Jim Harbaugh and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti have beef. They were able to put it aside on Saturday night for a brief moment, but the tension was palpable as the two shook hands following the conference championship in Indianapolis.
The body language between them was equally as awkward as it was cordial.
People have asked, here’s the handshake between Jim Harbaugh and Tony Petitti before the trophy presentation pic.twitter.com/4n2TXcBojW
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) December 3, 2023
Petitti, of course, issued a three-game suspension for Harbaugh in response to the massive sign-stealing scandal that involved Connor Stalions. Even though there was no direct evidence that the 59-year-old was aware of the operation, Mr. Commissioner essentially decided to punish him for allowing the behavior to happen under his watch.
Jim Harbaugh missed the final three games of the regular season. Michigan won all three games to stay undefeated. The Wolverines dominated a bad Iowa Hawkeyes offense to win the conference title and punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff in their head coach’s first game back on the sidelines.
Love them or hate them, they got the last laugh.
Because of the history between Harbaugh and Petitti, everybody was excited to see the latter hand the Big Ten trophy to the former. The exchange between the two was going to be hilarious.
Unfortunately, Harbaugh decided to let his players get the shine. He had senior captain and offensive lineman Zak Zinter, who suffered a season-ending injury in last weekend’s game against Ohio State, accept the trophy from Tony Petitti.
It was an honorable move and a special moment. It also robbed us of the uncomfortable handoff between the formerly-suspended head coach and commissioner that suspended him.
Fortunately, Petitti still got booed! The predominantly blue and maize crowd got their moment.
As soon as it was Harbaugh’s turn to talk, he offered just one word, “bet.” Michigan has been using it as a rallying cry over the last month as if to say “just watch.”