ESPN's Dan Murphy not buying Harbaugh's innocence in Michigan's problems

this podcast is powered by the pros at Pascal a plumbing and electric Arkansas owned Arkansas operated go pascal.or so before we interviewed I want him to be able to listen to this we're going to play Jim Harbaugh's thoughts when asked about this yesterday and the current allegations and NCAA investigation going on with his former program 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 no one's perfect if you stumble you apologize and you make it right today I do not apologize I did not participate was not aware nor complicit in those said allegations so for me back to work and attacking with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind bull bull Dan we'll start there as we welcome you into the program your thoughts on Coach Harbaugh's comments on what may what happened with this football program good morning guys thanks for having me on yeah you know I think there's there's a lot going on inside of a football program I you know Harbaugh and many of the other coaches the NCAA hasn't said that they've found evidence that any of the coaches knew what Conor stallion was up to but the NC says about Jim Harbaugh is that as the head coach of the program he should have known if you've got a guy who's a low-level staff member of your recruiting department who all of a sudden has cracked all of the codes for uh A team's play calling signals in the middle of a game um you should be asking questions about how he's doing that and exploring some of the red flags that pop up there and so the UN when they're going after Jim Harbaugh they're saying that he uh was ignoring things that he should have been looking into if he wanted to maintain the Integrity of this program so they don't accuse him of being part of the scheme or masterminding it or anything like that but they say basically because he uh benefited from this information in some way and didn't look into how Conor science was going and getting it he uh has violated some NCAA rules so Dan's got a story up online right now at espn.com it's really good I read it uh last night and earlier this morning again Dan what I think is pretty damning in this case is the 52 supposed text that Coach Moore supposedly deleted off of his phone in uh in communicating with stallions uh is that the biggest piece in all this that stands out in this investigation I think it's that's the biggest new bit of information that we learned this is a um you know we received a draft of a notice of allegations so this might still change before they actually uh start to pursue punishments against Michigan here so shortly but uh yeah I think we've been waiting on this since late October when all this news broke and uh you know Michigan did fire or got you know Conor stallions resigned I guess uh technically um but yeah I think the fact that there were five members who were coaches seven total people on the co on the football staff who were uh accused of wrongdoing Five Guys who were on that coaching staff last year were accused of wrong doing and really all of the the penalties against them at the NCAA level were more about um getting in the way of the investigation and the failure to operate and trying to throw up roadblocks as the NCAA was looking into exactly what happened here and that's what we learned about Chiron Moore who took over as the head coach in Michigan in January after Harbaugh left for the NFL was that the day that all of this news started breaking last October that Conor stallions had been uh buying tickets for other people to go record the sidelines of opponents and down the road um Chiron Moore deleted a his basically his full text message history between himself and Conor stallion um it is worth pointing out that they later through some type of you know forensic phone Imaging were able to recover those texts and look at all of them and there was whatever they saw in those texts they didn't find anything that they that was worth uh punishing Chiron more uh any any further than uh having deleted those texts should should Michigan officials have vetted him further before hiring him or elevating him to head coach um seems like now you've really backed yourself in a corner as as Administration on what what you've done and um now you you could be facing possible sanctions against your coach by the NCAA it's a good question I think what Shon more he's accused of a level two violation the NC has different tiers of its penalties level one is the most serious level two is in the middle and there's level three as well which is real Ticky Tac kind of stuff um you know what shom was a facing potentially is is pretty minor in the long run and they they were pretty happy with what he did but last year when Jim harball was suspended for similar reasons uh late in the season Shon Moore stepped in as sort of their interim head coach and helped them along the way to a championship so even if Michigan had known that uh there might be a level two violation in Chiron Moore's future I'm pretty sure they'd still move forward with hiring him because they think he's going to be the guy to keep them on track after winning a championship last year should all of all of these allegations and all of this evidence we're we're learning about VI be viewed differently than normally when we're talking about things with the NCAA and violations by schools it doesn't directly affect the Integrity of the contest of the competition we're watching it's it's recruiting based it's in the past payers players being paid um Dan this goes to the heart of the Integrity of what we watch on the competitive field uh should this be dealt with more severely because it does violate the Integrity of the game I mean it's definitely different and the fact that they yes then then you're right that Mo most of what we hear when people are getting in trouble from the NCA it's some type of recruiting violation and in fact in in this set of allegations there were several other recruiting violations and smaller things that other assisant coaches have accused of doing over the past few years that they shouldn't have in terms of attracting players but but it it's rare um that we see somebody who uh gets uh punished or at least you know is in the process of being punished right now by the NCAA for having done something on the field that impacts the game um and I think you know the the thing that they have to weigh on that front is