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Illinois Football's Bret Bielema Trolls Former Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh

The extremely-online Illini coach called out Harbaugh's stated ethical code of conduct on social media Tuesday night

Jason Langendorf

Oct 1, 2022; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Oct 1, 2022; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
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Illinois football coach Bret Bielema just couldn't help himself.

Love it or hate it, Bielema is extremely online – an active participant on social media – and seems to have mastered one of its black arts: trolling.

Mind you, Bielema's swipes on social – X seems to be his platform of choice – are usually hard targets. He punches up rather than down, but his posts are inarguably intended to sting when he senses disrespect directed at his program – or when he catches a whiff of hypocrisy.

Which is how we arrived at Tuesday night's tweet-fest. First, Bielema retweeted a years-old video of current Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh addressing the media during his tenure as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers (2011-2014). It was a little lesson in football ethics from Harbaugh:

"You always want to be above reproach – especially when you're good, because you don't want people to come back and say, 'Oh, they're winning because they're cheating.' ... Because if you cheat to win, then you've already lost."

Bielema's comments were dry, sharp and just vague enough to keep him out of hot water:

But in case you needed the context, Bielema then retweeted an On3 post featuring a story that had been broken by Yahoo! Sports' Ross Dellenger: Michigan plans to fight NCAA allegations of sign-stealing during its 2023 national championship season under former head coach ... Jim Harbaugh.

Although there's plenty of smoke around the would-be dumpster fire for the Wolverines, it's important to note that the sign-stealing allegations are, for the moment, only that. Feel free to read Dellenger's thorough report on the matter, but for now, nothing has been proven.

The curious case of Harbaugh's lost moral compass, however, was solved back in August, when the NCAA issued the coach a show-cause order – essentially a four-year college football coaching ban – for recruiting violations committed during his Michigan tenure. Harbaugh, the NCAA wrote, “engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance and violated head coach responsibility obligations." Below reproach, in other words.

Is Bielema, then, nobly defending the sanctity of college football morality, white-knighting for hard-working coaches everywhere who keep their noses clean and "play the game the right way"? If altruism is his intent, he has certainly served it with a side of snark.

It's a safe bet that a heartbreaking 19-17 Illinois loss to Michigan in 2022 – the only time Bielema has squared up with Harbaugh – still sticks in his craw. Whether he associates any of UM's recruiting or alleged sign-stealing shenanigans with the defeat is anyone's guess, but he clearly needed an online moment to cleanse his palate of Harbaugh's past preachifying.

A final retweet from Bielema on Tuesday night showed precisely where his head was at:

See you out in these Twitter streets, coach.

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

Illinois Football Is in an 'Awesome' Position, Says Bret Bielema

Former Illini Kerby Joseph Earns Big Honor to Cap Detroit Lions Season

Illinois Football Coach Bret Bielema Pushes Back on Josh Pate on Social Media

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Jason Langendorf
JASON LANGENDORF

Jason Langendorf has covered Illinois basketball, football and more for Illinois on SI since October 2024, and has covered Illini sports – among other subjects – for 30 years. A veteran of ESPN and Sporting News, he has published work in The Guardian, Vice, Chicago Sun-Times and many other outlets. He is currently also the U.S. editor at BoxingScene and a judge for the annual BWAA writing awards. He can be followed and reached on X and Bluesky @JasonLangendorf.

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