Craig Carmoney’s BLOG

By Craig Carmoney

The NFL isn’t in the business of chasing ghosts, and that’s exactly what “Signgate” has turned out to be—a ghost story built on speculation, not substance. For all the noise surrounding Jim Harbaugh and Michigan’s alleged sign-stealing scandal, one undeniable truth remains: there is no evidence that directly connects Harbaugh to any wrongdoing. And without evidence, the NFL won’t waste its time or credibility pursuing punishment that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.

This entire saga has always had more to do with the NCAA’s long-standing feud with Harbaugh than with any real crime. For years, Harbaugh embarrassed the NCAA by refusing to play by its unspoken rules of deference. He challenged them, exposed their hypocrisy, and made them look foolish at every turn. From satellite camps to his blunt criticisms of the NCAA’s outdated model, Harbaugh never backed down. And in return, the NCAA jumped at every opportunity to paint him as a villain.

“Signgate” was the perfect weapon for them. Never mind that sign-stealing itself isn’t against NCAA rules. Never mind that no investigation produced any shred of evidence tying Harbaugh to an orchestrated scheme. The NCAA got what it wanted: headlines, outrage, and the chance to drag Harbaugh’s name through the mud one more time. It was a hit job, plain and simple.

But here’s the problem for the NCAA—once Harbaugh left Ann Arbor for Los Angeles, their reach ended. The NFL doesn’t answer to the NCAA. Roger Goodell isn’t going to discipline a Super Bowl-winning coach on the basis of innuendo and NCAA press leaks. The league has enough of its own controversies to manage without importing baseless scandals from a governing body that has spent decades proving its incompetence.

NFL owners want one thing: wins. And Jim Harbaugh delivers wins. He rebuilt Michigan into a national champion, and he’s poised to do the same with the Chargers. Unless there’s concrete, indisputable evidence that he broke NFL rules—something no one has produced and no one ever will—there’s zero chance the league even considers punishment.

The NCAA wanted to bury Harbaugh. Instead, they handed him the perfect exit, straight into the NFL spotlight where their pettiness holds no power. “Signgate” will be remembered for what it really was: not a scandal of cheating, but a scandal of desperation, a last-ditch attempt by the NCAA to humble the man who made them look irrelevant.

And the NFL? They’ll just keep doing what the NCAA never could—letting Jim Harbaugh be Jim Harbaugh.