The Jim Harbaugh Thread

generaldreedle · Post #1 » by **generaldreedle** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 2:30 pm

News flash, he was fired after the Seattle game.
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2 ... nds-story/

Post #2 » by **MHSL82** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:55 pm

I am just waiting for York to respond to this by saying that both he and Harbaugh decided that the Arizona game would be the last game he would coach. In a way, that would be truthful because after telling Harbaugh that he was fired, Harbaugh decided to coach the last two games instead of leaving there and then. In York's mind, that would be an honest answer.

Either that, or he will somehow think that Harbaugh should've been okay serving a different role in the organization. And therefore him wanting to coach (which required him to leave) was a mutual decision. He may also point to the fact that Harbaugh did not fight for his contract money after he was fired.

-AC- · Post #3 » by **-AC-** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 8:13 pm

I'm willing to bet it was an ultamatium, in which Harbaugh was asked to remove Roman from the staff... Harbaugh knew what the alternative was, and by choosing to not let Roman go, he made his decision...

But I guess you could spin it a thousand different ways... But knowing how stubborn Harbaugh could be, this would be my opinion...

generaldreedle · Post #4 » by **generaldreedle** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 8:36 pm

The rumors, most likely spread by York, about Harbaugh leaving started before this last horrible offensive season.

Pattersonca65 · Post #5 » by **Pattersonca65** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 3:57 am

-AC- wrote:I'm willing to bet it was an ultamatium, in which Harbaugh was asked to remove Roman from the staff... Harbaugh knew what the alternative was, and by choosing to not let Roman go, he made his decision...

But I guess you could spin it a thousand different ways... But knowing how stubborn Harbaugh could be, this would be my opinion...

I always thought that was a possibility, but who knows. Maybe it will out come out some day

Post #6 » by **MHSL82** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:33 pm

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... ime-change

Post #7 » by **Ray_Dogg** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 4:44 am

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2 ... ers-notes/

The 29 minute interview with Harbs is great. Jim pretty much says he thinks Jed York was the source of the season long leaks. He also basically said Tomsula wouldn't make eye contact with him in the hallways and was campaigning behind the scene for the job. Of course the parting wasn't mutual.
I had very little support for Jed and this does nothing but lower it for me. I also have a dislike for Tomsula now. mostly because Jed is so damn in love with him that I feel it has really clouded his decision making in a bad way.

generaldreedle · Post #8 » by **generaldreedle** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 5:11 am

I completely agree Ray.

jackwindham · Post #9 » by **jackwindham** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 12:16 am

As much as I love Harbaugh and still do, we can't assume that Tomsula was completely in the wrong here. There's usually more than one side to a story.

Post #10 » by **MHSL82** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 12:42 am

From the Hoopla, so take it for what it's worth: Ian Rapoport said he was told Harbaugh went to York shortly after being hired and told him he wanted a different GM and York actually told Baalke that and Trent never got over it. There was bad blood between them his entire time there. So you had a new HC that wanted a different GM and an owner clearly dumb enough to actually tell his current GM that.

It was all badly botched from start to finish.

jackwindham · Post #11 » by **jackwindham** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 1:06 am

I wouldn't keep that from the general manager. I would have sat both of them down and tried to work something out. Attack the problem before it festers.

Post #12 » by **MHSL82** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 3:15 am

jackwindham wrote:I wouldn't keep that from the general manager. I would have sat both of them down and tried to work something out. Attack the problem before it festers.

Should have put it in quotes, but FWIW, it wasn't my words.

Pattersonca65 · Post #13 » by **Pattersonca65** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 3:57 am

I would not have tod Baakle about Harbaugh wanting to replace him. It doesn't accomplish anything. I would have told Harbaugh no. I don't think the HC should be dictating who the GM is. Backwards

Post #14 » by **MHSL82** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 6:00 pm

Pattersonca65 wrote:I would not have tod Baakle about Harbaugh wanting to replace him. It doesn't accomplish anything. I would have told Harbaugh no. I don't think the HC should be dictating who the GM is. Backwards

And to be fair, Harbaugh might not have said to replace him, but rather when hired, he thought it was the time you name your coaching assistants and staff and that some places the coach and GM are together. So, I'm not saying Harbaugh was naïve, but how much of a demand/request/replacement it was, I don't know.

-AC- · Post #15 » by **-AC-** » Wed Feb 18, 2015 2:06 am

Never mind that Harbaugh chose to be interviewed by a reporter that loves criticizing the 49ers, and who even took regular shots at Harbaugh the past 4 seasons... (Kind of weird don't you think?)

After a month on the job at his "dream job" he hasn't let go of his last ("who has it better than us?") job... After everything had started to settle down in both camps of Harbaugh and the 49ers alike, Harbaugh goes and reopens the wounds... As much as Harbaugh talks it's no wonder he rubs his colleagues the wrong way... And for anybody that had thought that Harbaugh himself was above the shenanigans of Jed York and Trent Baalke is extremely naive... It wouldn't surprise me at all to know that Harbaugh was behind his own 'leaks' with all of his innuendos and redirections that he has demonstrated over the last few seasons... From all the rumored job offers, to rumors of his dissatisfaction with his contract, to his despise for Trent Baalke... There was as much BS and leverage play from the Harbaugh camp as there was from the front office...

People should start looking at the whole picture instead of just one side or the other... Sort through the facts and stop worrying about the BS 'he said, she said' stuff... As it stands now, the 49ers fanbase is the equivilant of the national enquirer crowd...

