Pete Thamel addresses next steps in Michigan investigation, chances of Big Ten intervention
Michigan returns to the field on Saturday after its bye over the weekend, with still plenty of question marks about the future of the program.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh met with the media on Monday and denied a report stating that Michigan has pulled his contract extension.
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ESPN insider Pete Thamel spoke on Monday Blitz on Monday afternoon and added that he doesn’t believe Harbaugh’s contract was necessarily pulled, but he also doesn’t expect the Wolverines and Harbaugh to come to a long-term agreement anytime soon.
“We’ll start with Jim Harbaugh’s contract – while he did say, and sources confirmed to me that perhaps the reporting of the offer being rescinded was a little bit strong — it’s also highly unlikely that Michigan and Jim Harbaugh are going to agree to any kind of deal in the near future,” Thamel said.
As Thamel pointed out, there are three ongoing investigations at Michigan at the moment.
The most talked about one right now is the sign-stealing scandal. But the Wolverines are also being investigated for committing recruiting violations. In addition to those two, the FBI has been working with the University of Michigan police department “for months” to investigate computer crimes committed by former Wolverines offensive coordinator Matt Weiss. Michigan fired Weiss in January after a criminal investigation started.
With all of these investigations taking place, Thamel explained what’s next for Michigan and Jim Harbaugh and if the Big Ten could get involved.
“That’s a lot of traffic to deal with if they’re going to give a historic contract to a head coach,” Thamel said.
“Shifting to the Big Ten and what could happen to Harbaugh in the near future, as of right now, it’s unlikely for the Big Ten to take any imminent action against Harbaugh or Michigan, even though they technically have the authority to do so. Some of this has to do with process. While there’s certainly a lot of evidence that has emerged publicly, there’s not an established fact set yet for the Big Ten to act on.”
Michigan would have the opportunity to explain its side of things, before any punishment was given out, according to Thamel. That hasn’t happened to this point.
“So the league would obviously be expected to hear from both sides, and we’ve really heard very little from Jim Harbaugh and Michigan yet on the matter of the Connor Stalions sign-stealing investigation,” Thamel said.
As for on the field, the Wolverines will host Purdue on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the game will be televised by NBC.