Balas expects "positive news on Jim Harbaugh" contract extension
October 31st, 2023 at 9:19 AM ^
A contract extension would be a statement I hope Michigan makes.
October 31st, 2023 at 10:02 AM ^
Exactly,
A contract extension was not the response the muckrakers in Columbus were expecting.
October 31st, 2023 at 10:20 AM ^
The "(for him)" part in Balas' tweet is giving me pause. I can see the headline now:
"NFL will not enforce NCAA punishment if Harbaugh leaves after this year."
October 31st, 2023 at 11:00 AM ^
Hmm possibly. Or to make a differentiation between positive news regarding investigation vs contract talks
October 31st, 2023 at 10:24 AM ^
Some buckeye douchebag on my hockey team (he's the worst player on the team FWIW) was trying to tell me that the "rescinding" of Jim's offered contract is proof that bad stuff is coming (before we knew it was a bogus report).
God this would be so satisfying.
October 31st, 2023 at 10:26 AM ^
Of course the ultimate satisfaction would be a resounding win on 11/25
October 31st, 2023 at 12:13 PM ^
And on January 8th.
October 31st, 2023 at 12:46 PM ^
That must happen and I believe it will. Everything OSU is doing is predicated on them winning the game. Otherwise they look like fools.
October 31st, 2023 at 1:03 PM ^
If everything they are doing is predicated on winning in late November then they are building a house of cards on a foundation of sand.
Look like fools? Could not happen to more deserving people.
October 31st, 2023 at 4:22 PM ^
No...they are fools.
October 31st, 2023 at 10:46 AM ^
Maybe if you passed the god damn puck a little more I would be better!
October 31st, 2023 at 10:58 AM ^
I know this is a joke but you just basically said you are a buckeye. Even as a joke, that’s gross
November 1st, 2023 at 12:33 AM ^
You cant have a vast network without undercover operatives.
October 31st, 2023 at 4:12 PM ^
Then ask him how OSU tied Lindenwood two weeks ago. We beat them 10-1 and Stallions was nowhere to be seen.
October 31st, 2023 at 6:02 PM ^
I heard during an interview that Balas said that there's another act coming to this play. Buckeye fans loved act one. They won't like act two.
October 31st, 2023 at 9:19 AM ^
Do it. Have some balls Warde.
Shit on the NCAA and this PR hit job from born on 3rd
October 31st, 2023 at 9:49 AM ^
I hope this happens. Warde has been getting a ton of crap for not sticking up for JH, etc. If he does give Harbaugh the new contact, we all need to give him credit for getting it done and doing it in the middle of this media shitstorm.
October 31st, 2023 at 1:15 PM ^
Like all of us, I’m not privy to conversations between Warde and Harbaugh and feel speaking through actions by delivering a new contract is strongest form of support of Harbaugh, which is still on the table!
my hunch is this noise will further galvanize this team…adversity makes your stronger.
October 31st, 2023 at 12:10 PM ^
It also tells me that given how accommodating Warde tends to be with NCAA process that he also knows there is very little here. If he thought the hammer was about to come down I doubt he’d be pushing an extension at this point.
October 31st, 2023 at 9:21 AM ^
I think the contract will - make Harbaugh the highest paid coach in the B1G.
And, when the NCAA determines that Ball Boys, Water Boys, young children, and the rest of the "sign stealing" was just a single individual - and, this can completely be avoided with the implementation of helmet communications - as is the case in high school and the NFL - this will not be discussed ad nauseum for quite a while.
October 31st, 2023 at 9:43 AM ^
I have to admit, though, this Stalions-on-the-CMU-sidelines-in-disguise thing has me a bit rattled. A flying saucer landing on the 50 yard line during a game seemed more plausible. It’s so impossibly batshit crazy it makes me worry what other shoes could drop.
October 31st, 2023 at 9:48 AM ^
You can't even tell if it's him or not, no one knows and no one will ever know. Just more idiots out there in their mom's basement poring over sideline footage on YouTube looking for clicks on Twitter.
October 31st, 2023 at 9:57 AM ^
If it is him on the sidelines, it certainly helps bolster the “this guy turned out to be a psycho acting on his own” defense.
October 31st, 2023 at 12:39 PM ^
It also supports the idea that coaches don’t know everything their staff members are doing. McElwain didn’t even know he had a sleeper agent on the sideline with him.
October 31st, 2023 at 9:59 AM ^
Things like this are always provable in the end. He will be questioned (if he hasn’t been already) and will be confronted with any conflicting facts. He will be asked where he was that evening, who he was with, etc. His e-mails will be searched (this is happening already). CMU staff will be asked who this is — and we know that some knew CS. If you’re an investigator, this is low-hanging fruit.
October 31st, 2023 at 11:01 AM ^
Unless he has committed an actual crime and law is involved, he doesn't have to answer any of these questions.
October 31st, 2023 at 11:21 AM ^
He doesn’t have to answer those questions if he committed a crime. Fifth amendment and all.
October 31st, 2023 at 11:52 AM ^
LOL. True. Either way he doesn't have answer anything
October 31st, 2023 at 2:06 PM ^
He hasn’t been fired yet, so he still has incentive to cooperate. Even beyond Michigan, the NCAA could make it very hard for him to ever get a job on a college football staff, which I’m guessing would be a bigger problem for this individual than for nearly any other person ever. Also, the NCAA may have subpoena power in their investigation. Parties to any subsequent hearing almost certainly will have subpoena power. And the University may have a cause of action against him if he violated the terms of his employment. Bottom line is that there are many levers to pull to get his testimony, and compelled testimony may be possible.
