Former Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh now won't return for season opener

Word got out last week that former Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh was going to be an honorary captain for the 2024 season opener on Aug. 31 against Fresno State (7:30 p.m., NBC), however there's since been a change of plans and the former head man will not be in attendance.

At his first media availability since the Wolverines began fall camp on July 31, first-year head coach Sherrone Moore announced that his predecessor would not be able to make it, instead deciding to stay on the West Coast with his current team, the Los Angeles Chargers.

"Yesterday he called me and told me he didn't feel he could leave his team in true coach Harbaugh fashion and wanted to be in the fox hole with his team, not make it look like he's taking a deep long bow," Moore said. "So he's not going to make it for the game, but we will have some of our (former players) guys who will be there and then Jack and Jackie Harbaugh are going to take his place, so super excited about that."

The news was only public for a week − it first gained traction after athletic director Warde Manuel announced the decision on the "1 Star Recruits" podcast − and drew some pushback given the optics behind the timing of it all.

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Just a few days earlier, the Division I committee of investigation released its 48-page report to the NCAA which detailed a series of alleged improprieties committed by Harbaugh, including his Level I offense for misleading investigators and ultimately punished him with a four-year show cause penalty and one-year suspension should he ever want to return to collegiate coaching.

Earlier in the week, the Free Press confirmed that U-M had indeed been sent a draft notice of allegations for a separate NCAA investigation into the program for its alleged illegal off-field scouting operation and within that Harbaugh is also tagged as a Level I violator for failing to evaluate "red flags" within his program.

Moore was asked about the timing of the decision, which appeared to come shortly after these decisions, but he confirmed with program spokesman Dave Ablauf that it was actually in place for months prior. For what it's worth, Ablauf said as much to the Free Press last week, saying "you might remember Warde mentioned this at the press conference announcing Sherrone's hire."

"I actually just talked to coach yesterday and really what went into the decision was we made the decision in March, or I think it was January or February," Moore said Tuesday. "It really was to honor him and what he's done for Michigan. Came back for nine years and took us to where we are now.

"So it was really to honor him, it's nothing besides that."

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A source with knowledge of the situation told the Free Press that the decision for Harbaugh not to attend did in fact come from the former coach and not the university feeling pressure about the optics of his return.

"His," the person told the Freep when asked who decided he wouldn't return to Ann Arbor as had previously been expected. "He needs to find a QB in case Herbert is a no go."