Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh denies allegations against Michigan staff in NCAA notice of allegations

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has been facing questions about the advanced scouting and sign-stealing scandal that has plagued Michigan’s football program since last season.

Michigan is awaiting an official notice of allegations from the NCAA regarding its knowledge of executive Connor Stalions’ scheme. A draft of the notice was obtained by ESPN and the document names Harbaugh alongside current Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore, former linebackers coach Chris Partridge and executives Stalions and Denard Robinson.

When asked about the report during a press conference on Monday, Harbaugh maintained that he knew nothing of Stalion’s activities and that he had not committed any of the allegations in the draft.

“Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal. I was raised with that lesson,” Harbaugh told reporters, including ESPN’s Kris Rihm. “I raised my family with that lesson. I preached that lesson to the teams I coached.

“Nobody’s perfect. When you stumble, you apologize and make it right,” he added. “Today I make no apologies. I had no part, knowledge or complicity in those allegations. So for me it’s back to work and attacking with a fervor that humanity has never seen.”

During this past season, his ninth in Ann Arbor, Harbaugh maintained that he knew nothing of the advanced scouting and sign stealing that Stalions allegedly orchestrated. Michigan went 15-0 and won the College Football Playoff national championship.

Harbaugh, Partridge, Robinson and Stalions were charged with Level 1 violations, which are considered the most serious by the NCAA, showing a “pattern of noncompliance within the football program.”

According to ESPN, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale, both former assistants on Harbaugh’s staff at Michigan, also committed recruiting violations during the draft.

Harbaugh was suspended by the Big Ten for Michigan’s final three regular-season games for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy in connection with the allegations against the program. (The school also handed Harbaugh a three-game suspension at the start of the season for alleged violations of its recruiting rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.)

The draft states that Harbaugh could face a show-cause penalty that could limit his employment if he returns to college sports.

The document provides no evidence of Harbaugh’s knowledge or participation in Stalion’s activities.