October 31st, 2023 at 12:24 PM ^
I'm not sure your presumption is correct. It all depends on what the NCAA's agreement with its members requires one to do. It may stipulate that if someone is questioned as part of an NCAA investigation, they must answer all questions honestly and accurately. Of course "I can't remember" is always available.
Granted, this is not a criminal law situation where the 4th and 5th Amendments come into play and one has protections from government.
Having said that, there is no way I would ever give my phone or computer to an NCAA representative. I might give them relevant bits of information but that would be as far as it goes.
What if Stalions decides not to answer anything or provide any documentation such as credit card receipts? The NCAA could come down hard on Michigan but if Stalion went full scale rogue, it might be hard to enforce if challenged in court. After all, he was a marine who went through the Naval Academy, a military officer and Michigan made assumptions about his character that in most instances would seem reasonable.
October 31st, 2023 at 5:41 PM ^
History is littered with cheatin' sumbitches clamming up when the NCAA comes around.
October 31st, 2023 at 12:37 PM ^
I don’t think so. Remember Harbaugh pled the classic “ no recall” ( not that he didn’t truly not recall) regarding burgergate and the ncaa is trying to torch him as a liar.
October 31st, 2023 at 1:23 PM ^
Saying you can't remember is a valid answer but one which can be shown to be a lie if there is adequate evidence to the contrary. Sometimes one may truly have forgotten the answer to a question and presenting them with evidence, such as an email or text or a fact situation, may refresh their ability to remember. This is an area which is not black and white.
October 31st, 2023 at 9:50 AM ^
Is that any different than being in the stands? That's just in person scouting but in a dumber and weirder way. It would be worse if he was on the MSU sideline trying to get extra info.
October 31st, 2023 at 10:21 AM ^
This is the first evidence that a Michigan employee was in person.
That is the difference.
The sideline thing is just weird. That seems like its own separate issue.
October 31st, 2023 at 9:56 AM ^
Nah that's dumb. That's not a shoe that's dropping. That's people throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks. CMU sidelines doesn't stick at all.
October 31st, 2023 at 11:21 AM ^
My question is if this is Stallions, then why would CMU have allowed him to be on their sideline knowing he is not part of the staff? If he snuck in there, how is it possible not a single person on staff did not question who he was?
October 31st, 2023 at 11:37 AM ^
Brian already said that it IS CS on the sideline of the CMU game. So I'm guessing he has inside info that verifies this. And chances are this info originated inside Schembechler Hall. The fact finding mission was probably no more complicated than someone in the football program calling up CS and just flat out asking if that was him. And...he probably said "yes, that was me". And the response to that was most likely -- "you're fuckin killin me, kid".
October 31st, 2023 at 1:54 PM ^
When did Brian say this?
October 31st, 2023 at 2:57 PM ^
On Twitter around noon today
October 31st, 2023 at 2:50 PM ^
This is why all college football needs to be played on Saturdays
October 31st, 2023 at 9:43 AM ^
For real. It's 2023 and school athletic budgets are huge, get some freakin helmet communications with the QB and retire this archaic, asinine rule about remote scouting.
October 31st, 2023 at 9:52 AM ^
Mitch, what amazes me is this. The "issue", or excuse being used, to discourage helmet communications is - the impact this has on the warranty of the helmet. It is not player safety - it's the warranty. And, I'm completely supportive of activities / policies that support player safety.
How much can this warranty cost? If high school teams can do this - it should be able to be implemented at a reasonable cost.
With these media agreements and the associated monies - you would think that each conference can carve out "$ X" - or "one half of one percent" of the media agreement which should cover the costs of the additional helmet warranty for the communication equipment.
October 31st, 2023 at 10:40 AM ^
Even setting aside the trivial extra cost for the helmet warranty (without knowing how much it costs, it is impossible to imagine it is NOT trivial next to 7- and 8- figure coaching salaries and 8- and 9- figure TV contracts), wrist bands are almost free!
If they wanted to solve this, they would have. That they haven't is proof that they don't view it as a problem that needs to be solved.
October 31st, 2023 at 12:07 PM ^
Wow. That's ridiculous.
October 31st, 2023 at 9:48 AM ^
should be the highest paid coach in CFB - just sayin'
October 31st, 2023 at 9:52 AM ^
Agreed. Give him Kirby's footprint and access to crazy fast, 5-star talent and he'd be the king of all of college football.
October 31st, 2023 at 9:59 AM ^
262 - I agree. However, this is a bit of an art - and, I'm quite sure that this is being discussed by those involved.
Two parts - base salary and variable / incentives / bonus. The base - make him the highest paid coach in the B1G. Personally, if Jim was the second or third highest paid coach in college football it would be fine with me - this way certain conversations or perspectives can be avoided - such as Bama alumni paying off Nick Saban's mortgage - the perception of Michigan spending inordinate amounts of money on him - is he "delivering" based on his salary, etc..
Make his variable compensation "significant" - so, with a B1G Championship (which, unfortunately IMO is going to get more confusing when the conference expands next season) - and national championship - the accelerators go "bonzo".
The other aspects are - the Athletic Department's commitment to 1) staff salary - base & bonus, and 2) facility improvements (if any are necessary).
October 31st, 2023 at 11:17 AM ^
Don't forget NIL
October 31st, 2023 at 3:30 PM ^
I believe I understand NIL - and, the key here is - the University or Athletic Department cannot (and IMO will not) "sponsor" NIL activities.
They can work with collectives, but - a line will be drawn between the two entities - the University / Athletic Department and the Collectives.
One thing that can be done is - to gain the support of the University / Athletic Department to develop a "class or seminar" which provides student athletes on the issues they should be aware of regarding NIL - and reflects the student athlete's commitment, participation, contracting, finances, etc.