The past week wasn't a good one for Jim Harbaugh, and the Los Angeles Rams rubbed it in with a trolling social media post.
The Los Angeles Chargers head coach had his reputation and integrity, along with Michigan's 2023 national championship season, stained by being named in the NCAA Committee on Infractions report that penalized the football program for an advance scouting scheme in which assistant Connor Stalions recorded play signals from the sideline of upcoming opponents.
Then the Chargers lost a preseason game to the Rams on Saturday, 23-22, when, with five seconds remaining, Stetson Bennett IV threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Tru Edwards. The Chargers also lost receiver Quentin Johnston to a concussion during the game.
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Following the game, the Rams' social-media team posted a graphic that made at least two references to the sign-stealing scandal that occurred under Harbaugh's watch at Michigan. The post on X said "Sign-ing off" with an image of the Rams' mascot holding up a sign that read "Hail to the Victors," which is a famous tagline at Michigan and the lyrics of the school's fight song.
Ouch. Those Rams horns aren't just hard, but also sharp.
As part of the sanctions levied against the Michigan program by the NCAA, Harbaugh was issued a 10-year show-cause penalty — on top of a four-year punishment he received in 2024 — which effectively ends any possibility of him returning to coach college football with a virtual ban that lasts until 2038.
From Yahoo Sports' Nick Bromberg:
"Overall, the show-cause penalties mean that any school that looks to hire Harbaugh over the next 13 years must go in front of the NCAA and justify how his hiring won’t lead to any other broken NCAA rules and the governing body has the right to stop the hire."
Asked about the NCAA penalties after the Chargers' defeat, Harbaugh told reporters, "I'm not engaging."
“Like I said to you last year, I’m not engaging,” he said.
Harbaugh left Michigan after the 2023-24 season and the Wolverines' national championship to take the head-coaching position with the Chargers. He reportedly agreed to a five-year contract paying him an annual salary of $16 million.
In his first season with the Chargers, Harbaugh went 11-6, turning the team around from a 5-11 record the previous year.
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