Bret Bielema Goes After Jim Harbaugh On Social Media, Weirdly Accuses Him Of 'Running' To The NFL

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A new report regarding the Michigan football sign-stealing operations came to light earlier this week about the program's plans to fight the charges and allegations involving Connor Stalions during Jim Harbaugh's tenure as the head coach of the Wolverines.

Michigan's decision to fight any charges was as predictable as saying that the sun will come up tomorrow, but the report seems to have stirred up some hate inside Illinois head coach Bret Bielema.

A video during Harbaugh's time as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers made the rounds on X, formerly Twitter, in which he discusses cheating. 

"You always want to be above approach," Harbaugh says in the clip. "Especially when you’re good because you don’t want people coming back and saying ‘Oh they’re winning because they’re cheating.’ We want to be above the approach in everything, play by the rules. If you cheat to win then you’ve already lost."

Well, Bielema saw the video and decided it was an opportune time to call out Harbaugh and accuse him of 'running' to the NFL.

Just six minutes later, Bielema quoted another old clip of Harbaugh of the coach saying "tell the truth, always" to really drive the point home about how he clearly sees Harbaugh as a hypocrite.

Harbaugh and Bielema only squared off in one Michigan-Illinois matchup before Harbaugh took the Los Angeles Chargers' head coaching job, and it was 19-17 Wolverines' win in 2022.

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While there is no denying that there is a ton of shady business and accusations floating around the Michigan program and its sign-stealing operation, Bielema's note about Harbaugh ‘running’ to the NFL is a pretty laughable one.

The overwhelming majority of college coaches would jump at the opportunity for a head coaching job in the NFL, especially in today's day and age where a college coaching gig is a 365-day project thanks to NIL. 

That fact aside, Harbaugh is a former NFL Coach of the Year and a national championship-winning coach. Bielema going after him on social media about a coaching job that Harbaugh has absolutely nothing to do with now is weird, and a bit petty if we're being honest. 

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets, including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016, when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.