Biff Poggi invites Michigan's Jim Harbaugh to join him on Charlotte sidelines during suspension
Jim Harbaugh already seems to have plans figured out for how he’ll handle the remaining two games of his Big Ten suspension. But if he wants to shake things up, he got an offer from a former assistant of his, current Charlotte head coach Biff Poggi.
As news broke late this week that Harbaugh and Michigan were backing off a push to get injunctive relief via the courts, it became clear he wouldn’t be coaching the Wolverines in the last two games. It gave Poggi his opening.
“I am extending an open invitation to Jim Harbaugh to join me on the sidelines for the next two Charlotte football games. It would be my honor to stand next to you again as we did for three years,” Poggi said on social media.
Poggi is in his first year as Charlotte’s head coach. He spent the previous two years as Michigan’s associate head coach, something of a sounding board for Harbaugh.
Harbaugh has plans laid out for his suspension
Harbaugh will still travel with the Michigan team to Maryland despite being suspended from actually coaching on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. Harbaugh and Michigan on Thursday stood down and accepted the final two games of a Big Ten suspension.
That suspension doesn’t allow Harbaugh to coach on game days or be in the stadium, but it doesn’t keep him away from his team during the week. Evidently, Harbaugh plans to use every last second he can to prep his squad each week.
Harbaugh will address the team and be involved in the prep up in until game time, Rittenberg added. It’s a routine Harbaugh already went through against Penn State last week.
Then come game time, Harbaugh will be back to his hotel room to watch the action.
Michigan and the Big Ten reached a détente over the suspension
A scheduled court hearing for Friday morning was canceled when the announcement was made on Thursday.
“This morning, the University, Coach Harbaugh, and the Big Ten resolved their pending litigation,” a Michigan statement read. “The Conference agreed to close its investigation, and the University and Coach Harbaugh agreed to accept the three-game suspension.
“Coach Harbaugh, with the University’s support, decided to accept this sanction to return the focus to our student-athletes and their performance on the field. The Conference has confirmed that it is not aware of any information suggesting Coach Harbaugh’s involvement in the allegations. The University continues to cooperate fully with the NCAA investigation.”
Along with missing the Maryland game, Harbaugh will not be on the sidelines when Michigan hosts Ohio State to end the regular season.
Harbaugh served the first game of his suspension last week during a game against Penn State, which Michigan won 24-15 to remain unbeaten.
The entire ordeal began when the NCAA opened up an investigation into whether Michigan had been running a sign-stealing operation following the submission of “credible evidence” to the organization.
In the weeks that have followed, the investigation has centered on Michigan staffer Connor Stalions, who allegedly purchased tickets and arranged for tickets for others to sit in on future opponents’ games and scout them. Doing so is against NCAA rules if those opponents are in the same season, while use of video equipment to record a sideline is strictly prohibited.
But how far up the chain knowledge of such a potential scheme might have gone remains to be seen.
For his part, Jim Harbaugh has denied any such knowledge of an operation to steal signs. He has also maintained that he should be considered innocent until proven guilty, something many in Michigan might see as at odds with the Big Ten’s action.