Bret Bielema’s comments about Jim Harbaugh and Michigan are absurd

We live in a day and age where people can say absurd things without consequence on social media, they say things they’d never really say to someone’s face. Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema is a prime example of this type of behavior, someone who often resorts to trolling on the X platform.

Bielema decided to take a shot at Michigan and former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh after news broke on Tuesday that Michigan will vigorously defend Harbaugh, current head coach Sherrone Moore, and other staff members in relation to the NCAA sign-stealing investigation of former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions.

Really…. Why did you leave?

Was looking forward to playing but understand why you ran to the #NFL

See you in the future and can’t wait #famILLy #ILL https://t.co/4y7C5ecvUA — Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) January 29, 2025

“Really... why did you leave?” Bielema posted. “Was looking forward to playing but understand why you ran to the NFL. See you in the future and can’t wait.”

Bielema thought he was being clever, but his thought process wasn’t as thoughtful as he believed. For one, the NCAA has never provided evidence that Harbaugh was involved in Stalions’ operation or that he knew it was going on. Further, the Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for four games in 2023 even though they didn’t have any information indicating that Harbaugh was aware of the sign-stealing scheme.

Bielema asks why Harbaugh left for the NFL despite the facts of the matter being readily available — Harbaugh left because he just won a National Championship at Michigan but still has a goal of winning the Super Bowl.

“I love Michigan. But I love the NFL, too, and there’s no Lombardi Trophy in college football. I’ve got so many sands left in the hourglass, and I want to take a crack at that,” Harbaugh said last year. “There’s no better place to do it than with the Los Angeles Chargers.”

Harbaugh also received a hefty contract with the Chargers paying him $16 million per year for five years — Harbaugh’s base pay before incentives in 2023 at Michigan was $8.2 million.

Bielema wants to make it sound like Harbaugh went to the NFL because of the NCAA investigation when in reality Harbaugh was once an NFL coach and always had that itch to get back to the pros. After winning the National Championship at Michigan, for Harbaugh, it was like Blake Corum would put it, “business is finished”. Harbaugh, who was with Michigan since 2015, did precisely what he set out to do, win multiple Big Ten Championships (3), and win a National Championship. The mission was accomplished.

Harbaugh has always been adamant that he never cheated, and last year he made clear he makes no apologies for how he conducted himself as head coach at Michigan.

“Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal. I was raised with that lesson,” Harbaugh said last August. “I have raised my family on that lesson. I have preached that lesson to the teams I’ve coached. No one’s perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and you make it right. Today, I do not apologize. I did not participate, was not aware nor complicit in those said allegations.”

Bielema, who has won just 56% of his games at Illinois (28-22), often turns to social media to complain — he blamed officiating for Illinois losing to Michigan 19-17 in 2022, saying he was “extremely pissed off”. last December he told Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin online that Illinois, who finished the regular season at 9-3, was deserving of making the College Football Playoff.

If Bielema wants Illinois to be relevant on the national stage, it’s going to take more than social media trolling, otherwise, the finest hour for the Fighting Illini with him as head coach will be their Cheez-It Citrus Bowl win over South Carolina. It’s fair to say that Bielema could only wish to weigh the options Jim Harbaugh has had in his career, such as deciding whether to take a head coaching job in the NFL or return to a program that just won a National Championship.

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