Harbaugh Pal Jim Minick Suspended From U-M After Arrest On DUI Suspicion
ANN ARBOR (CBS Detroit) He last made news in March when he aided University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh as he stopped on I-94 to save a woman from an overturned car.
Now Harbaugh's pal Jim Minick is in the news for a less heroic reason.
Minick was suspended from his job as director of football operations after he was arrested this weekend for suspicion of driving under the influence.
Harbaugh announced the suspension Wednesday night after reports surfaced about the arrest.
"Jim Minick made a regrettable decision last week and was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated," Harbaugh said in a statement. "Jim makes no excuses, regrets this decision and understands the consequences for his actions. Due to the serious nature of this event, Jim Minick has been suspended indefinitely and we ask for your understanding while we address the situation."
Harbaugh and Minick grew up together, and the steely-eyed coach known for brash tactics and hard-driving energy is obviously close to his lifetime friend.
Minick, 51, was reportedly arrested around 2:30 a.m. Saturday following a single-car accident in Pittsfield Township, which is just outside Ann Arbor. His Yukon was in a ditch, and he was the only one inside it, police said.
Minick was reportedly uninjured.
He allegedly told the officer he was cut off by another vehicle, and based on whatever transpired in that conversation he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.
Minick later released a statement, saying, "I'm not going to make any excuses. I'll face the consequences of my actions. I regret the difficult position in which this has put my family and my employer."
Minick refused a Breathalyzer test, so a search warrant was obtained to draw his blood, said Pittsfield Township Public Safety Director Matt Harshberger. Once the results are back from the Michigan State Police lab, they expect to forward it to the prosecutor's office for possible charges.
Lab results could take up to a month, Harshberger said.
