Baltimore Ravens HC John Harbaugh Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

John Harbaugh cracks sign-stealing joke about Michigan

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 1/12/24

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh has a sense of humor about the sign-stealing allegations that have plagued his brother Jim Harbaugh at Michigan.

The Ravens coach spoke to the media Friday about the team’s playoff preparations and couldn’t help but throw in a little reference to the Michigan scandal. Harbaugh revealed that due to bad weather across the country, some of the Ravens’ advance scouts had flights canceled. The Ravens coach then slyly noted that their in-person scouting efforts are, in fact, legal in the NFL.

Harbaugh said that a few of the Ravens advanced scouts have had flights canceled because of the weather predicted for Buffalo and K.C. this week. And then he added with a smile, "Which is legal in Pro Football, by the way."

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 12, 2024

Former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions was accused of leading a sign-stealing operation that involved purchasing tickets to rivals’ games and recording their sidelines. While the recording aspect would not fly anywhere, in-person advance scouting is illegal in the NCAA regardless, which is not the case in the NFL.

The sign-stealing allegations threatened to derail Michigan’s season at one point. They stabilized themselves and won the national title, with the scandal more or less devolving into joke fodder at this point. That may change once the NCAA’s investigation proceeds, but that appears to be a long way off.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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