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Chris Partridge is fighting back. The former Michigan linebackers coach, who was fired during a sign-stealing investigation, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the school this week, claiming the Wolverines built a “false narrative” that’s destroyed his reputation. He’s pushing for the “truth” to finally come out, according to the suit filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The lawsuit paints Partridge as a scapegoat. He’s currently with the Seattle Seahawks and insists he had zero involvement with the Connor Stalions advanced scouting mess that rocked college football.
According to the filing, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petiti allegedly came to Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel with “uncorroborated, second-hand, inflammatory information.” The claim? That Partridge told a former Wolverines player to “not be forthright with information” before an NCAA interview.
“I always believe that the truth will eventually come out. I went all the way through the process with the NCAA, and the truth prevailed. And I feel I have to go all the way through the process with Michigan for the truth with Michigan to prevail.”
That’s not how it went down, Partridge says. His version is simpler: he told the player to “get a lawyer.” Nothing more.
The lawsuit suggests Petiti’s alleged “threat” to Michigan was designed to “embarrass” the program if it surfaced during a pending injunction hearing related to then-coach Jim Harbaugh’s three-game suspension. Partridge told ESPN this week his goal is straightforward: clear his name so he can get back to coaching at the college level.
Michigan issued a fairly standard statement after firing Partridge back in 2023, saying the school’s focus “has been on seeking due process and allowing the NCAA to conduct a fair and deliberate investigation.”
Partridge returned to Ann Arbor before the 2023 season after three years at Ole Miss, where he’d been co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. His Michigan roots run deep; he held various roles there from 2015-19, including a stint as special teams coordinator (2016-19), linebackers coach (2016-17), and safeties coach (2018-19).
The whole saga centers on Stalions, who resigned in November 2023 just weeks after Michigan suspended him amid the investigation into alleged sign-stealing. The NCAA’s Committee on Infractions handed down its final ruling in August 2025, hitting the university with a $20 million fine and suspending then-coach Sherrone Moore while slapping Harbaugh with a 10-year show-cause order.
The NCAA determined that “Michigan football program committed violations involving an off-campus, in-person scouting scheme.” Stalions was identified as the operation’s mastermind. Harbaugh caught a “responsibility violation,” while Moore was tagged with a Level II “failure to cooperate” violation.
Here’s the key detail: the NCAA never alleged Partridge knew anything about Michigan’s sign-stealing operation.
That’s exactly why he’s suing. Partridge believes he was unfairly lumped into a scandal that had nothing to do with him, costing him his reputation in college football circles. Whether the courts agree remains to be seen, but for now, he’s determined to fight for his name.
