Michigan’s athletic department has become the epicenter of scandals over the last three years. Now, a former coach, who was fired by the program under Jim Harbaugh, has amended his original lawsuit against the Wolverines. The change has increased the scope of the lawsuit, and now, former Michigan President Santa Ono is also facing accusations.

Trey Wallace, a CFB journalist, reported on July 13 that former LB coach Chris Partridge has added to his March 2026 lawsuit against Michigan. According to Partridge, university officials knew about Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal months before it became public in October 2023.

The Wolverines fired the LB coach a month after the sign-stealing scandal came to light. At the time, Partridge was accused of destroying evidence. However, the NCAA Committee on Infractions didn’t find any violations by the former Harbaugh assistant coach in the sign-stealing scandal. In his lawsuit against the program, he alleged that AD Warde Manuel fired him to appease Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti.

However, the latest amendment to his original lawsuit has only further expanded the scope of his allegations. Partridge alleges that former Michigan President Santa Ono and AD Warde Manuel became aware of the infamous sign-stealing scandal during their investigation into former assistant Matt Weiss’ activities. The program fired Weiss for computer hacking activities.

However, rather than reporting the matter to the NCAA, Partridge alleges, Ono told staff to avoid taking notes to prevent possible disclosure. The sign-stealing scandal eventually erupted during Michigan’s national championship-winning campaign in 2023. Although the Wolverines won the natty by beating Washington in the final, Jim Harbaugh was suspended for a portion of the season. He left the program to join the LA Chargers in the NFL.

The amendments to the original lawsuit also allege that the program knew about former Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore’s inappropriate relationship with a staff member for years. Moore was chosen by Manuel as the head coach after Harbaugh’s departure. After his second season as the head coach, he was abruptly fired on December 10, 2025.

Partridge has moved on to the pros after his Michigan exit. He is now with the Seattle Seahawks.

More on the original legal suit filed by Chris Partridge

When Chris Partridge was working under Jim Harbaugh as an assistant to the Michigan Wolverines’ head coach, he had a rough patch. Former linebackers coach Chris Partridge sued the University of Michigan for wrongful termination, lack of due process, and defamation back in March 2026. He filed the suit with the U.S. District Court after the NCAA Committee dropped all the accusations and verified them to be false. He sought over $30 million from the University of Michigan.

“The University of Michigan unjustly terminated my employment and spread false and damaging information regarding [my] professional conduct, tarnishing a hard-earned reputation and inflicting irreparable harm on my career and personal well-being,” Partridge said.

Partridge alleged that Michigan violated employment procedures by failing to conduct an investigation, while the NCAA’s official infractions report showed no evidence of wrongdoing on his part. He worked for them for 6 seasons, and in the end, they treated him as a scapegoat, which enraged him. After a stint in 2020, he left for three seasons as the co-defensive coordinator at Ole Miss. In 2023, Harbaugh got him back to Ann Arbor, but his tenure was abruptly terminated after merely 9 months into his contract.