Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will no longer serve as an honorary captain for the Wolverines' season opener as he continues to prepare for his first season as coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore said Tuesday that Harbaugh called Monday to say he won't be attending Michigan's Aug. 31 game against Fresno State, when the team will celebrate its national championship at Michigan Stadium. According to Moore, Harbaugh said he wanted to remain focused on his first Chargers team and not take away from the 2024 Wolverines team.
The Chargers open the season on September 8 against Las Vegas.
Harbaugh's parents, Jack and Jackie Harbaugh, will replace him at the opener on Aug. 31. Jack Harbaugh was an assistant coach under Bo Schembechler at Michigan from 1973 to 1979 and later served as head coach at Western Michigan and Western Kentucky.
Last week, the NCAA announced a four-year ban for Harbaugh, due to unconscionable recruiting violations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after the NCAA's decision, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel told the “1 Star Recruits” podcast that Harbaugh had accepted an invitation to serve as an honorary captain for the opening game.
Moore also spoke about his own involvement in an independent NCAA investigation into the sign-stealing operation allegedly orchestrated by former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions. According to a draft of the NCAA's notification of allegations to Michigan, obtained by ESPN, Moore could face a suspension and other sanctions for allegedly deleting a 52-text message thread with Stalions in October 2023.
According to the draft, Moore's text messages were later recovered and he turned them over to NCAA compliance staff. Moore said Tuesday that Michigan is fully cooperating with the NCAA's violations process and added of the text message thread: “I look forward to them being released.”
Although Moore is charged with committing a Level II violation, according to the draft (Level I violations are considered the most serious), the NCAA could label him a repeat offender after reaching a negotiated resolution for violations in the separate recruiting violations case that led to Harbaugh’s show-cause order. Moore was suspended for the 2023 season opener as part of the university’s negotiated resolution.
