Chargers Coach Jim Harbaugh Enters High-Stakes Federal Battle with Former Michigan Assistant—What’s at Stake?

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was added as a defendant in a federal lawsuit against the University of Michigan and former assistant football coach Matthew Weiss, who authorities say hacked into computers at more than 100 universities and stole the identity of more than 3,000 students.

More than a dozen civil lawsuits have been filed against Weiss, who worked for the Baltimore Ravens before becoming Michigan’s quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator.Weiss is charged with 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft, and faces a maximum of five years imprisonment on each count of unauthorized access to computers and two years on each count of aggravated identity theft.In a lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Michigan and obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the amended version is part of a lawsuit originally filed in March, in which 11 women filed a class action lawsuit saying Weiss downloaded personal, intimate digital photographs and videos of them.When you think college football scandals, you probably don’t imagine a former NFL coach hacking into thousands of student accounts to steal private moments. But that’s exactly the grim reality unfolding with Matthew Weiss, once a rising star on the Michigan Wolverines’ coaching staff and before that, a coach for the Baltimore Ravens. The shockwaves from this case have reached far beyond the gridiron, pulling in major figures like Jim Harbaugh, now with the Los Angeles Chargers, and casting a long shadow over the University of Michigan’s program. Weiss faces serious federal charges including unauthorized computer access and aggravated identity theft, allegations that paint a disturbing picture of betrayal and exploitation on a colossal scale. It’s a story about trust broken, digital privacy shattered, and a systemic failure of oversight—one that’s rattling the sports world and campus communities alike. You’re gonna want to follow this one closely. LEARN MORE“Had Harbaugh implemented basic oversight of his staff, plaintiffs and the class would have been protected against predators such as Weiss,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, Weiss was a highly compensated asset that was promoted by and within the football program, from which position he was able to, and did, target female student athletes.”

The lawsuit claims that Harbaugh, who at the time was Michigan’s coach, and others knew that Weiss had viewed private information on a computer, but still let him coach as a co-offensive coordinator in a national semifinal playoff game in the Fiesta Bowl against TCU on Dec. 31, 2022.Weiss was fired in January 2023 after an investigation by campus police looked into his computer use.

Former University of Michigan president Santa Ono, athletic director Warde Manuel, and 47 others have been named in the amended lawsuit as defendants.