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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
Connor Stalions, the low-level analyst who was allegedly the mastermind behind Michigan‘s sign-stealing operation that led to former coach Jim Harbaugh’s three-game suspension during the Wolverines’ national championship season in 2023, is back in coaching.
Mumford High coach William McMichael confirmed to ESPN on Friday that he has hired Stalions as his defensive coordinator at the Detroit school. McMichael said Stalions is working as a volunteer.
“He might be the most hated man in college football, but the coaches and kids at Mumford High School love him,” McMichael said.
McMichael, in his first season as Mumford’s coach, said a mutual friend introduced him to Stalions. He said Stalions had to go through a background check before he joined the staff.
“What happened at Michigan had nothing to do with Mumford High School,” McMichael said. “That’s a Michigan thing. That’s an NCAA thing.”
McMichael said the Mumford players call their new coordinator “Five-star Stalions.”
“The kids love him,” McMichael said. “He seemed like the perfect fit for us and what we wanted to do. The defense we’ve been running for a while mirrors Michigan’s. It gives an edge to the guys who are looking to go to the next level because they’re learning college lingo and how you go about being professional.”
The Mustangs, who haven’t had a winning campaign since 2019, open the season Aug. 29 against Thurston High School.
Stalions, a retired captain in the United States Marine Corps, was accused of orchestrating an elaborate scheme in which he sent people to scout the Wolverines’ future opponents, including recording play signals from teams’ sidelines.
Harbaugh, who now coaches the Los Angeles Chargers, has denied knowledge of the sign-stealing scheme.
ESPN reported on Aug. 4 that new Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore is one of seven members from the 2023 football program accused of violating NCAA rules in a draft of the NCAA’s notice of allegations.
The draft, which could be subject to change, states Moore could face a show-cause penalty and possibly a suspension for allegedly deleting a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions in October 2023 on the same day that media reports revealed Stalions was leading an effort to capture the playcalling signals of future opponents.
The draft states that the texts were later recovered via “device imaging” and Moore “subsequently produced them to enforcement staff.” Moore is accused of committing a Level 2 violation, according to the draft.
Harbaugh, Chris Partridge, Denard Robinson and Stalions are also accused of committing Level 1 violations, the most serious category in the NCAA’s enforcement process. The school also faces a Level 1 violation charge, according to the draft, because of its “pattern of noncompliance within the football program” and institutional efforts to hinder or thwart the NCAA’s investigation. Former coaches Jesse Minter and Steve Clinkscale are also accused of recruiting violations unrelated to Stalions in the draft.
Records provided to ESPN by several Big Ten schools — and from some outside the conference — showed Stalions purchased tickets for multiple games involving future opponents.
Central Michigan was also investigating allegations that Stalions was on its sideline for last year’s season opener against Michigan State. The school became aware of a photo of a man resembling Stalions, who was dressed in Central Michigan-issued gear and wearing a bench credential. He was wearing sunglasses during a night game.
Stalions was suspended with pay on Oct. 20, pending the outcome of Michigan’s internal investigation, and resigned on Nov. 3.
The Big Ten Conference suspended Harbaugh from coaching his team’s final three games of the 2023 regular season because it said his program violated the league’s sportsmanship policy.
“I love the University of Michigan and its football program,” Stalions said in a statement provided to The Athletic at the time. “And I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to work with the incredible student athletes, coach Harbaugh and the other coaches that have been a part of the Michigan football family during my tenure. I do not want to be a distraction from what I hope to be a championship run for the team, and I will continue to cheer them on.”
ESPN’s Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel contributed to this report.