NEW: Jim Harbaugh slams the NCAA in ESPN feature

Michigan's former head football coach continues to take shots at the NCAA, despite his return to the NFL...

Matt Lounsberry | Sep 5, 2024

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh celebrates during the trophy presentation after the 34-13 win over Washington at the national championship game at NRG Stadium in Houston on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Michigan Wolverines

Former Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh has returned to the NFL, but his beef with the NCAA remains. In an ESPN feature of Harbaugh, the 60-year-old coach of the Los Angeles Chargers launched another scalding comment in the direction of the governing body of college athletics.

"They've been keeping money away from players for decades. They just got hit with a $2.7 billion lawsuit," Harbaugh said. "They have no credibility. That's the truth."

Harbaugh on the NCAA: “They've been keeping money away from players for decades. They just got hit with a $2.7 billion lawsuit. They have no credibility. That's the truth."https://t.co/hNucZlkQyv
— Kris Rhim (@krisrhim1) September 2, 2024

Harbaugh's comment, questioning the authority of the NCAA, comes after the institution hitting the former college coach with a four-year show-cause and one-year suspension as a result of an investigation into Michigan's recruiting practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Harbaugh responded to the NCAA punishment in a strong statement in a press conference at the beginning of August.

"Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal. I was raised with that lesson," Harbaugh said. "I have raised my family on that lesson. I have preached that lesson to the teams that I've coached. No one's perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and you make it right. Today, I do not apologize. I did not participate, was not aware nor complicit in those said allegations. So for, it's back to work and attacking with an enthusiasm, unknown to mankind."

As competitive as they come, Harbaugh has developed a reputation of rubbing people the wrong way at several of his previous coaching stops, most notably in his four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2011-14). Harbaugh's run-ins with the NCAA began early in his tenure at Michigan, from the banning of satellite camps in recruiting all the way to the Connor Stalions sign-stealing saga. As a result, Harbaugh remains one of the most polarizing figures in all of sports.

"The narrative that I'm hard to get along with or whatever other narrative out there is, that's just people's narratives," Habaugh told ESPN. "Nobody's ever doubted where my heart is every single time: what's in the best interest of the team that I am on."

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