According to the report, a minority owner of the Vikings is being accused of discriminating against Jim Harbaugh, the head coach of Michigan.
John U. Bacon, a journalist and author, claims that Minnesota Vikings minority shareholder Jim Stapleton discriminated against University of Michigan Jim Harbaugh, the university’s head coach, during the latter’s interview for the position of head coach of the Vikings in the year 2022.
Bacon brought out Stapleton as an individual who most likely provided the information the NCAA when he was a guest on the radio show Morning Juice 97.1 in Columbus, Ohio, to discuss the incident involving the Wolverines and the stealing of signs.
“The NCAA is leaking information to them at an alarming rate. “Keep your eye on a man named Jim Stapleton,” Bacon advised.
Jim Stapleton, a graduate of the University of Michigan, was a member of the board of directors of the Minnesota Vikings when Harbaugh was with the team, and Stapleton refused to hire Harbaugh.
He has recently been appointed to the NCAA Violations Committee, and Jim Harbaugh is the person he detests the most.
It makes no difference who the original source belongs to or if the information is correct or incorrect. If Michigan goes through with it, then they will have to pay the price whatever.
That’s not what I meant at all. You are not permitted to kill the messenger. Regarding the leak, however, I can say with absolute certainty that that is the source of the problem.”
The New York Times best-selling writer John U. Bacon made an appearance on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus’ Morning Juice off Wednesday, where he covered the scandal that is still going on at Ann Arbor.
By doing so, Bacon conveyed his conviction that a significant amount of the information about the NCAA’s investigation into the topic is coming from a Michigan booster called Jim Stapleton, who is in an ongoing fight with Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh.
Bacon believes that Stapleton is the source of the information because Stapleton has an ongoing beef with Harbaugh.
Bacon is familiar with Stapleton because the latter was the subject of the author Rich Rodriguez’s book, “Three and Out: Rich Rodriguez on the Michigan Wolverines during the Crucible for College Football,” which was published in 2011.
Bacon alleged in that book that Stapleton was repeatedly accused of ruining Rodriguez’s time spent at Ann Arbor, which the businessman from the Detroit area denied having done.
As he alluded to, Bacon also alleged that Stapleton attempted to dissuade the Vikings from hiring Harbaugh after he interviewed by the franchise after the 2021 season by using his influence as a minority owner of the Vikings. This occurred after the 2021 season.
On the website of the NCAA, it is stated that Stapleton is now serving in his first term on the NCAA’s infractions committee.
It appears that the new general manager of the Vikings, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who worked alongside Jim Harbaugh coach two years within the 49ers organization, wanted Harbaugh to be hired.
According to a number of anonymous sources connected to the Michigan football program, Harbaugh entered this interview with the intention of accepting the offer made by the Vikings and the conviction that the position was destined to be his.
The fact that Vikings ownership as well as other executives on the search committee needed to be on board with the idea was the obstacle that needed to be overcome, but it appeared that this would not be a problem.
Harbaugh would continue to have to “convince the Wilf family that his method is sufficiently modern in the midst coaching a youth movement,” according to what Bacon wrote about the upcoming interview.
“More importantly, he must quell the rumors that he’s too difficult to work with.” As a result, today will be reduced to a straightforward competition, Bacon explained further.
According to Bacon, the noise was coming from 49ers owner and CEO Jed York as well as Vikings minority shareholder Jim Stapleton.
This was predicated on the tumultuous way in which Harbaugh’s career with the 49ers came to an end.
Will the Wilf family accept the statements made by the owner of the 49ers, Jed York, the minority owner of the Vikings, Jim Stapleton, or the team’s general manager, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah?
The outcome of this could depend on how well Harbaugh does in the interview that will take place today.