Jim Harbaugh is the best coach in football. Even his hated arch enemy, Pete Carroll, head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, said that Harbaugh is a “stud.” Carroll added that his rivalry with Harbaugh made him a much better coach.
Jim Harbaugh can also be an abrasive, hyper-competitive, nonconformist pain. And that was never any secret. Harbaugh’s brother John, head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, has often joked that the family had to move every few years after Jim ran out of friends.
San Francisco 49ers chairman Jed York knew that when, in total desperation, he hired Harbaugh to save the franchise in 2011. But now in a moment of petulant pitiful shortsightedness, York is about to press the nuclear button and blow up the franchise that he inherited from his mother just because Harbaugh may not always play nice in his sandbox. York would be well advised to take a step back and slowly count to 10.
Floundering Aimlessly
Before Harbaugh arrived in 2011 the 49ers had gone eight consecutive years without a playoff berth. San Francisco had just two winning seasons out of 12 before Harbaugh’s arrival. The 49ers were stuck in outdated and dilapidated Candlestick Park and struggling to find a new home. Yet Harbaugh gambled his career and left a Stanford college football program that he resuscitated into a powerful top five team for a shot at the NFL.
Immediate Results
Harbaugh immediately led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game in 2011 where his team lost in overtime to the New York Giants. The following season San Francisco made the Super Bowl where they lost a tough 34-31 decision to the Baltimore Ravens and Harbaugh’s brother John. Last year, the 49ers lost the NFC Championship Game at Seattle in a close and intense 23-17 defeat against Carroll’s Seahawks which in retrospect may go down as the beginning of the end of the 49ers.
The Crumbling House that Harbaugh Built
The 49ers moved into brand new, state-of-the-art Levis Stadium this year, a stadium solution made possible by the immediate success of Harbaugh’s 49ers. And yet, in the months leading up to the opening of the 49ers new digs, stories began to break about a possible Harbaugh trade to the Cleveland Browns because of a falling out between him, San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke, and York.
The rumors have intensified as the 2014 season has worn on and, after an inconsistent 7-4 start, the 49ers have been in free fall with four consecutive losses. Word has leaked out in the past week about the 49ers plans to fire or trade Harbaugh shortly after the regular season finale against Arizona on Sunday. That, coupled with the all-out blitz for Harbaugh’s services by college football’s Michigan Wolverines, has created constant turmoil and uncertainty in the 49ers organization.
“We Bow to No Man”
When Harbaugh took over at Stanford he inherited a finesse team that lost far more than it won. Upon addressing the team for the first time he declared that, “We bow to no man” and led a stunning turnaround of a program that has maintained his patented physical style of play learned at Michigan where he was quarterback for the legendary Bo Schembechler. That quote, however, was also a peak into Harbaugh’s personality and relationship with his bosses. And in the ultra-political world of the NFL, Harbaugh is finding himself out of place much like Bill Parcells did during his storied but tumultuous career.
Zany and Brainy
If basketball coaching legend Phil Jackson is Zen, then Harbaugh is a level beyond that. Harbaugh opened a 49ers team meeting with the following quote: “My opponent is going to have to die. But does he have to kill me, too? He is killing me. But he has a right to. I have never seen a greater opponent than him. I do not care who kills who now.”
Harbaugh is also known for wiping the blood of one of his players all over his own face.
Short Shelf Life
Many NFL commentators have speculated that Harbaugh’s intense and unique personality has worn thin in the 49ers’ locker room. There have been quotes from anonymous 49ers about Harbaugh supposedly “losing” the locker room. Yet, the 49ers came out last week with an all-out effort in taking a 28-7 halftime lead in a meaningless home game against San Diego which they ended up blowing in a 38-35 defeat that was a microcosm of their season.
Who would be Better than Harbaugh? The 49ers supposedly have a short list of potential replacements for Harbaugh. It should indeed be a short list. This is where the rubber meets the road. Who would you replace Harbaugh with? The fact is that he is the best coach in football, pro or college, and helped save the 49ers franchise.
Fans love Harbaugh and can sense what a mistake his departure would be for the franchise. There is absolutely nobody better for the job. Firing Harbaugh may be a sugar rush for York and his lackey Baalke, and they may end up finding a nice compliant politician to coach the team. But any potential replacement will have a hard time replicating the success the 49ers have enjoyed with Harbaugh.
The ultimate statement about Harbaugh’s ability and value will be seen in the upcoming days when NFL teams will back up the truck to match Michigan’s current $50 million offer. No other coaching prospect will garner such respect. Not even close.
A Potential Curse
After the Boston Red Sox traded Babe Ruth they went decades without a championship in what was known as the “Curse of the Bambino.”
The 49ers should not tempt fate. York and Baalke need to man up and take one for the team and their fans that pay exorbitant prices to sit in Levis Stadium. You do not fire the greatest coach in football.
