Why the real hammer could be dropped after the season on Michigan, Jim Harbaugh

In light of the Big Ten’s decision to suspend Jim Harbaugh for the rest of the regular season last week, it seemed like Michigan was gearing up for a fight at a Washtenaw County courthouse on Friday to keep him on the sidelines. That changed Thursday, though, when the university announced it accepted the suspension and the Big Ten was stopping its investigation into alleged sign-stealing violations.

The NCAA’s inquiry is still ongoing, though, which is why The Athletic’s Ari Wasserman wondered if there was more to come once the season ends.

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen there,” Wasserman told Andy Staples on Andy Staples On3. “I’ve had this sneaky suspicion that in February or March, the real hammer is going to come — which is why I thought the fake hammer was weak.”

In its findings, the Big Ten said it didn’t find any evidence Harbaugh knew about the scheme, run by former analyst Connor Stalions. However, the conference said the suspension was not meant to be “a sanction” against Harbaugh, but rather the university. In addition, the conference said additional punishment could come if the NCAA’s investigation warrants it.

Considering the nature of the suspension, Wasserman said things could’ve been worse for Harbaugh and the Wolverines. That said, it makes it even more interesting he could find himself coaching the Big Ten Championship and in the College Football Playoff even as he misses the biggest game of the year against Ohio State.

“If you have enough information to suspend him for Saturdays for the final three games of the season, unless you have enough information to just actually suspend him indefinitely until you get to the bottom of this, it’s either do it or don’t, to me,” Wasserman said. “It’s like now, they’re gonna come back in the Big Ten championship game and the playoff? Because Michigan’s still good enough to beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten. So if they do that, he’s just going to come back triumphantly on a white horse and his hair blowing in the wind and come back for the Big Ten title game and the National Championship race like nothing happened? … It’s just a bizarre thing to me.

“Everyone’s like, ‘Well, you have to punish him now.’ They didn’t really punish them that bad. And trust me, my honest take — I don’t know if it’s a take — I wish he was coaching in The Game. I wish he were on the sideline for the Ohio State game.”

Sherrone Moore will assume the head coaching duties the rest of the regular season. He did so last week against Penn State and will wear the big headset against Maryland and Ohio State to close things out. If Michigan makes it to the Big Ten title game or the CFP, it looks like Jim Harbaugh will be back on the sidelines.