Michigan co-offensive coordinator/QB coach Matt Weiss has been fired

Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines are officially in search of a new quarterbacks coach, as Matt Weiss has been fired by the university, announced Friday afternoon.

A statement from U-M athletic director Warde Manuel reads: “After a review of University policies, the athletic department has terminated the appointment of co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss. Consistent with university policy, we will have no further comment on this personnel matter.”

Shortly after Manuel’s statement was release, Weiss took to Twitter to release his own statement.

“I am proud of the success we achieved over the last two seasons and grateful to all of the Michigan players, coaches, and staff. The potential of Team 144 knows no bounds. I have nothing but respect for the University of Michigan and the people who make it such a great place. I look forward to putting this matter behind me and returning my focus to the game that I love.”

It was reported by ESPN on Jan. 17 that Weiss was put on leave due to a police investigation stemming around illegal computer access. The police filing said, “An employee reported fraudulent activity involving someone accessing university emails accounts without authorization. Upon further investigation, it was found that a crime may have been committed.”

The incident happened inside Schembechler Hall between Dec. 21-23, just days before Michigan left for Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl. It was officially filed as a U-M police department investigation on Jan. 5, two weeks after the incident occurred.

Before arriving in Ann Arbor, Weiss was in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens from 2009-2020. His roles there ranged from running backs coach to cornerbacks coach and everywhere in between. He won a Super Bowl in Baltimore, helping defeat Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII.

Weiss also previously served as a graduate assistant at Stanford from 2005-08.

It has been a tumultuous start to the offseason for Michigan. One day after Michigan’s loss to TCU in the College Football Playoff, reports emerged that Harbaugh would be drawing interest in NFL teams once again and that he’d have reciprocated interest. He interviewed over Zoom for the Denver Broncos job, but he ultimately backed out of that search and announced on Jan. 16 — by him and president Santa Ono — he’d be staying at Michigan.

Sandwiched in between all the Harbaugh/NFL stuff was an NCAA notice of allegations against Harbaugh and the U-M football program pertaining to violations that occurred during a COVID dead period. The most serious allegation being a Level I violation, claiming Harbaugh either lied to or led astray NCAA investigators about whether or not he paid for hamburgers for recruits.

Now the search begins for a new quarterbacks coach.