Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has been hit with a 10-year show-cause order from the NCAA stemming from the University of Michigan sign stealing scandal, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Harbaugh was specifically punished for failure to monitor Michigan’s football program, failure to comply with NCAA rules, and failure to cooperate with the resulting investigation.
A show-cause order technically isn’t an outright ban or suspension, though that is the intended effect. If any school were to hire Harbaugh, he would not be eligible to participate in any athletic-related activities without seeking the approval of the NCAA, according to Chris Vannini of The Athletic.
The 10-year penalty will begin on August 7, 2028, at the conclusion of a four-year show cause order that Harbaugh is currently serving for recruiting violations during the COVID-19 pandemic (via an NCAA press release). He will also face a one-year suspension should he returns college football during that time, according to Mark Maske of The Washington Post.
Harbaugh’s NCAA infractions could subject him to discipline from the NFL. In 2011, the league suspended Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor after he declared for the draft while facing a five-game suspension from the NCAA, according to a 2023 report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. The Colts, who had hired former Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressell as a consultant that offseason, sidelined him for six games in accordance with his own suspension after consultation with the league office. If the NFL believes that Harbaugh left the NCAA to avoid accountability for his conduct at Michigan, they could levy penalties of their own.
Michigan’s sanctions include recruiting penalties and a significant fine that could eclipse $20MM, per Thamel. Head coach Sherrone Moore received a two-year show-cause order and an additional one-game suspension for the 2026 season on top of the self-imposed two-game suspension this year. Former staff members Conor Stallions and Denard Robinson (also an ex-NFLer) received show-cause orders as well.