Former Michigan Stallions analyst falls in debut as interim high school coach

Connor Stallion, the analyst who allegedly masterminded the Michigan sign-stealing operation, is now an interim high school coach.

Detroit Public Schools Community District athletic director Jay Alexander confirmed to ESPN that Stallions replaced Mumford head coach William McMichael, who recently suffered a “mild stroke.”

Stallions managed his first game last Friday, with Mumford losing to Flint Hamady 60-0 to make it 0-2 on the season.

“I came to Mumford because I wanted to help change the culture,” Stallion told The Detroit News after the game. “They’re not used to winning and I wanted to help show these guys the actual process of what it takes to win, because they’re going to win eventually, and to me that’s more satisfying than going to a program that’s already winning.”

“I’d rather have 15 guys who love the football process than 30 guys where they’re halfway in and halfway out, because they’re pushing the 15 guys who are inside.”

In his first season at Mumford, McMichael hired Stallions to be his defensive coordinator at the Detroit school.

“He may be the most hated guy in college football, but the coaches and the kids at Mumford High School love him,” McMichael told ESPN last month.

In 2022, Michigan hired Stallion, a lifelong Wolverines fan and retired Marine Corps captain, as an analyst. Stallion is the ringleader of a massive sign-stealing operation in which he is accused of sending people to scout future Wolverines opponents, including recording play signals from the teams’ sidelines. The NCAA last month sent Michigan a notice of allegations of illegal sign-stealing off campus.

Stallion told NCAA investigators that he never engaged in advanced personal scouting and did not buy tickets for others to attend future Wolverines opponent games to record their signals. Stallion made the allegations in April during a video interview with NCAA investigators, portions of which were included in the new Netflix documentary “Sign Stealer,” which was released last month.

Stallion was suspended with pay on October 20, pending the results of an internal investigation in Michigan, and resigned on November 3.

The Big Ten Conference suspended coach Jim Harbaugh from coaching his team for the final three games of the 2023 regular season because it said his program violated the league’s sportsmanship policy. Still, the Wolverines won the national championship.