Sign Stealing and Background

Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines have created a crisis in college football. The coaching staff has been caught red handed in a massive sign-stealing operation. For those of you who don't normally pay attention to sports, football teams will use various kinds of signals that allow coaches to tell their offensive and defensive players what play to run without tipping off the opposing team. Obviously, one team learning the other's signs and signals would create a tremendous on-field advantage. That's why you see coaches cover their mouths when talking into their headset. And, most relevant to today's article, that's why the NCAA has banned signal stealing.

Despite the NCAA ban, the Michigan Wolverines have been doing exactly that for years with One Foot Down suggesting it went as far back as the 2019 game when Michigan hosted Notre Dame and the Irish suffered their second worst offensive start under Brian Kelly in a game that finished with Michigan wrecking the Irish 45-14.

Not only has Michigan been caught, but they have been caught BLATANLY in the act, complete with a budget for operators to go to other school's games and steal their signals. This has created an enormous crisis in the world of college football because Michigan is currently ranked #3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, meaning they'll have a spot in the playoff if they win out and defeat Ohio State (currently #1) at the end of the year. The College Football Playoff Committee ;which decides the four teams in the College Football Playoff; has decided not to weigh in on the cheating scandal. Meanwhile, the NCAA is notorious for taking years to complete its investigations and dole out punishment. Those punishments are typically severely tempered because the players and coaches responsible for the cheating and rules violations are no longer with the program and the only people who are punished are the people who had nothing to do with the scandal when it happened.

That leaves the Big10 to lay down the law, and the teams that have played and lost to Michigan over the past several years in the Big10 have all rallied to the cause, asking the Big10 to punish Michigan's football program. To date, the Big10 has been reluctant to do that, but it is creating tremendous tension inside the athletic conference which just recently announced another major expansion.

My Thoughts

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a Notre Dame fan. Being a Notre Dame fan, words cannot describe how delightful it is to see Michigan squirm and the Big 10 in turmoil!

I'm also a football fan, though... and a former military and civilian intelligence analyst. As such, I can't help but feel like the rule is unfair. Sign stealing should absolutely be part of the game. If a team can study film of an opponent's previous games, or go to their opponents' games to break down each individual player's tendencies and habits; coaching staffs should be able to study their opponents coaching habits, including how they communicate with their players. Drawing an arbitrary line at sign stealing seems silly.

I would love to watch a game where the two teams were banned from studying film on the other and were left to run their own offense and defense against the other. Realistically, since almost every major game is broadcast on television or streamed online, there is absolutely no chance we'll ever see that type of football again. So, let's embrace that teams are going to spy on each other to gain a competitive advantage and regulate it instead of ban it. Allow teams to have a maximum of 12 "spies" to travel every week and collect data on opponents and potential opponents. Ban the use of drones at practices and hidden microphones on sidelines, opponents' booths, and locker rooms. Then, you can make counterintelligence part of the game, too. Although you won't see these actions on television every weekend, some pretty fantastic stories are bound to come of it and they're sure to be wildly entertaining for football fans!

The Big But in the Room

Even though I want to see the rules changed because the rules, in my opinion, are stupid; they are still the rules and teams should be expected to follow them. I also think Illegal Formation is a stupid penalty. However, that doesn't mean I think referees should stop enforcing it and teams decide on their own whether or not they should break that rule. If the rule is there, it should be enforced.

What should happen?

Notre Dame fandom aside, I really like Jim Harbaugh as a college coach, especially for Michigan. With that said, he needs to not only be fired, but sanctioned and banned from NCAA sports for the rest of his life (or until the rule is changed). Likewise, any of his coordinators involved in the scandal over the years should also receive 10 years to lifetime bans. If the Michigan Athletic director is implicated for giving the football team a budget for this, he should likewise be banned from NCAA activities for life.

Additionally, any wins Michigan earned since this cheating program started should be vacated. Big 10 Championships should go to the teams Michigan beat to win them... or better yet, replay the games with the old rosters in the NFL offseason! That would make up for any lost revenue to the NCAA or Big10 by not having Michigan in the playoff. Admittedly, that's a fantasy solution.

The players should not be punished since they're not really involved. Although Michigan's football program should be banned from bowl games for the next four years, players should be free of any and all commitments and allowed to transfer to any other program. More importantly, other teams should be free to interfere and recruit Michigan's players mid-season without punishment from the NCAA to make up for the cheating against them in the past.

Whether or not any of this happens will be up to the Big 10 and the NCAA. Personally, I hope to see a resolution at least begin THIS season, before the end of the regular season. I am particularly doubtful given the track record of the NCAA, though.