The undefeated University of Michigan football team is having an incredible season, but their success comes with some questionable decisions by the staff. 

Head coach Jim Harbaugh was recently suspended for recruiting violations and failing to cooperate with NCAA investigators, and now another staff member is under some heat. Off-field analyst Connor Stalions allegedly purchased tickets to over 30 games with the intent to steal signs from opponents' plays. Harbaugh has denied knowledge of Stalions' activities, but pressure is mounting with multiple investigations looming.

If Harbaugh is telling the truth, then Connor Stalions truly put his heart and soul into this team. This would mean that Stalions had scouts at opponents' games (mostly Big Ten) videoing the sidelines to steal their signs for plays without anyone asking him to do that. 

His public Venmo transactions showed Stalions' payments to a Michigan football intern the day before the game of a potential opponent:

According to the NCAA, “in-person scouting of future opponents (in the same season)” is prohibited. This rule was created to make it more equitable for small programs who couldn't afford in-person scouting. 

The Manifesto

The in-person scouting violations require a lot of effort from someone only reportedly making $55,000 a year. In addition to this, Connor Stalions allegedly wrote a manifesto that he referred to as “the Michigan Manifesto” that was around 600 pages long.

This manifesto was a 15-year plan for Michigan football laid out in a Google Doc. It contained his plans to eventually take over the program. This manifesto doesn't violate any NCAA policies, but it does show the lengths that Stalions was willing to go to for this football team.

I wouldn't be surprised if he really does bleed blue and yellow.

What Does This Mean for Michigan Football?

Harbaugh has denied any connection or knowledge to Stalions and his actions. The head coach does not have a great reputation for complying with NCAA investigators, but a Michigan spokesperson has stated that Harbaugh and the university are “fully cooperating with the Big Ten and NCAA.” 

Text messages that were shared with Sports Illustrated showed a conversation where Connor Stalions was speaking on how close he and the coaching staff were. In a text, he said he especially “became close with CP and Jay Harbs.” CP is reportedly the Michigan linebacker coach, Chris Partridge, and Jay Harbs is the assistant special teams coach, Jay Harbaugh (son of Jim Harbaugh). 

None of these conversations prove whether Partridge, Jay Harbaugh, or Jim Harbaugh knew about the sign stealing and the claims that these coaches were close with Stalions haven't been confirmed either.

Violations aside, Connor Stalions has to be the biggest Michigan football fan out there. He had a plan for his future and he went for it … hard.

Stalions' parents attended the University of Michigan and Stalions actually was accepted into the university. However, according to a publication called Soldiers to Sidelines, he decided to go to the Naval Academy instead. His reasoning was that many of the best football coaches, such as Nick Saban, Bill Belichik, and Vince Lombardi either served or had connections with the military. Stalions figured that the leadership that military academies teach can translate well into coaching.

You have to respect the hustle.

Michigan football has had its fair share of drama this season, with Harbaugh's three-game suspension and now a Michigan fan-girl on their sideline. However, the Wolverines have yet to waver. The #2 team in the country has beaten every competitor by an impressive amount. 

Michigan has four games left in their regular season, with the next game occurring on November 4th against Purdue. Wolverine fans have to be praying that Harbaugh and any other staff members weren't involved in this sign-stealing incident. 

Only time will tell how much the Michigan staff really knew.