels willing to do whatever it takes to win, Jim Harbaugh went out of his way to present himself as a principled man determined to follow the letter of the law.  

At the outset of his Michigan football coaching tenure, he told reporters he took the rules “very seriously.” Years later, he grumbled to an author that it was “hard to beat the cheaters” lurking elsewhere in the polluted waters of college football. Harbaugh wanted everyone to believe he was more ethical than his competitors, that he won the right way when others cut corners and blew past stop signs with willful disregard.

So, it is rather ironic that Harbaugh, of all people, is facing the real prospect of a four-game suspension this upcoming season as part of a negotiated resolution with the NCAA after it alleged he oversaw a program that committed multiple violations and then misled investigators about what took place. That last offense – the charge of dishonesty --  was by far the worst, giving the widely-mocked governing body a rare chance to make an example of a high-profile figure and prove it is not quite as feckless as it may seem.

What makes it so mind-boggling is that Harbaugh brought this expected punishment on himself due to arrogance and stubbornness – the character flaws that have triggered his self-destructive tendencies in the past.

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From his unpleasant divorce with the San Francisco 49ers in 2014 to his audacious job interview with the Minnesota Vikings on National Signing Day in February 2022 to the public relations disaster that ensued after Shemy Schembechler was briefly added to his support staff this offseason, Harbaugh has periodically shot himself in the foot due to hubris and left collateral damage all around him.

It’s a shame, really.

Harbaugh, after all, is a born winner and a gifted program builder who can coach his special brand of football to maximum effect. Under his watch, the Wolverines are currently enjoying a boom cycle that has featured 25 victories in their past 28 games, two College Football Playoff berths and a transfer of power where Michigan now rules the Big Ten instead of Ohio State. Just this past week, the media covering the league picked U-M to win its third straight conference title and continue its remarkable rebirth that Harbaugh helped inspire. It was a logical choice. Some consider this team to be Harbaugh’s best yet and a serious national championship contender because of its potent mix of experience and talent packed within the margins of the roster.

“There's momentum there,” Harbaugh said in June. “There's a real cultural momentum taking place.”

Nothing, to this point, has derailed it even as Harbaugh has tempted fate with his impetuous choices. His flirtation with the Vikings caused Michigan to stumble a bit on the recruiting trail before its 2023 class finished 17^th in 247Sports’ composite rankings.

The harm of it all wasn’t debilitating by any means. But it made some wonder why it needed to be incurred in the first place, especially when he again entertained a return to the pros earlier this offseason and threatened to destabilize a program that was in such a good place.

This latest episode with the NCAA raises the same kind of questions and bewilderment.

While few expect the Wolverines to suffer much, if at all, should Harbaugh be barred from the sideline when they face East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green and Rutgers in September, his absence and the reason for it could cast a pall over their season. It will also give ammunition to Michigan’s biggest critics and become an awkward aside if the Wolverines achieve a storybook ending. The image of a great team could be tarnished by their sanctioned leader.

It is so unnecessary, too.

Then again, the drama surrounding Harbaugh tends to be that way.  

“I would tell my coaches never, never go out and start pointing the finger at someone else because, in this business, you’re pointing every finger on your hand back at yourself,” Ohio University professor David Ridpath, a former compliance director at Weber State and Marshall, once told the Free Press.

Sometimes, they may even pull the trigger that leads to a self-inflicted wound. That’s what happened to Harbaugh. The same person who had the temerity to call out others for rule-breaking now faces the NCAA’s wrath in a way few of his peers have or ever well. It would seem stranger than fiction if the central character in this saga weren’t Harbaugh. But when considering the man in full, it all makes sense. Even when he is cruising along, Michigan’s coach can’t seem to get out of his own way because he insists on having the last word.