Sports
Ex-Michigan staffer Connor Stalions set to coach high school football in Michigan
Infamous ex-Michigan staffer Connor Stalions is set to coach high school football this fall.
Detroit Mumford head coach William McMichael told the Detroit News that he’d hired Stalions as his team’s new defensive coordinator. And in doing so, he provided a heck of a quote.
“I got the most hated man in college football right now, Connor Stalions,” McMichael said. “He’s my defensive coordinator.”
Stalions has been off the football radar since he was named as the main perpetrator in an alleged widespread advance scouting scheme for Michigan. In-person advance scouting is against NCAA rules, but Stalions allegedly ran a scheme to attend games of future Michigan opponents to get an opportunity to decipher their signals.
The controversy was the biggest story in college football during the 2023 season as Michigan went 15-0 and won the national championship. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, now with the Los Angeles Chargers, was suspended for the final three games of the regular season by the Big Ten as part of the scandal, though he returned for the Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff.
The biggest moment of Stalions’ alleged scheme came early in the 2023 season, when Harbaugh was serving a three-game suspension self-imposed by Michigan for an unrelated NCAA matter. Stalions was spotted on the sideline wearing Central Michigan gear during the Chippewas’ early-season game against Michigan State. That incident is reportedly noted in a draft notice of allegations from the NCAA to Michigan regarding the advance scouting scheme.
On Aug. 27, Stalions will be featured in an episode of Netflix’s “Untold” series where he’s set to talk publicly about his role as a staffer at Michigan.
Harbaugh, meanwhile, has been given a one-year suspension by the NCAA and a four-year show-cause penalty for his lack of cooperation in a recruiting investigation. The penalties are toothless at the moment given that Harbaugh is now coaching in the NFL and he may never return to college football.