U of Malfeasance

 It's probably reactionary at this point to say Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh looks more like Bill Belichick every day. And not in a good way.

It's probably reactionary to say it's a darn shame the winningest college football program in history has become one of those renegade outfits, like SMU in the '80s or Dollar Bill Self's Kansas basketball program right now.

And it's probably reactionary to joke that "U of M" now stands for "University of Malfeasance."

Wolverine Nation would likely take offense to that. Bob Ufer, the legendary Michigan play-by-play announcer, would likely kick the traces in his grave and haunt the reactionaries with his famous cry of "Meeee-chigan."

All that said ...

Well. Let's just say it's not a good look when the NCAA comes snooping around your program twice in one year.

Harbaugh already served a university-imposed three-game suspension (if you call sitting out three cupcakes a suspension) this season for recruiting shenanigans during Covid, and for his subsequent lack of cooperation with NCAA investigators. Now -- Harbaugh's program is being accused of its very own Spygate -- i.e., sending around a snoop to the games of future opponents to try and steal their sideline-to-huddle signals.

That doesn't sound like a big deal. But it's been illegal for almost 30 years.

The accused snoop, it seems, is an ex-Marine trained in, well, shall we say espionage techniques or something like them. He decided to approach his job as a low-level assistant by employing, if not the techniques, at least the philosophy behind. (Hint: It basically works out to "Know your enemy.") Harbaugh claims to know nothing about any of this, but, hell, isn't that what every head coach says when he gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar?

Anyway, Michigan is undefeated, untried -- they haven't beaten anyone worth a tinker's damn yet -- and now is under suspicion. And you wonder how much patience its administration will have if this sort of thing keeps happening.

My guess is a lot, considering the halfhearted wrist tap the school gave Harbaugh for the Covid deal. Also they're paying the guy a ginormous wad to do what he's doing, which is keep Michigan in the top five and get them to the College Football Playoff on the regular.

A school with Michigan's regal legacy can put up with a lot as long as Coach delivers the latter. All it has to do is keep throwing the word "integrity" out there and proving it still knows how to spell it.

In the meantime, the U of Malfeasance plays at in-state rival Michigan State tomorrow night. I'm sure Sparty's got the signs and catcalls all ready.