Brent Venables and Sam Pittman leads Hot Seat Talk in 2025
Brent Venables, Sam Pittman and Mike Gundy lead the list of coaches under pressure in 2025.
Almost two years after news was turned down on in-person reconnaissance from the Michigan football program and investigation into alleged sign steel, Wolverine was punished.
The NCAA slapped Michigan with a substantial fine, causing Wolverine head coach Sheron Moore to halt the first game of the 2026 season and placed Michigan on four years of probation. The NCAA announced it on August 15th.
Wolverine’s fines include:
- In addition to $50,000, 10% of the football program’s budget
- Total equivalent to the expected loss of all postseason competitive revenue shares from the 2025 and 2026 football seasons
- Amount equivalent to the 10% cost of scholarships awarded in the Michigan Soccer Program between 2025 and 2026
The total from all these fines is expected to exceed $20 million, according to an ESPN report.
The NCAA also handed over former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. Jim Harbaugh is currently the head coach of the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers, responsible for the 10-year show, and will take effect on August 7, 2028 when the four-year show was given by another NCAA investigation.
Connor Stallions, a former Michigan staffer who led the program’s in-person reconnaissance operations, was responsible for the eight-year show. Stallion resigned from his position with Wolverine in November 2023 and has since been out of college track and field with official abilities.
In May, Michigan unveiled Moore’s voluntary suspension. Moore was Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator, but it is said that scouting occurred between 2021 and 23, and that 52 text messages were deleted at Stallion.
Other sanctions against Wolverine include a 25% reduction in official soccer visits during the 2025-26 academic year, a 14-week ban on recruitment communications in the football program, and a three-year show order from former assistant director of player representatives Denard Robinson. Robinson, a school star quarterback from 2009-12, has not been involved in the program since May 2024, shortly after being charged with running a vehicle while drunk.
