Jim Harbaugh drama has overshadowed his undefeated Michigan football team

In this corner of the world where maize and blue are the primary colors, the most anticipated matchup this week isn’t Michigan football at Maryland but rather Jim Harbaugh vs. the Big Ten.

Approximately 27 hours before the Wolverines attempt to secure the 1,000th victory in program history Saturday, a judge in Ann Arbor is scheduled to hear arguments on whether to grant a temporary restraining order that would lift the conference’s multi-game suspension of the Wolverines’ coach. The high-stakes showdown in court Friday, with Harbaugh as the headliner, has already overshadowed his undefeated team’s next battle on the field and become a cause célèbre among U-M diehards.

But what else is new during a season when the games played by a national championship contender have taken a backseat to the incessant drama surrounding Harbaugh, a man who has been banned twice from the sideline in the past three months by two different entities?

Even when he is absent, he has managed to suck up all the oxygen and seize the spotlight. That was especially true Saturday after the Wolverines’ rousing 24-15 triumph over Penn State, when players were bombarded with questions about Harbaugh even though he was nowhere to be found inside Beaver Stadium and made no contribution during their latest win.

It wasn’t surprising, however. The story was about Harbaugh because it always is.

[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Hail Yes!" your go-to Michigan Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]

At a program famous for preaching that nothing takes precedence over the team, the team, the team, it’s really the coach, the coach, the coach who is elevated above all. Never has been that more apparent than in the past week, when Harbaugh has become a symbol of resistance for Michigan in its bitter feud with the Big Ten. As the school has mounted its defense to try to slow the response to the sign-stealing conflagration that ignited last month, the polarizing Harbaugh has ironically inspired rare alignment in a university community rife with factions.

“I’m feeling a galvanized Michigan,” Harbaugh crowed Monday.

Perhaps more so than his No. 2-ranked team, he has been the catalyst for the campus-wide unity. School president Santa Ono and the Board of Regents’ most outspoken members have rallied behind him. So too has athletic director Warde Manuel, whose relationship with the coach was rumored as chilly up until recently.

Manuel, a man of few words, stepped out of character last Saturday when he lashed out at Tony Petitti, the Big Ten commissioner who punished Harbaugh and described the sign-stealing operation allegedly run by former football staffer Connor Stalions as an “organized, extensive, years-long in-person advance scouting scheme” designed to “gain an unfair advantage.”

In a blistering statement laced with inflammatory rhetoric, Manuel called Petitti’s ruling “unethical” and “insulting.”

SAY WHAT? Paul Finebaum calls out comments by Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh: 'Sad and pathetic'

According to Harbaugh, Manuel was infuriated to learn of the coach’s suspension last Friday via social media as the team’s plane neared State College, Pennsylvania.

Harbaugh, a pugnacious type, seemed to appreciate his mild-mannered boss’ fury and sudden bellicosity.

“Warde has been 10 toes down,” Harbaugh gushed. “He’s standing right here with us.”

Harbaugh has been bolstered by the support, and the Michigan Man has leaned into his new role as Michigan Martyr.

When he was asked about the hearing he’s expected to attend Friday, Harbaugh played to his base like any good politician. He told a story about taking a civics class in high school, where his big takeaway was that “you’re innocent until proven guilty.”

“Just looking for that opportunity, due process,” he said. “Not looking for special treatment. Not looking for a popularity contest.”

But he sure seems to covet the attention. Because he wasn’t at the game Saturday and couldn’t tell his side of the story at the news conference after the final whistle, he deftly used his forum Monday to appeal to the media by delivering quirky one-liners, a bizarre aside about raising chickens and an amusing explanation for his raspy voice. Some of the quotes he delivered went viral, especially after he exuberantly declared Michigan as America’s Team.

“America loves a team that beats the odds, beats the adversity, overcomes what the naysayers and critics and so-called experts think,” he reasoned.

In a different year, Harbaugh may be right. But the Wolverines’ accomplishments, their run to a 10-0 record and their national title quest have been overshadowed by Harbaugh’s controversies since the preseason. Back then, the specter of a separate NCAA probe into impermissible recruiting and coaching activities hovered over the program.

Harbaugh was caught in the crosshairs as he faced a Level I violation for allegedly misleading investigators. There were breathless updates about a potential negotiated resolution. When that went kaput, the school imposed a three-game suspension that became the hot topic during the first month of the season. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s “Free Harbaugh” shirt grabbed more eyeballs than his highlights on the field.

People seemed more interested in Harbaugh’s Saturday whereabouts during that period than the games themselves. Blake Corum’s inspirational return from his devastating knee injury in 2022, the meteoric rise of receiver Roman Wilson, the total domination wrought by a top-ranked defense and McCarthy’s remarkable play all have been eclipsed by Harbaugh.

“When we look back it it in the years to come, hopefully we can get a 30 for 30 (ESPN documentary) on these Michigan football teams, with all this drama, with all this media stuff going on,” receiver Cornelius Johnson said. “But it’s just all part of the experience.”

With Harbaugh at the helm, it seems unavoidable.

The story of Michigan football this season revolves around him, and the next chapter is set in a Washtenaw County courtroom — the venue where the most hyped battle of Week 12 is scheduled to go down because Harbaugh is smack dab in the middle of it.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jim Harbaugh drama eclipses Michigan football's title run