Michigan suspends football coach Jim Harbaugh for 3 games to begin 2023 season

Jim Harbaugh informed the Michigan football team prior to Monday's practice that the program has self-imposed a three-game suspension on him to begin the 2023 season amid an on-going NCAA investigation.

Harbaugh, 59, will not be on the sidelines for U-M's nonconference schedule — East Carolina (Sept. 2), UNLV (Sept. 9) and Bowling Green (Sept. 16) — but will return for the Big Ten schedule, which begins the following week (Sept. 23) at home vs. Rutgers.

Harbaugh reportedly faces punishment from the NCAA over the investigation into possible recruiting violations and misleading NCAA investigators.

The Wolverines were served a draft of notice of allegations back in January. Discussion followed which reportedly resulted in a four-game suspension agreement in July. That deal of negotiated resolution fell apart in the final stages on August 11, which left Harbaugh free to coach this season, but facing a future hearing — and potentially a larger punishment.

“While the ongoing NCAA matter continues through the NCAA process, today’s announcement is our way of addressing mistakes that our department has agreed to in an attempt to further that process,” U-M athletic director Warde Manuel said in a release Monday. “We will continue to support coach Harbaugh, his staff, and our outstanding student-athletes.

"Per the NCAA’s guidelines, we cannot comment further until the matter is resolved.”

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Harbaugh's response, in a statement released by the school, didn't have much to say on the suspension: "I will continue to do what I always do and what I always tell our players and my kids at home, 'Don’t get bitter, get better.'"

It is unclear whether Harbaugh was informed of Michigan's decision or whether he was part of a collaborative process, but this is seen as Michigan's effort at appeasing the NCAA, with hopes of avoiding further sanctions in the future.

"The more-or-less logic is, 25% is the standard practice here," the source told the Free Press. "That’s what Michigan believes is reasonable. It’s defensible. If the NCAA wants more, then that’s going to come out at the hearing. Regardless of what’s right for Jim Harbaugh, what’s right for Michigan is to do the right thing.

"This is clearly the right thing based on the facts of what is known."

It's unclear who will serve as the Wolverines' interim coach, Manuel's statement said U-M would announce that later, but even with the self-imposed punishment and previous recruiting sanctions, the story is far from over.

The suspension stems from alleged Level I and II violations the NCAA said Harbaugh and the football program committed. The Level II violations were various recruiting and coaching infractions. The Level I offense, deemed more serious, was from statements Harbaugh made to NCAA, which the organization deemed misleading.

The lack of a deal on the suspension means Harbaugh's case will go through the normal hearing process — likely pushing any punishment imposed by the NCAA into 2024.

Given that the NCAA's Committee on Infractions reportedly rejected the negotiated resolution, it seems unlikely they'll see a imposed three-game punishment as satisfactory.

Harbaugh wasn't the only Michigan coach facing punishment. Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore and tight end coach Grant Newsome were each facing a one-game ban for their involvement in the alleged recruiting infractions, though neither will be suspended to begin 2023.

Michigan is not allowed by NCAA bylaws to comment on the investigation, something Harbaugh, Moore and Newsome have said each time they've been asked.

“As you probably already know, I'm not allowed to talk about any aspect of that ongoing situation,” Harbaugh said July 27 at Big Ten media days in Indianapolis. “I'm with you — I would love to lay it all out there. Nothing to be ashamed of. But now is not that time."

But others spoke instead. That includes NCAA vice president of hearing operations Derrick Crawford, who, in an unusual practice, sent out a statement to dispel any notions or rumors circulating that the investigation was about an alleged off-campus meal.

"The Michigan infractions case is related to impermissible on- and off-campus recruiting during the COVID-19 dead period and impermissible coaching activities," he said. "Not a cheeseburger."

That got Tom Mars, Harbaugh's attorney, fired up enough to publicly respond on social media.

"Pursuant to the NCAA's internal operating procedures, and under threat of penalties, Michigan, the involved coaches, and their lawyers are prohibited from uttering a word about this ongoing case," he wrote. "Yet the NCAA can issue a public statement putting its spin on the case?"

ANALYSIS: With cloudy future, so much is at stake for Michigan football and Jim Harbaugh in 2023

Any further punishment in the Harbaugh case will come from the NCAA, but only once the organization's lengthy process is played out. In the meantime, Harbaugh said he has his full attention on the 2023 season.

How could he not?

U-M opens the season ranked No. 2 in both the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll and the Associated Press poll, coming off a two-year stretch featuring a 25-3 record that includes two wins over Ohio State, two outright Big Ten championships and two College Football Playoff appearances (both losses).

And per Harbaugh, entering his ninth season in Ann Arbor, this is not only the deepest team during his tenure, but the most experienced and farthest along any of his teams have been at this point in fall camp.

Earlier this summer, Harbaugh suggested Michigan could set a record for the most NFL draft picks in a single year come April 2024 (when the draft will be held in downtown Detroit).

The question then becomes, with an expected mass exodus of talent and an NCAA hearing looming ahead of the 2024 season — it's still unclear how the NCAA will react to Michigan's three-game ban, a supposed show of good faith — what does this mean for Harbaugh's future at U-M?

Harbaugh has flirted with a return to the NFL in each of the previous two offseasons.

Over four seasons (2011-14) with the San Francisco 49ers, he posted a 44-19-1 record with three conference championship appearances and a Super Bowl appearance (which he lost to his brother John's Baltimore Ravens). In 2022, Harbaugh interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings, and then earlier this year, he was reportedly pursued by the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers.

"You’re always thinking about it, right? Is he going to Pete Carroll here? I mean, I hope not," the source said, referencing a former Southern Cal coach who jumped to the NFL when his program faced NCAA sanctions. "But everyone knows he wants to win a Super Bowl. So, it’s kind of hard. I don’t think it plays a role in imposing this, but you can’t help but think about what happens down the line.

"But that’s not something (Michigan) can worry about. It can’t be part of the decision-making process; you have to do the right thing.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan suspends Jim Harbaugh for 3 football games