Michigan football NCAA investigations: What it means for Harbaugh right now

The latest NCAA Investigation into Michigan football's program took another turn Wednesday when the Washington Post reported the sign-stealing probe began when an outside investigative firm shared with the NCAA documents and videos from computer drives maintained and accessed by multiple U-M coaches.

Per the report, Jim Harbaugh had no direct knowledge, however the drives are said to hold information obtained by Connor Stalions — the now-suspended former recruiting analyst, who is the center of the current investigation according to multiple reports — as part of a multi-layered sign-stealing plot.

This situation is not connected to the computer access crimes former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss, according to U-M police.

However, U-M police did tell the Free Press Thursday that it has been working with the FBI "for months" to investigate Weiss, whom the Wolverines fired in January.

"The University of Michigan Police Department has partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding the Matt Weiss unauthorized computer access incident," the police said in an email. "Currently, the investigation is extensive, ongoing and is of the utmost priority. Additional information will be provided when available."

Weiss has been under investigation since late 2022, when he was reported to have committed the cyber crimes between Dec. 21-23, inside team headquarters at Schembechler Hall.

"(The Weiss) investigation is not related to the sign-stealing allegation," said University of Michigan Deputy Police Chief Melissa Overton.

Overton said looking into Weiss, "remains an active, on-going investigation." Overton also said there's no connection between the situation and when University of Michigan's internet was hacked by a third-party system in August.

Who assisted Stallions?

Stallions, 28, went to the Naval Academy from 2013-16 and was an assistant on the football team. According to a Sports Illustrated report, Stallions had a 550-plus page document he dubbed the "Michigan manifesto."

It explained his plan to eventually become the Michigan football head coach, which was the reason he enrolled in the Navy in the first place.

The Lake Orion native began as a volunteer assistant with the U-M football team in 2015, and was officially hired as an "analytics assistant" in the recruiting department in 2022, at a $55,000 salary, according to public documents.

On his since-deleted Linked In page, Stalions' skills included, "identifying the opponent's most likely course of action and most dangerous course of action" and "identifying and exploiting critical vulnerabilities and centers of gravity in the opponent scouting process."

MICHIGAN SIGN-STEALING UPDATES: Latest news in NCAA investigation into Jim Harbaugh's team

But evidence suggests many of his methods may not have been within the rules. On Monday, ESPN reported Stalions has purchased tickets in his own name to more than 30 games at 11 different Big Ten schools over the last three years, and stated he would forward the tickets to accomplices who would attend the games and record the future opponent's sideline with their phones.

Among the tickets purchased was one on each sideline for last week's Penn State at Ohio State game, however ESPN says they ultimately went unclaimed.

If substantiated, Stalions' actions would break an NCAA rule dating back to 1994, which banned in-person, off-campus recruiting for the purpose of scouting future opponents. That's not to mention the use of technology, which goes against a separate NCAA statute that reads, “any attempt to record, either through audio or video means, any signals given by an opposing player, coach or other team personnel is prohibited.”

The Washington Post reports that the "sign stealing operation expected to spend more than $15,000 this season sending scouts to more than 40 games played by 10 opponents."

Text messages in the Sports Illustrated report also show him bragging about relationships with U-M coaches including now special teams coach Jay Harbaugh and linebackers coach Chris Partridge.

Stalions was placed on paid-leave last week and one source close to the situation said U-M has not yet moved to fire Stalions, in part because the exact accusations aren't yet clear.

"Don’t know necessarily formally what he’s accused of," the source said. "Without definitive statements it’s hard to do anything to that extent ... there's been no notice (of allegations) given."

How does this affect Jim Harbaugh?

Two sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the Free Press this has once again put contract extension talks with Harbaugh on hold. While there has been nothing formal in writing, earlier this month the two sides had come closer in negotiations per one source, however the timing was always "going to be difficult" to get it done during the season.

This only adds to that.

Again, the Post story stated "the outside firm did not present any evidence directly linking Harbaugh to the sign-stealing operation" and both sources with knowledge of the situation have told the Free Press separately they have no reason to believe Harbaugh knew about the operation before last week.

However, as one of the source put it, "You can't think you're certain, you have to know you're certain."

Many around the program expected contract negotiations to be further along at this point, but the NCAA's first investigation into U-M's program set things back originally.

Michigan has been under investigation since January, when it was served a notice of allegations for alleged recruiting improprieties, a series of Level II violations. Then, Harbaugh was asked about it by the NCAA and deemed to have "misled them," leading to an alleged Level I violation for not being forthcoming, the most serious of violations.

There was alignment inside U-M's football program prior to the season to reach a negotiated resolution with the NCAA for Harbaugh to serve a four-game suspension, but it fell through in the final stages. Later, U-M imposed its own three-game suspension for Harbaugh, who missed all three nonconference games to begin the season. Harbaugh could face further punishment from the NCAA when the case is finally adjudicated ahead of the 2024 season.

As for now, contract talks are at a standstill.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What Michigan football NCAA investigations mean for Jim Harbaugh