Sign-stealing scandal reinforces Jim Harbaugh's polarizing image as Michigan football's coach

Jim Harbaugh’s news conference Monday resembled a 15-minute goal-line stand. The media in his midst kept coming at him, trying to find an opening that would get him to crack and provide some insight about the sign-stealing scandal that has gripped his Michigan football program.

But the notoriously stubborn coach wouldn’t budge, putting up his best defense and deflecting one probing question after another. At separate points during this wearying struggle, Harbaugh was asked what he would say both to the Michigan supporters that have remained in the team’s corner amidst all the controversy as well as the alumni who have been chagrinned by the allegations levied against their school.

Harbaugh’s response was virtually the same.

“Everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” he replied.

Harbaugh’s face was inscrutable as he made that remark, the blank expression of a man who has become a Rorschach ink blot to sports fans all over the country. Long before the Wolverines were accused of spy games, some saw him as an innocent disruptor guided by principle in college football’s den of iniquity. Others formed an entirely different impression of Harbaugh, viewing him as a sanctimonious nuisance with the same win-at-all-costs mindset held by many of his peers.

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Harbaugh became a polarizing figure soon after Michigan lured him home to Ann Arbor in December 2014 to resurrect the ailing Wolverines. He challenged the establishment by launching an unprecedented venture with a satellite-camp tour that became the talk of the sport. He brazenly hired people connected to the prospects he had courted. He took his team down to IMG Academy for spring break, practicing at the prep sports powerhouse.

He kept pushing the envelope, which drew praise from his supporters who thought he cleverly stretched the rules to his advantage and scorn from his legion of critics who claimed he was violating the spirit of those same guidelines.

No matter what Harbaugh did at the onset of his tenure, he elicited a fervid reaction.

He was a lightning rod then and he certainly is one now as he finds himself in the middle of an imbroglio that is so sensational it could easily be mistaken as a message-board poster’s fever dream. Reports placed suspended staffer Connor Stalions at the center of a spy ring that allegedly sent agents all over the Big Ten and beyond to illicitly record the signals of future opponents. In-person advanced scouting had been banned since 1994, prompting the NCAA to open an investigation after an outside firm, according to the Washington Post, passed along evidence of the scheme that it obtained from computer drives accessed by multiple Michigan coaches.

The Post’s revelation suggested there was a conspiracy afoot at Schembechler Hall. But whether Harbaugh was involved or even aware of the plot remains unclear.

On both counts, Harbaugh insisted he was not, when he issued a statement after the news of the scandal first surfaced.

“I do not condone or tolerate anyone doing anything illegal or against NCAA rules,” he said Oct. 19.

Harbaugh’s backers were quick to believe him.

His detractors remained suspicious, questioning whether he deserved the benefit of the doubt after his program had already been implicated in an investigation into impermissible recruiting and coaching activities. That probe uncovered a series of minor violations and led to Harbaugh being hit with a major one for allegedly not cooperating during the inquiry.

In August, the school stepped in and suspended him the first three games to mitigate the severity of potential future sanctions. The punishment became a topic of debate. The anti-Harbaugh crowd claimed it was not nearly enough. The pro-Harbaugh contingent thought it was way too harsh.

“It’s more like a baseball bat to the kneecaps, or to the shoulder,” Harbaugh said.

The comment, which drew eyerolls from his skeptics, resonated with his base — an army of supporters that has grown in numbers since his Wolverines launched their 33-3 run that has elapsed over the past three seasons. The winning rehabilitated Harbaugh’s image that was tarnished during Michigan’s 2020 downturn and recreated the cult of personality that formed right after he came back to his alma mater nine years ago. Even in the wake of the sign-stealing brouhaha, a vocal subset of Michigan fans are calling for the administration to stand behind Harbaugh and reward him with a richer contract.

Those who can’t stand Harbaugh balk at that idea, wondering how the school can continue to tolerate a coach who has flirted with other job openings each of the past two offseasons and leads a program that attracts one negative headline after another.

As senior receiver Roman Wilson said Monday, “Ever since I’ve been here … it’s kind of always been like this. Something is always going on.”

That means Harbaugh, by virtue of his position at the top of the organization, is smack dab in the middle of it. It comes with the territory. And Harbaugh seems determined to protect the scorched patch of turf he presides over.

That was evident Monday, when he wouldn’t give in as the media encroached. Harbaugh remained steadfast, knowing that everyone has formed their opinion of him anyway. Depending on the eye of the beholder, it was a stand worthy of admiration or contempt.

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

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Opinions on Jim Harbaugh were formed long before latest controversy