Jim Harbaugh is preparing for his second season as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, fresh off an 11–6 debut and a playoff appearance. But while the NFL schedule is on his mind, the shadow of his Michigan tenure continues to follow him. The NCAA recently issued its long-awaited sanctions against Michigan over the sign-stealing scandal, and former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer isn’t letting Harbaugh off the hook.
Meyer, who endured his own stormy exit from coaching, argued this week that the NFL should consider enforcing Harbaugh’s penalties even though he has already moved on to the professional ranks. Appearing on The Triple Option, Meyer pointed to a precedent involving former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.
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“There’s an elephant in the room here, boys, that no one is talking about,” Meyer said. “When Jim Tressel was fired at Ohio State and he was given a suspension, Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League, came out and said that we’re going to honor that violation. And you remember he went to the Indianapolis Colts to work in the replay room or something.
“The Colts, because of the respect they had for the NCAA, and the suspension, do you realize they suspended Jim Tressel? So he was unable to perform his duties for the first six games of the year for the Indianapolis Colts. The question, I think we all know the answer. Any chance that Roger Goodell and the NFL [suspend Harbaugh]? Of course not. And I don’t know why.”
The NCAA’s penalties for Michigan were steep on paper: a $20 million fine, recruiting restrictions, scholarship reductions, and show-cause orders for multiple coaches, including a 10-year show-cause penalty for Harbaugh once his existing four-year show-cause concludes. Yet the program avoided the harshest sanction — vacating wins or banning postseason play.
That reality hasn’t sat well with rivals. Michigan closed Harbaugh’s tenure with a perfect 15–0 season and a national championship, achievements now tainted by scandal. Still, the NCAA ruled there was “insufficient evidence” that outcomes were directly affected.
Meyer, who never lost to Harbaugh during their coaching duels, has offered a complicated mix of criticism and respect. On the one hand, he insists Harbaugh’s legacy comes with an asterisk.
“He’s a winner. Now, there’ll be an asterisk there,” Meyer said. “I think this is going to be a couple week story and it disappears, I really do.”
On the other hand, he has tipped his cap to Michigan’s football tradition more broadly. Speaking on the Cover 3 Podcast, Meyer acknowledged the Wolverines’ stature in college football history:
“Across the country, if you can name someone that respects the Wolverines more than I do, I’d like to meet that person. I’m not a fan, but I respect, because I knew Bo Schembechler. I read his books. I studied him when I was hired at Bowling Green. When I coached against the Wolverines, it was every ounce of everything because you knew that team was going to be trained killers on the other side.”
Still, the core of Meyer’s critique remains clear: Harbaugh left Michigan amid controversy and now sits in the NFL untouched by college punishment. For Meyer, who had to tell his undefeated 2012 Ohio State team it couldn’t compete in the postseason due to infractions committed before his arrival, the contrast is striking.
“In December of 2011, I had to stand in front of a group of seniors and tell them they were not allowed to play in a bowl or championship game in their final year of college football, for something they had nothing to do with,” Meyer recalled. “One of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. The recent NCAA ruling to not punish players that weren’t involved is correct. However, this ruling also proves that the NCAA as an enforcement arm no longer exists.”
For Harbaugh, the focus is squarely on the Chargers and the NFL season ahead. But with Meyer keeping the conversation alive, the elephant in the room won’t be going away anytime soon.
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