Turns out the sign-stealing controversy won’t be ending anytime soon for Michigan. It all started with claims about former staffer Connor Stallions stealing other teams’ signs that pushed head coach Jim Harbaugh out of the team and also put Sherrone Moore in a two-game suspension in the 2025 season. But now, that former linebacker coach, Chris Partridge, who also faced repercussions, is back in the spotlight from his new post with the Seattle Seahawks to fight for the justice he deserved.

Chris Partridge sued Michigan, its board of regents, and athletic director Warde Manuel because he claims they violated his right to due process. As per Partridge’s claim, he became a “scapegoat who was wrongly fired simply because he told a player he had the right to have counsel.” They fired Partridge in November 2023 during the NCAA investigation into Connor Stalions’ sign-stealing scandal, and he failed to cooperate with their internal investigation.

Partridge worked for Michigan from 2015 to 2019 and returned in 2023 under head coach Jim Harbaugh. His lawsuit, filed on March 11, 2026, clearly mentions that his firing was “based on pressure from the commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, who used Partridge as a pawn in an eleventh-hour maneuver” to get Michigan and Harbaugh to drop their legal challenge to Harbaugh’s three-game suspension.

At that point, Michigan had already gone to court to block Tony Pettitti’s suspension of Jim Harbaugh, and Partridge’s lawyer claims his firing was used to pressure the school into dropping the legal fight. But now Chris Partridge is making sure he avenges the wrongdoing, and his attorney clearly explains the reason behind his move.

“It is past time for Chris to have the opportunity to tell the truth about what happened to him and clear his name,” his lawyer, Liz Abdnour, said. “He is a talented, dedicated coach and advocate for young athletes, and his career in college athletics was cut unjustly short due to the unprincipled and self-interested decisions of an institution that prioritized politics and image over doing what’s right for its students.”

It all started when former linebacker Joey Velazquez spoke to NCAA investigators on November 15, 2023, when he mentioned that Chris Partridge asked him if he had already spoken to the NCAA, and later suggested he should not mention other coaches and instead blame Connor Stalions. Velazquez said Partridge told him to “protect the coaches,” and he felt this was “lying, I guess.”

Just two days after this interview, Michigan fired Partridge. However, security camera footage shows a different picture. The video shows Velazquez walking up to Partridge while Partridge is heading toward his office. They stop and talk briefly in a public hallway where other people are around them. So, it became evident that he wouldn’t be saying anything of that sort in public. But Partridge did advise Velazquez to talk to his father, and it became his biggest mistake.

“I told Velazquez to speak with his father and consider getting a lawyer,” Partridge said. “I never told Velazquez what to say to investigators or asked him to protect the coaches.”

Even linebacker Junior Colson supported Partridge’s story in his statement from May 6, 2025. He mentioned that Velazquez approached Partridge after a team meeting, and Partridge advised him to get a lawyer. The NCAA itself found no proof against him, which directly supports his claim that Michigan fired him without cause and made him a scapegoat to protect others.

Now, Partridge is fighting against Manuel, who fired him unfairly and treated him differently from other coaches involved in the entire mess, like Sherrone Moore. However, that quick decision changed Chris Partridge’s life forever.

Chris Partridge is facing problems because of false claims after his Michigan exit

Chris Partridge didn’t just face issues with false claims, but even finding another job became a tough task for him. After his firing, Warde Manuel stopped him from getting another college job by “blacklisting” him. This means he believed Manuel influenced other schools not to hire him.

He explained that he had a hard time finding a new college job and struggled during that time. He shared this in an interview with The Athletic before the Super Bowl, saying that even when he got close to being hired, things did not work out in the end. Partridge explained the entire situation.

“The interview process went all the way through, where I got to the end, and it was like, ‘OK, great. Let me just get this signed off with the AD,” Partridge said. “Well, we can’t do it. They won’t let you get hired right now until the investigation is over.”

While the alleged blacklisting kept him out of college football, Partridge eventually found his way to the NFL as the outside linebackers coach for the Seattle Seahawks. Despite landing a new role, he filed the lawsuit to clear his name and repair the reputational damage caused by Michigan’s leadership.

The lawsuit also alleges that Partridge experienced many problems after he lost his job. He felt depressed and anxious, lost money, and had his reputation damaged. If Partridge wins, Michigan will have to pay for the damages, and the lawsuit’s discovery process could drag out old internal communications that everyone assumed were buried.