"I have not talked to Jim Harbaugh": Illinois HC Bret Bielema shows no interest in truce after feud over Michigan sign stealing in January 

Illinois Fighting Illini coach Bret Bielema has been quite outspoken regarding the Michigan sign-stealing scandal since January, calling it "disgusting." The disgraced scandal, which took place in 2023, shook the NCAA and raised doubts regarding integrity and sportsmanship in the college football circuit.

The investigation, which is still underway, has been an intense one. In January, coach Bielema took a jibe at Harbaugh after a video from the latter's San Franceson 49ers days resurfaced online.

"You don’t want people coming back and saying, ‘Oh they’re winning because they’re cheating.'" Harbaugh said in the video. "If you cheat to win, then you've already lost."

Bielema reacted to the former Michigan Wolverines coach's statement and called him out.

“Really…. Why did you leave,” Bielema tweted in January. “Was looking forward to playing but understand why you ran to the NFL. See you in the future and can’t wait.”

Things have been unresolved between the two since then. On Friday, Bielema confirmed that he has not been in contact with Harbaugh following the interaction in January.

"I have not talked to Jim,” Bret Bielema said on "Pardon My Take". “I never really had a problem with him, but it was just that moment, that scenario. Actually his strength coach, Ben Herbert...When I got let go to Arkansas, Jim hired four of my strength coaches to Michigan and that’s kind of when they made their turn. I got respect, I love his family, love his dad, they’re good people."

The sign-stealing scandal was uncovered in 2023, the same season that Michigan clinched the national championship. At the center of the saga was former Wolverines staffer Connor Stalions, who allegedly conceptualised the mishap.

The NCAA hit Michigan with 11 violations. But the University fought back, calling the NCAA's actions "grossly overreaching." Michigan is still fighting off these allegations, preparing to defend former coach Harbaugh, the then-offensive coordinator and current head coach, Sherrone Moore, and Stalions (who resigned in 2023). As of now, Michigan has offered a two-game suspension of Moore in advance.

After the scandal made it to the headlines, the then-Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh moved to the NFL. He is currently the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.

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NCAA coaches called out alleged cheating in the Michigan sign-stealing scandal

The NCAA forbids in-person scouting, which the Michigan officials designed to record sign- signals of future opponents. Although the university defends itself on the basis that "an enormous amount" of the signal decoding was done with television and other publicly available footages.

"I promise you that coaches still care about this," a Power 4 head coach (not in the Big 10) said as per The Athletic. "This was a major deal, and you can't minimize it. It's bad for college football. (Stealing signals) might be more common than you think, but the extremes they went to? I've never heard of anything like it, and they need to get the hammer."

"It's blatant cheatin," said another Group of 5 assistant coach via The Athletic. "I mean, even knowing run or pass (before a play) is a huge advantage. So you'd like to see it taken seriously."

Unlike the NFL, where a team communicates internally via headsets, in the college circuit, coaches use hand signs and boards to signal players. If the opposing team decodes (in advance) the signals, it is a huge disadvantage to the competing team.