William McMichael, coach at Mumford High School in Detroit, hired Connor Stalions, a key figure involved in a sign-stealing scandal who was also the subject of a Netflix documentary. Mumford, a school that has struggled with win-loss records in recent years, gained national attention when news of Stalions’ hiring broke. Previously, Stalions had been considered for the position of defensive coordinator at Berkley High School. Documents obtained by The Athletic reveal the controversy surrounding his potential hire.
The NCAA is currently investigating allegations against Stalions for a supposed scheme to gain video footage of opposing teams’ signals, which could levy infractions for the University of Michigan any day. The University had already fired a coach for allegedly tampering with the investigation, increasing the spotlight on the situation. Apart from a brief statement issued when he resigned in November, Stalions has not spoken publicly about the scandal. However, he tried to clear his name in a series of emails to Berkley School District administrators, indicative of the troubling aftermath of the Michigan sign-stealing scandal.
Despite the appeal in the emails, Stalions did not secure the Berkley job, leading to more controversy. The first hint of trouble emerged when Berkley’s football coach, Casey Humes, emailed the school district’s human resources to add a new football coach to the contract employee staff. The emails show subsequent confusion and drama over Stalions’ hiring, leading to the resignation of Berkley’s athletic director, Taylor Horn, and discontent among school administrators.
In the meantime, Connor Stalions had started working with the team, under the belief that he had been hired. The school district expressed concerns about his hiring, arguing his background was problematic. Nevertheless, Stalions insisted he had been hired and requested official written justification for termination if he was being let go. The administrators disagreed, asserting he was never officially hired and even advised him that he could only volunteer once the NCAA investigation was concluded, which Stalions rejected.
Stalions’ persistence to be part of the team, despite the continual rejection from the district, led to deeper discord and allegations of being media-hungry. Eventually, he left the district, though not without leaving a significant trail of conflict. District parents, for the most part, supported his hiring, believing it would boost the struggling team. A petition in favour of his hiring received an 80% approval rate from team parents but was eventually dropped given the district’s strong rejection.
After the situation at Berkley, Stalions was connected to William McMichael at Mumford High School and joined the team in a volunteer position. His first game is set to be shortly after the premiere of the Netflix documentary based on his scandal. Despite Stalions’ controversial presence, McMichael expressed optimism, describing Stalions as an intense yet regular guy.
