EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh had a muted response one day after the NCAA announced a four-year, show-cause order for the former Michigan coach due to impermissible contact with recruits and players during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m stopping the engagement there with commenting. My only hope is that one day college athletics will be about what’s best for the young men and young women who participate. That’s really all I have to say about it," Harbaugh said on Thursday after practice
The show-cause order effectively bans Harbaugh from college athletics until August 2028.
The response to the penalty was markedly different from his reaction on Monday, when he continued to deny having any knowledge of the impermissible scouting operation that triggered an NCAA investigation of Michigan during its championship run last year.
“Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal. I was raised with that lesson. I have raised my family on that lesson. I have preached that lesson to the teams I’ve coached. No one’s perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and you make it right,” Harbaugh said. “Today, I do not apologize. I did not participate. I was not aware nor complicit in those said allegations. So for me, it’s back to work and attacking with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”
The recruiting case is unrelated to the NCAA’s investigation into impermissible in-person scouting and sign-stealing allegations that roiled Michigan’s 2023 championship season and resulted in the Big Ten Conference's three-game suspension of Harbaugh.
The NCAA said Harbaugh, who left his alma mater to coach the Chargers, “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations.”
“Harbaugh engaged in unethical conduct and failed to cooperate when he denied any involvement in impermissible recruiting contacts despite substantial information to the contrary,” the NCAA said in a 48-page decision that several times suggested the coach was not truthful with investigators.
Harbaugh will only face the punishment if he makes an unexpected return to college football within the next four years.
The order runs through Aug. 6, 2028. It requires any school hiring Harbaugh over the next four years to suspend him for the first full season. After that, Harbaugh would be still be barred from athletics-related activities, including team travel, practice, video study, recruiting and team meetings until the order expires.
Harbaugh’s attorney, Tom Mars, said on Wednesday the coach was not invited to participate in the settlement process nor was he aware that an agreement had been reached between the school and the NCAA. He blasted the NCAA’s punishment.
“The way I see it, from Coach Harbaugh’s perspective, today’s COI decision is like being in college and getting a letter from your high school saying you’ve been suspended because you didn’t sign your yearbook,” Mars posted on social media. “If I were in Coach Harbaugh’s shoes and had an $80 million contract as head coach of the Chargers, I wouldn’t pay any attention to the findings of a kangaroo court which claims to represent the principles of the nation’s most flagrant, repeat violator of the federal antitrust laws.”
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Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh speaks at a news conference after NFL football training camp Monday, July 29, 2024, in El Segundo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh speaks at a news conference after NFL football training camp Monday, July 29, 2024, in El Segundo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings let Danielle Hunter leave as a free agent this year, deciding not to pay market price for a player who'd flourished into the franchise's latest in a long line of prolific pass rushers.
Hunter joined the Houston Texans instead, jumping at the opportunity to play in his hometown for an on-the-rise team. Two games in, the unbeaten Texans are the NFL leader in sack rate per pass play (16.1%) while boasting the 10th-year veteran Hunter on one end and Will Anderson Jr., the 2023 Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year, on the other.
The Vikings are still getting after those quarterbacks, though, by the design and to the delight of defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
Hunter's departure in March was stemmed by the acquisition of free agent edge rushers Andrew Van Ginkel (from Miami) and Jonathan Greenard (from Houston, coincidentally). Then in April, the Vikings selected Alabama star Dallas Turner in the first round after ensuring they got a quarterback, J.J. McCarthy. The Vikings also picked up ninth-year veteran Jihad Ward in the second wave of free agency.
Those four players combined have roughly the same salary cap charge this season as Hunter. The Vikings will put their roster-building strategy and pass-rushing prowess to another strong test when they host Hunter and the Texans on Sunday, tasked with taking down C.J. Stroud, the 2023 Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“We've got a bunch of guys that can all play, and we’re really using those guys,” Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said.
The Vikings are undefeated themselves, fueled by the league’s second-best sack rate (14.1 percent). Their group of versatile edge rushers includes fourth-year backup Patrick Jones II, who has four of the team's NFL-most 11 sacks.
“Flo did a good job of bringing in guys that are smart, dependable, tough and love football,” Van Ginkel said. “When you’ve got that, you’ve got a recipe for success.”
In beating defending NFC champion San Francisco last week, Minnesota forced the 49ers into a 2-for-10 performance on third down conversions. On eight of those 10 plays, Flores called for his race car package that takes the heaviest guys off the field and puts four pass-rush specialists on the line of scrimmage.
“Those five players are a huge part of how we put together the weekly plan,” O'Connell said.
Not that the Vikings wouldn't still like to have a player such as Hunter, who's landed in a formidable starting lineup with Anderson Jr. on the opposite side.
“It's really special when you can have two ends who play the way they can play,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said, adding: “They don’t say much, don’t talk much outside, but they love football and that’s what they bond on. Two guys who are about playing the game the right way. They’re intense, they’re physical players, and they love getting after it.”
Texans wide receiver Nico Collins leads the NFL with 252 receiving yards, the only player in the league with two 100-yard games. Collins, who had a career-high 1,297 yards last season, formed a unique bond with Stroud since the Texans drafted the quarterback second overall last year out of Ohio State.
“Reps after reps after reps, you accumulate those things over time and wait for moments like this,” said Collins, who was a third-round pick from Michigan in 2021. “So we make it look easy.”
Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson was forced out of the game late in the third quarter against San Francisco with a bruised quadriceps, but he has practiced on a limited basis this week and been trending toward being cleared for Sunday. Jefferson said on Thursday he'll play “for sure.”
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold is fifth in the league in passer rating in a strong start to his reset season in a career that sent him to four teams in seven years since he was the third overall pick in the 2018 draft.
“I definitely feel very comfortable with the offense, with the system,” Darnold said. “I feel like I can continue to grow.”
Houston's Ka’imi Fairbairn was the AFC special teams player of the week after making all four of his field-goal tries against the Bears. He made three from 50-plus yards, including a 59-yarder that was the second-longest kick in franchise history behind his 61-yarder in 2021.
Fairbairn is 7 for 7 on field goals and 3 for 3 on extra points this season, with six makes from 50-plus yards.
“He’s always cool in the moment,” Ryans said. “He never gets too high or gets too low. He’s banging 59-yard field goals, and he still just comes to the sideline like, 'Hey, that’s what I do.’ So when you have that demeanor, I think it really helps you.”
The eight-year player has made a practice of meditation every morning.
“Just beginning each day, try to find that inner calmness,” Fairbairn said.
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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) is sacked by San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) scrambles away from Chicago Bears defensive back Kyler Gordon during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (24) runs from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (43) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws a pass as he is pressured by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Minneapolis. The Vikings won 23-17. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, right, is grabbed by Houston Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter (55) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
