What Happened To Connor Stalions After Michigan's Sign-Stealing Scandal (2024)

Netflix is back with another UNTOLD story — UNTOLD: Sign Stealer — which revolves around the University of Michigan football sign-stealing scandal, with Connor Stalions at the center of it all. Stalions had grown up being a fan of the Michigan Wolverines, and his dream was to one day be the head coach of the football team. Stalions finally made it to the sidelines in 2021 when he joined the coaching staff, but his dream of leading the Wolverines quickly came to a controversial end in November 2023 (as detailed in the Netflix sports documentary series).

Stalions had a natural talent for sign-stealing, which the University of Michigan football team took advantage of to get an edge over its competitors. While sign-stealing is technically allowed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), coaches can only do so in-game or from watching television broadcasts of the game. They are not permitted to designate a person to take videos of the opposing team's hand signals. In the fall of 2023, the NCAA announced they were launching an investigation into Michigan's football team concerning sign-stealing rule violations. As the sign-stealing expert, Stalions was at the forefront of the controversy.

Connor Stalions Resigned From His Michigan Wolverines Position In November 2023

Stalions Was At The Center Of The Sign Stealing Controversy

According to TODAY, the NCAA accused Connor Stalions of hatching a sign-stealing plot that involved giving people tickets to the Michigan Wolverines' future opponents' games, where they would record the teams' hand signals. They would allegedly hand over the footage to Stalions, who would then decipher the hand signals and use it to predict the Wolverines' opponents' plays during games. Of course, this scheme would be against the NCAA's rules, meaning Stalions was in a lot of trouble, as chronicled in the Netflix sports documentary TV show. Ultimately, Stalions resigned from the University of Michigan on November 3, 2023.

The NCAA's accusations against Stalions and the widespread attention he was receiving led to his resignation from the Wolverines. However, Stalions wasn't the only one feeling the heat. The University of Michigan suspended head coach Jim Harbaugh for three games in November because of the sign-stealing scandal. Nevertheless, Harbaugh coached the team during their Big Ten Championship, Rose Bowl, and CFP National Championship wins. Following the season, though, Harbaugh left Michigan and became the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. Stalions, on the other hand, didn't get so lucky after his resignation.

Stalions Is A Defensive Coordinator

Although Connor Stalions is no longer a part of a Big Ten football team's coaching staff, he is still coaching. Stalions is the defensive coordinator for Mumford High School's football squad in Detroit, Michigan, as of the 2024–2025 school year. Stalions' first game as the defensive coordinator is reportedly scheduled for August 29, 2024, just a couple of days following the release of Sign Stealer, the latest installment in the Netflix documentary series UNTOLD.

What Connor Stalions Has Said About The Sign-Stealing Scandal

Stalions Was Very Involved With The Netflix Documentary

Connor Stalions tells his side of the story in UNTOLD: Sign Stealer on Netflix, but he has made his feelings about the scandal known in the past year. Stalions denies all allegations of him purposefully scheming to obtain other teams' hand signals. However, that doesn't mean that he didn't give people tickets to specific football games. As Stalions says in the documentary:

"To my understanding, there are some people who attended games, using tickets that I purchased, and recorded parts of those games."

Stalions claims that this footage never influenced the Michigan Wolverines' game plans during the 2023–2024 season. The former Michigan coach has also been accused of dressing up as a Central Michigan coach and lingering on the sidelines of a Central Michigan vs. Michigan State game to witness Michigan State's hand signals. There is reportedly photo evidence of this happening, but no one can prove Stallions is the man in the picture. Stalions also denies these allegations, claiming in UNTOLD: Sign Stealer that the man in the photo doesn't even resemble him.

Source: TODAY