'Like a baseball bat to the kneecaps': Michigan's Jim Harbaugh weighs in on suspension

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh has finally spoken up about his three-game suspension.

The Wolverines will be without their head man on the sideline for the entirety of the non-conference slate – on Saturday vs. East Carolina, Sept. 9 vs. UNLV and Sept. 16 vs. Bowling Green – which is not expected to impact the team on the field.

Until Monday, Harbaugh had dodged all questions related to the NCAA's investigation into his program; only stating he can't talk about the specifics. The investigation started over four Level II violations that reportedly occurred during the 2020 season, but expanded into another Level I violation when the NCAA claimed he misled them.

For that, Michigan sent a negotiated resolution to the NCAA's Committee on Infractions last month which would've seen Harbaugh suspended four games and assistants Sherrone Moore and Grant Newsome each suspended for one. However, the COI rejected it, which may signal a drawn-out court process before a final resolution.

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In the meantime, Michigan decided to self-impose a three-game suspension on Harbaugh. While he didn't get into the specifics of how the decision was made or his role in it, he summed up how he feels about the idea of not being on the sideline the first three games of the year.

"Don’t want to go into how it was conveyed, but it was conveyed and I respect his decision," Harbaugh said. "I’ve heard people comment it’s a slap on the wrist, (to me) it’s more like a baseball bat to the kneecaps or to the shoulder."

Last weekend, Moore was also handed a one-game suspension.

As far as Harbaugh can remember, he said this will be the most consecutive time he's missed since he broke his arm during a 1984 matchup against Michigan State and was subsequently sidelined for six weeks.

What's his plan for Saturday? Harbaugh still isn't quite sure. His youngest son, Jack, has his own youth football game in the area which he said he might attend.

Or, he could be like the average fan and watch it on TV.

"This is uncharted waters for me," he said. "I don’t know what it’s going to be like. Day to day, I’ve been coaching the team. I'll continue to coach the team. Some people call up and ask my wife what we’re going to do for the three week vacation we’re about to take (which drew a laugh from the reporters). Yeah, she has the same reaction − there isn’t one. I’m coaching every single day. 

"It will be this Saturday, the following Saturday and the following Saturday I won’t be able to be on the premises or at the game. How will I react to that? How will I feel at that point? I don’t know yet."

Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @realtonygarcia.