Michigan Fired Assistant Coach Chris Partridge Before Game vs. Maryland
The consequences of the sign-stealing scandal continue. The latest development is that Michigan fired assistant coach Chris Partridge. Also, it came after the NCAA banned head coach Jim Harbaugh from the sideline until its game against Ohio State.
Warde Manuel, the athletic director, did not provide the reason for Partridge's dismissal, citing confidentiality requirements. The best bookie pay per head in 2023, citing unnamed sources, said that Partridge sought to hide evidence of the scheme after it had become public.
When the Big Ten Conference agreed to let the school serve the remaining two games of Harbaugh's three-game punishment in exchange for dropping its investigation into the sign-stealing claims, the school decided to fire Harbaugh the following day. Harbaugh will not be on the sidelines for either Saturday's game against Maryland or next week's regular-season finale against the third-ranked Buckeyes.
Michigan Fired Assistant Coach Chris Partridge
Two weeks ago, Connor Stalions, the former employee who was the focus of the inquiry, resigned. According to sportsbook pay per head reports, he is suspected of buying up tickets to Michigan games to scout potential opponents and dispatching personnel to record the teams' digitally signaled plays. In-person scouting is outlawed by the NCAA, which is seeking to uncover how structured the plan was and who knew about it.
In February, Partridge started working with the program again. Before that, he spent three years as a co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Mississippi. From 2016 until the 2019 campaign, Partridge served as Harbaugh's assistant. During his initial tenure with the Wolverines, he served as the team's director of player personnel for two years before being elevated to assistant coach for four.
According to per head bookie experts, Harbaugh missed the weekend's win at Penn State because the Big Ten suspended him on the Friday before. A compromise was struck on Thursday, a day before a court hearing was set, despite Michigan's efforts to get the suspension overturned through legal means.
Despite serving a three-game ban at the start of the season for an unrelated and ongoing NCAA violations case connected to recruiting, Harbaugh can coach the team during the week. The Wolverines are a top contender for a third consecutive Big Ten Championship and spot in the College Football Playoff and are widely considered among the country's best teams. Rick Minter was named the new linebackers captain.