okay one how much of an advantage did it provide to them because remember they they caught them in the middle of the season and you know Michigan had no longer had that Advantage halfway through the season and they still won on to International Championship so the question is okay how how much does it really change the game and uh two that you know Harbaugh served a three- game suspension at the end of last season they have dled out a little Michigan has received a little bit of a punishment so far I think the question is okay how much more do we want to come over the top on that one I think they're still would build be more penalties I don't think they're going to vacate any games that Michigan is won but my guess is that they'll end up facing a pretty steep fine which is probably the the new method for the NCAA trying to to hit a school where it hurts in its wallet um and I'm guessing that's the direction this one's headed well nothing else I think we can directly tie the use of inh helmet communication now in college football directly to this so if if nothing else came of this the fact that we've evolved where we're not long no longer using cutout cardboard signs of you know some Disney character and all these guys giving fake signs on the sidelines and holding up tarp so they can't see you from up above all that goes way and we evolved the sport as as a result of this starting this year I think that's right yeah I think that's something that coaches have been talking about for a while but it's one of those things of like well we don't do it because this is the way we we've always done it where there's just been a lack of momentum to change that rule and this was was probably even if other people would tell you they were already planning to do it anyway I I wouldn't buy that I think this was probably the thing that tipped them in the direction and said okay let's just get this done and uh treat this we we've got plenty of money to put a microphone uh and a speaker inside somebody's helmet let's get this done and change this and update ourselves a little bit we're talking with Dan Murphy espn.com Rider here on the morning Rush Dan I want to step outside the the Michigan stuff and and ask you about some college football coaches Paul is out uh Georgia 1 Ohio State 2 Oregon 3 Texas 4 Bama five plenty of other SEC teams involved uh what stands out to you with the initial coaches poll that we got yesterday I you know I think that top five makes sense to me I think it's going to be there there are a lot of Heavy Hitters at the the top and I think what stands out to me is how interesting this season is going to be because we've we're going to have a lot of top 10 top 15 matchups because of the way the new Big 10 and the big SEC are constructed with so much power you know so many great teams being in those two conferences now especially as the playoff expands the thing that it's going to be interesting is there used to be this sense that an early game between you know Texas and Michigan right in week two I think this year would have felt like the end of the world for the loser of that game but I think now the college football fans and everybody who loves college football is going to have to adjust a little bit to say okay a loss in September to a high quality opponent even two losses three losses maybe isn't the end of the world you're going to have teams with two or three losses out of that big 10 in SEC um that are going to to make the playoff we got Ohio State versus Oregon halfway through the Year too that's two top five teams and losing one of those games now is not quite as dramatic of a of a result as as it has been in the past and Dan on that note how much do you think that minimizes the regular season I think a part of college football for decades upon decades is how the importance of the regular season in your opinion how much does the expansion minimize that that was always the fear with uh expanding the playoff right is in that in some ways you know I'm I'm interested to see how it washes out right because there are some games where it will feel less important Ohio State versus Oregon maybe won't have the same Stakes as it would in a four team playoff or the BCS however now that you're getting 12 teams in November you're going to have instead of having five or six teams that are eligible fighting for that last spot in the football playoff somewhere in late November there's usually like two or three teams battling out some questions about it you're going to have like 16 17 18 teams that are all sort of buying and thinking maybe they have a shot to make it in the top 12 so in late November there's you're gonna have to be working the remote a lot more to follow all the different games that are relevant um in terms of who's going to make the playoff so I think we'll be I'll be interested to see if that balances out or if it feels different um because there are going to be a lot more relevant games as well even if some of the the biggest Juggernaut Games don't feel quite as consequential as they used to before we let you go Arcadia Bluffs was a golf course and a destination on our list in Michigan I know you're you're up there do you have any have you been to Arcadia Bluffs there's another golf area in Michigan that Tommy and myself should try and venture out to at some point during the golfing season Arcadia Bluff is gorgeous I am uh not a golfer uh so you know I'm I'm uh wherever I can get a few beers in four hours of free time might be a beautiful go of course but but everywhere Northern Michigan is the Hidden Gem don't tell to many people about it but uh the Travers City area in northern Michigan Right Along Lake Michigan is Crystal Clear Blue Waters and huge dunes and beautiful golf courses up there uh don't come up in anytime before May or June I think or else you're you're likely to hit some snow but once it gets nice up here it is it's a gorgeous part of the country bet online is your number one source for all your betty needs get the latest odds lines and matchup reports for baseball boxing Golf and More bet online continues to be the fastest and easiest way to place your Wagers including live betting and your favorite casino and card games available to play right from your phone head to the website or use your mobile device to sign up today and get in on the action remember to use our promo code believe that's BL eav for 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