Schembechler embarrassment shows Michigan's 'wait and see' approach is costly

They didn’t apologize or admit a mistake had been made. But by delivering the news that Shemy Schembechler had resigned Saturday following his abbreviated stint as Michigan football’s assistant director of recruiting, head coach Jim Harbaugh and athletic director Warde Manuel officially attached their names to the latest troubling situation rocking the sports wing of the university. The statement they co-signed didn’t say much.

What it did, however, was expose their conspicuous connection to an embarrassing episode that raised doubts about their competence, leadership, sense and sensibility. Internet sleuths discovered Michigan had not done enough due diligence before hiring Schembechler, a longtime NFL scout and the scion of the school’s most iconic coach known only as “Bo” to a generation of fans. Shortly after Schembechler announced Wednesday that he had joined the football staff, his Twitter profile became the subject of intense scrutiny. It was soon uncovered that he liked posts and comments containing insensitive and offensive content. The revelations caused instant backlash and sparked incredulity, angering alumni and causing outsiders to wonder whether Schembechler had been properly vetted.

If not, then why?

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It’s a reasonable question to ask about an athletic department that has been more reactive than assertive under Manuel’s watch. Many of the controversies and unsavory episodes during his seven-year tenure have been self-inflicted, in part, because Manuel hasn’t addressed emerging problems before they became too obvious to ignore.

The botched onboarding of Schembechler is just the latest example in a string of public relations blunders. In 2019, Manuel admitted fault when he announced the removal of Rhonda Faehn as a gymnastics consultant days after she was hired. He called it the “wrong decision” following a massive public outcry concerning how Faehn had responded to reports of sexual abuse by convicted predator Larry Nassar at a previous job.

“Our student-athletes are our highest priority and I want to do everything in my power to support them fully,” he said in a statement then.

Yet Manuel continued to make missteps.

Last spring, he received a disturbing report from the WilmerHale law firm after the university commissioned it to investigate the hockey program. The document, dated to May 2022, detailed multiple allegations of misconduct under head coach Mel Pearson, including him pressuring students to lie on COVID-19 tracing forms, retaliating against a player for raising concerns about the hockey team’s culture and helping to create “a toxic work environment for female staff.” It was followed by a stern recommendation: “Issues facing the hockey program require attention.” But it wasn’t until external pressure mounted in August, following the publication of WilmerHale’s findings, that Manuel announced Pearson would no longer remain in his post.

Why it took him so long to act remains unclear.

Those looking for answers, however, will be hard-pressed to gather any. Since he took charge in 2016, Manuel has operated in the shadows. Only on rare occasions has he taken questions from the media, and his last scheduled news conference was in March 2021. Still, as Manuel hovered in the background, his passive leadership style became increasingly evident over time. In 2020, when Michigan football nosedived to a 2-4 record, the Wolverines and Harbaugh neared a breaking point as his contract approached its expiration date. At the time, Harbaugh was the only Power Five coach with less than two years remaining on his deal, despite his profession valuing at least the appearance of longevity. The absence of an extension proved costly, creating a ripple effect in the coming years that sparked Harbaugh’s massive pay cut in 2021, a big raise the following year and his repeated flirtations with a return to the NFL.  

In fact, it was Harbaugh’s dalliances with the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers that kicked off a messy offseason for Michigan this past winter. As Harbaugh’s future in Ann Arbor was thrown into question, the football program dealt with one negative headline after another. Co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss was fired in January after university police launched an investigation into “computer access crimes” at team headquarters. That followed a January draft notice of allegations from the NCAA detailing multiple rules violations. The most serious one directly involved Harbaugh, who was accused of misleading investigators.

“Compare us to perfect,” Harbaugh said in February, “and we’re going to come up short.”

But beyond the field of play — where the football team went 13-1 in 2022 — Michigan hasn’t even come close to meeting that lofty standard. Instead, the Wolverines have only invited criticism — from their bizarrely muted response to running back Donovan Edwards’ retweet of antisemitic content last October to the lack of overt measures taken following defensive tackle Mazi Smith’s delayed concealed weapon charge in December.

The latest controversy surrounding Schembechler shows once again that Michigan rarely acts until there is no other alternative but to do something.

By then, of course, it’s usually too late.

The damage is done, and Michigan is left to face the consequences. Such was the case Saturday, when Harbaugh and Manuel announced the resignation of an employee who should have never been hired in the first place. In the end, they only have themselves to blame for an outcome that was entirely avoidable.