With Jim Harbaugh involved, there’s nary a dull moment in the wild world of college football.
The Michigan head coach raised some eyebrows earlier this month when he added Michael Johnson Sr. to his football staff. Why? Johnson Sr.'s son is Michael Johnson Jr., the top-rated dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2019.
There’s nothing illegal about that at the moment -- proposed legislation could prevent such hirings in the future -- which brings us to Paul Finebaum, a notorious Harbaugh antagonist. On Wednesday’s “Outside the Lines” program, ESPN resident collegiate rabble-rouser left no question as to where his beliefs lie when it comes to Harbaugh and this particular subject.
From mlive.com‘s transcript of the show:He’s an evil genius. I think he’s one of the smartest people I’ve run into in a long time. Most of what he’s done is just that: Genius ... but this is wrong. It may not be illegal by NCAA standards and bylaws as of this moment, but to me, it’s cheating. It’s blatantly disregarding the spirit of the NCAA rule. We all know why he’s doing it. This is the same person who, last year, accused Nick Saban of cheating and Hugh Freeze of cheating.
“I know he won’t be penalized for it, but he’s cheating. Why don’t we just face up to it? There’s no other reason why he would hire this man. It’s been done in the past. But it’s still wrong. I don’t know why the media celebrates Jim Harbaugh and doing things that are, in my mind, unethical.
Of course, Harbaugh, albeit a day later, couldn’t sit idly by without firing a shot across the television personality’s bow.
Pete Finebaum, the unabashed SEC water carrier, really needs to get his facts straight. #AlternativeFacts
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) February 17, 2017
“Pete Finebaum.” "#AlternativeFacts.” Classic.
Your serve, Pete.