Jim Harbaugh stepped down as Michigan’s honorary captain for the opener

Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will no longer serve as honorary captain for the Wolverines’ season opener as he continues to prepare for his first season as coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore said Tuesday that Harbaugh called Monday to say he would not attend Michigan’s Aug. 31 game against Fresno State, when the team celebrates its national championship at Michigan Stadium. According to Moore, Harbaugh said he wants to focus on his first Chargers team and doesn’t want to leave the 2024 Wolverines squad.

The Chargers open the season on Sept. 8 against Las Vegas.

Harbaugh’s parents, Jack and Jackie Harbaugh, will stand by him at the Aug. 31 opener Jack Harbaugh was a Michigan assistant under Bo Schembechler from 1973 to 1979 and later served as head coach at Western Michigan and Western Kentucky.

Last week, the NCAA announced a four-year show-cause order for Harbaugh due to illegal recruiting violations during the Covid-19 pandemic. Shortly after the NCAA’s ruling, Michigan athletic director Ward Manuel told the “1 Star Recruits” podcast that Harbaugh had accepted an invitation to serve as honorary captain for the opener.

Moore also spoke of his own involvement in a separate NCAA investigation into a sign-stealing operation orchestrated by former Michigan staff member Connor Stallions. According to a draft of the NCAA’s notice of charges against Michigan obtained by ESPN, Moore could face a suspension and other penalties for allegedly deleting a thread of 52 text messages with the Stallions in October 2023.

Moore’s texts were later recovered and he turned them over to NCAA enforcement personnel, according to the draft. Moore said Tuesday that Michigan is fully cooperating with the NCAA violation process and added to the text thread: “I look forward to their release.”

Although Moore has been charged with a Level II violation, according to the draft — Level I violations are considered the most serious — he could be labeled a repeat violator by the NCAA after reaching a negotiated settlement for the violation in separate recruiting violations. That led to Harbaugh’s show-cause order. Moore was suspended for the 2023 season opener as part of the university’s negotiated resolution.