This could be problematic... In Dan Wetzel's latest for ESPN.com, he reported on an emerging lawsuit at hand involving Michigan and a former Jim Harbaugh assistant coach in Chris Partridge. Wetzel reported Partridge has "sued the university, its board of trustees and athletic director Warde Manuel in federal court Wednesday" over wrongful terminations stemming from 2023's sign-stealing scandal.
Partridge may now work for the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on former Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald's staff, but he aspires to coach in college again one day, preferably as a head coach. This lawsuit is designed to help clear his name from this wrongful termination, improve his reputation, and recoup some of the damages lost from being let go in 2023.
Partridge argues that he was used as a scapegoat by athletic director Warde Manuel in all of this...
"I always believe that the truth will eventually come out. I went all the way through the process with the NCAA and the truth prevailed. And I feel I have to go all the way through the process with Michigan for the truth with Michigan to prevail."
Patridge finished his comments about his preference to get back into coaching college football soon.
"My passion is to be a head college coach. That has always been a dream of mine. I'm not going to give up on that just because other people made bad decisions."
Let's now take a few minutes to attempt to unpack some of the legalese put forth in Wetzel's findings.
Chris Partridge sues Michigan, Warde Manuel over wrongful termination
The long and short of this is Partridge was supposedly made to look like he had a hand in the advanced scouting department run by Connor Stalions. What seemed to have transpired was Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti was tipped off by anonymous sources that Partridge wanted Michigan players to destroy evidence and not comply with the NCAA investigation. Manuel hung him out to dry.
As this case unraveled, it became more and more clear that this was merely heresay. There were other parties at hand who were infinitely more involved in the given situation, which Partridge claims he had no involvement in whatsoever. The only thing Partridge supposedly did was tell a concerned Michigan player how to handle the emerging scandal by saying that he should go hire an attorney.
As Wetzel's article went along, it became fairly obvious to Partridge and his camp that Manuel was consistently inconsistent in how he handled one scandal after another. Whether it be Stalions, former head coach Sherrone Moore, or former offensive coordinator Matt Weiss, why was Partridge let go so swiftly without second thought? If Partridge wins in his day in court, it may likely cost Manuel his job.
Overall, the longer this has gone on, the less and less seems to be sticking to Partridge in all this, if at all... From an unbiased perspective, it felt weird in the moment that Michigan seemed to have it out for Partridge once the sign-stealing scandal first broke. Like, the powers at be tried to make him wear it, even though he had no involvement in it. If this proves to be the case, this could get downright ugly...
Ultimately, Michigan desperately needed to turn the page on the Harbaugh era. While it did bring the Wolverines great on-field success, the red tape that followed has people feeling a certain way. With Kyle Whittingham replacing Moore this offseason after Harbaugh's handpicked successor was fired for scandal, we can only hope the incoming head coach from Utah can lay a wholesome foundation.
For now, Manuel's days as Michigan's atheltic director could be numbered because of this lawsuit.