Paul Finebaum slams former Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh for “Oscar-winning performance” amid NCAA investigation

Former Michigan Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh has been named part of the NCAA investigation on the Wolverines' "sign-stealing scandal" of 2023. At that time, Harbaugh was in charge of the program and was able to lead the team to a national championship.

Harbaugh left the Wolverines after the win and is now the coach of the LA Chargers in the NFL. On Monday, Harbaugh denied his involvement in the scandal, during a press conference.

"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 that I've coached. "

His statement caught the attention of Paul Finebaum. The college football analyst gave his response to Harbaugh's comments to Mike Greenberg on Tuesday's edition of "Get Up."

"It's an Oscar-winning performance, Greeny," Finebaum said. "I had a lot of different emotions. I wanted to throw all kinds of adjectives up on the board. I wanted to label him as a pathological liar, as someone who's delusional. But I can't do it anymore because I think he in many ways is the Jack Nicholson of coaching. He's a man for all seasons."

His fiery response clearly shows that he does not believe that Jim Harbaugh has had any involvement in the sign-stealing scandal, even if he denied it.

Finebaum calling him "a man for all seasons" could be referring to Harbaugh being a remarkable coach who takes programs to championships, and then denies his involvement in a scandal from a program that he was in charge of.

Could Jim Harbaugh be punished for his involvement in the scandal?

Jim Harbaugh has been named as one of seven Michigan staffers who the NCAA thinks was involved with the sign-stealing scandal, alongside Connor Stalions, who is accused of violating a Level 2 violation.

As this is not the first time Harbaugh has been investigated by the NCAA (he spent nearly half of the 2023 season suspended for recruitment violations), he is likely to receive a harsher punishment than those who have not been investigated before.

However, Finebaum believes that any penalty that Harbaugh gets will be of little significance to him because he is already with the Chargers, and the NCAA does not have any jurisdiction in the NFL. Any penalty that Harbaugh would potentially receive can only be applied once he returns to college football, which may not happen for some time.