Jim Harbaugh won’t be in attendance for Michigan’s home opener this month, despite being announced as an honorary captain less than a week ago.
The new Los Angeles Chargers head coach had planned to travel to Ann Arbor despite his recently announced NCAA suspension and penalty, which won’t affect him as long as he remains in the NFL. However, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore told reporters on Tuesday that Harbaugh wouldn’t make it.
The reason given for the absence was something one might have expected Harbaugh to consider: He didn’t want to leave his current team alone.
Moore’s explanation:
“I actually spoke with the coach yesterday and what drove the decision was we made the decision in March, or I think it was January or February actually, it was really to honor him for what he did for Michigan. He came back for nine years and got us to where we are now, so it was really to honor him and nothing else.
“Yesterday he called me and said he didn’t feel like he could leave his team the way Coach Harbaugh did and he wanted to be in the trenches with his team and didn’t want to look like he was taking a long bow.”
Instead, Michigan would welcome Harbaugh’s parents, Jack and Jackie Harbaugh, as honorary captains for the game against Fresno State on Aug. 31. Harbaugh will continue to prepare the Chargers for their own season opener, scheduled for Sept. 8 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Aside from the Chargers, Harbaugh’s presence in the Wolverines’ opener had already become a story in itself. That might not have been a good thing for Michigan, given that it risked amplifying two narratives the program would like to tone down, between the ongoing NCAA investigation and questions about Moore’s ability to hold up as a successor.
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