Michigan football coach has positive outlook on suspensions

For the first week of the 2023 season, the Wolverines will be without 9th-year head coach Jim Harbaugh and first-year (full-time) offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore. While Moore will return in Week 2, Harbaugh will not make an appearance on the Wolverines’ sideline until Week 4 against Rutgers for the Big Ten opener. According to Michigan football coach Chris Partridge (linebackers), the Maize and Blue are taking a positive approach to the suspensions and will use it as motivation.

Michigan football coach Chris Partridge outlines positive outlook on suspensions

Can Michigan football get over the hump and win the national title this fall? Ideally, the answer is yes; however, a number of tough challenges stand in the Wolverines’ way. While Michigan State, Penn State, and Ohio State pose a threat down the road, the task at hand is East Carolina, but there is a catch — Michigan is without multiple coaches.

Due to the University of Michigan self-imposed suspensions for Sherrone Moore and Jim Harbaugh, as well as some injury issues heading into Week 1, this weekend’s game is about playing sound football and getting to Week 2 unscathed. According to Michigan football coach Chris Partridge, who made his return to Ann Arbor earlier this year, the Wolverines are in great shape.

“I would liken it to this — first of all, the culture here is A+,” Chris Partridge said. “When you walk into this building when I came back, it is an A-plus culture. When I was here the first time, it was kind of just still developing. We weren’t there yet. Jim’s (Harbaugh) culture was developing in who he is, and now it’s like it embodies who he is.

“If you (ask) a kid, a baby, 4, 5 years old, ‘well, are you more like mom or more like dad?’ You don’t really know. Until now, all of a sudden, it’s like … ‘You’re dad.’ That’s what this team is … they’re Jim (Harbaugh). They embody him. Hard-working, blue-collar, and consistent, they play with no fear. They know he has their back, and they have his back. That’s what you feel when you come in here.”

The culture is great, but how is Michigan football actually responding to the news? According to Partridge, the Wolverines are handling it extremely well.

“There’s no worry,” Patridge continued. “(Jim Harbaugh) doesn’t have any worry. These guys are going to play like their hair’s on fire for him, for sure … (Michigan will) come out and come out on fire; play hard. They’re going to do exactly what they need to do, exactly what he expects them to do.”

Plays using Jim Harbaugh, Sherrone Moore suspensions as motivation

Partridge also added that, without Jim Harbaugh, the Michigan football program is ready to play lights out — the Wolverines are not hanging their heads; rather, the suspensions and outside noise are being used as motivation. This weekend, despite all that is going on in Ann Arbor, expect Michigan to play hard for its head coach and head into Week 2 with a perfect record.

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