Illinois HC Bret Bielema Shades Jim Harbaugh After Old Video on Cheating Resurfaces

University of Illinois head football coach Bret Bielema took a shot at former University of Michigan and current Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh on social media Wednesday.

Replying to a video on X that featured Harbaugh saying, "If you cheat to win, then you've already lost," during his time as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Bielema threw some shade at Harbaugh regarding how his tenure at Michigan ended:

During Harbaugh's final season at Michigan in 2023, analyst Connor Stalions resigned from his role with the team amid an NCAA investigation into allegations that he was the leader of an illegal sign-stealing operation.

The Wolverines went a perfect 15-0 and won the national championship in 2023, but Harbaugh left his alma mater at the end of the season to take the Chargers' head coaching job.

During the 2023 campaign, Harbaugh had to serve a pair of suspensions due to NCAA violations.

The first suspension was a self-imposed, three-game ban as a result of recruiting violations, and then he served another three-game suspension later in the season as punishment for the sign-stealing scandal.

Sherrone Moore, who is now the head coach at Michigan, won all six games as the interim head coach while Harbaugh was out, and Harbaugh was allowed to return for the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.

Back in August, after Harbaugh had already left for the NFL, the NCAA provided Michigan with a formal Notice of Allegations related to the sign-stealing investigation.

Several current and former members of the Michigan football program, including Harbaugh, were accused of committing Level I violations.

On Tuesday, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported that Michigan intends to fight the NCAA on the allegations, with the university stating that the NCAA is "grossly overreaching" and "wildly overcharging" the program.

In his first season back in the NFL, Harbaugh led the Chargers to an 11-6 record and a playoff berth, marking the fourth time in his five seasons as an NFL head coach that he secured a playoff berth.

As for Michigan, the Wolverines took a big step back from 2023 to 2024, finishing 8-5. However, Michigan did beat rival and eventual national championship-winning Ohio State for a fourth consecutive year.

Bielema, who coached Wisconsin in the Big Ten from 2006 to 2012, returned to the conference with Illinois in 2021 after a five-year run at Arkansas.

He led the Fighting Illini to a 10-3 mark in 2024, which was their best record since 2001 when they went 10-2.

Included in those 10 wins was a 21-7 home triumph over a Michigan team that was the No. 24-ranked squad in the nation at the time of the game.