Adam Rittenberg explains why Jim Harbaugh is culpable for sign stealing, even if he didn't know about it

ESPN senior writer Adam Rittenberg joined The Paul Finebaum Show on Tuesday and detailed the latest in the Michigan sign-stealing investigation, as well as what could be next for Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh.

The Big Ten sent a formal notice of potential disciplinary action against Michigan on Monday and, according to Rittenberg, the league could be close to suspending Harbaugh.

If the conference punishes anyone, it will be Jim Harbaugh, he added.

“What I am told is that it will not be a team related suspension, it would be a Jim Harbaugh related suspension, if the Big Ten does choose to act,” Rittenberg said. “I’ve been told that Tony Petitti is not interested in punishing the players for the alleged actions of coaches or staff at Michigan. So I would be stunned – I really don’t expect any team related penalties here.”

Former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions, who is at the center of the investigation, resigned last week.

Rittenberg reports that the Big Ten has evidence that Michigan was cheating, even if it can’t necessarily link that evidence back to Harbaugh at this time.

“I don’t think the Big Ten has concrete evidence that Jim Harbaugh was aware or orchestrating any of these activities. But they do believe that they happened,” Rittenberg said. “That part – they think there are enough facts that have been presented to them by the NCAA, by media, by other outlets, that they believe these violations happened and someone has to suffer the consequences.”

The person who is set to suffer the consequences is reportedly Jim Harbaugh.

The Michigan head coach can be punished for what happens under his program, even if there is no proof that he directly commited a violation in this instance.

“The way that even the NCAA’s penalty structure is now, you can have an assistant coach that you have no knowledge what he or she is doing, and as the head coach you still can face penalties,” Rittenberg said. “So I think it’s very much along those lines, that Michigan the team won’t be punished, but Jim Harbaugh, the head coach of the team, who oversees everything in the program, could be punished, even if he was not aware that any of this was going on.”

The third-ranked Wolverines are coming off of a 41-13 win over Purdue on Saturday. Michigan now faces a top-15 Penn State team this weekend. It seems possible that Harbaugh could be suspended for that matchup.