Pattersonca65 · Post #16 » by **Pattersonca65** » Wed Feb 18, 2015 3:09 am

-AC- wrote:Never mind that Harbaugh chose to be interviewed by a reporter that loves criticizing the 49ers, and who even took regular shots at Harbaugh the past 4 seasons... (Kind of weird don't you think?)

After a month on the job at his "dream job" he hasn't let go of his last ("who has it better than us?") job... After everything had started to settle down in both camps of Harbaugh and the 49ers alike, Harbaugh goes and reopens the wounds... As much as Harbaugh talks it's no wonder he rubs his colleagues the wrong way... And for anybody that had thought that Harbaugh himself was above the shenanigans of Jed York and Trent Baalke is extremely naive... It wouldn't surprise me at all to know that Harbaugh was behind his own 'leaks' with all of his innuendos and redirections that he has demonstrated over the last few seasons... From all the rumored job offers, to rumors of his dissatisfaction with his contract, to his despise for Trent Baalke... There was as much BS and leverage play from the Harbaugh camp as there was from the front office...

People should start looking at the whole picture instead of just one side or the other... Sort through the facts and stop worrying about the BS 'he said, she said' stuff... As it stands now, the 49ers fanbase is the equivilant of the national enquirer crowd...

My perspective, I take more issue with the HC recruitment process that occurred after Harbaugh's release than with Harbaugh's release. Unfortunately, we don't have much in the way of facts regarding Harbaugh's release. It is speculation or information from unnamed sources. I am willing to keep an open mind if Jed and/or Baalke would come forward and tell us their side of the story. They revealed nothing during the press conference so we only have Harbaugh's story to judge.

-AC- · Post #17 » by **-AC-** » Wed Feb 18, 2015 4:01 am

Pattersonca65 wrote:
-AC- wrote:Never mind that Harbaugh chose to be interviewed by a reporter that loves criticizing the 49ers, and who even took regular shots at Harbaugh the past 4 seasons... (Kind of weird don't you think?)

After a month on the job at his "dream job" he hasn't let go of his last ("who has it better than us?") job... After everything had started to settle down in both camps of Harbaugh and the 49ers alike, Harbaugh goes and reopens the wounds... As much as Harbaugh talks it's no wonder he rubs his colleagues the wrong way... And for anybody that had thought that Harbaugh himself was above the shenanigans of Jed York and Trent Baalke is extremely naive... It wouldn't surprise me at all to know that Harbaugh was behind his own 'leaks' with all of his innuendos and redirections that he has demonstrated over the last few seasons... From all the rumored job offers, to rumors of his dissatisfaction with his contract, to his despise for Trent Baalke... There was as much BS and leverage play from the Harbaugh camp as there was from the front office...

People should start looking at the whole picture instead of just one side or the other... Sort through the facts and stop worrying about the BS 'he said, she said' stuff... As it stands now, the 49ers fanbase is the equivilant of the national enquirer crowd...

My perspective, I take more issue with the HC recruitment process that occurred after Harbaugh's release than with Harbaugh's release. Unfortunately, we don't have much in the way of facts regarding Harbaugh's release. It is speculation or information from unnamed sources. I am willing to keep an open mind if Jed and/or Baalke would come forward and tell us their side of the story. They revealed nothing during the press conference so we only have Harbaugh's story to judge.

What difference does it make, though? What do we know? Harbaugh was the head coach and had an offensive background... The offense never impressed during Harbaugh era, which in itself is a head scratcher... The team may not have quit on Harbaugh, but they certainly weren't as hungry as they once were under him... We also know that player misconduct was at its highest it has ever been for the 49ers... We know that there was constant tension between Baalke and Harbaugh that lasted for some time... We also know from many accounts that Harbaugh was very hard to deal with on a daily basis... When you add it all up, the front office was more comfortable handing the reigns over to an unknown as opposed to dealing with Harbaugh who appeared to have peaked and missed his window...

You can speculate that the coaching search was botched, but there were also reports throughout that said Tomsula was the top choice (and some of those reports go back to the very first day of the coaching search... One report even insisted that the search was trivial)... So while some might think the coaching search went awry, others predicted it to a tee... If you choose to believe those reports (which look pretty legit now) it sure seems like Baalke and York were direct and precise with who they wanted all along... The OC search on the other hand, turned out poorly... But you can look at various reasons for it, some that reflected poorly on the front office and some that were out of their hands...

Post #18 » by **MHSL82** » Fri May 22, 2015 6:17 pm

Didn't want to start new thread: Harbaugh's first months at Michigan: http://www.si.com/college-football/2015 ... wolverines

Post #19 » by **MHSL82** » Thu Sep 3, 2015 3:10 am

A good, long read on Harbaugh. I admit, I skimmed quite a bit, but there are some good bits in there: http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2555507-why-jim-harbaugh-and-michigan-may-not-live-happily-ever-after?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national?is_shared=true

ChrisPozz · Post #20 » by **ChrisPozz** » Thu Sep 3, 2015 3:44 am

MHSL82 wrote:A good, long read on Harbaugh. I admit, I skimmed quite a bit, but there are some good bits in there: http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2555507-why-jim-harbaugh-and-michigan-may-not-live-happily-ever-after?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national?is_shared=true

I know for a fact some people won't read it at all if they see how long it is, so...........

Harbaugh is an early riser, a believer that mornings are a time for labor. And so last fall it wasn’t shocking to those who know him well that several times he showed up in the office of San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York at just past daybreak wanting to resolve an issue right now this very second.

This illustrated the rub of Harbaugh: His full-blast, turn-it-up-to-10 intensity is what makes him such a successful coach, but his friends and associates say it also is often what makes him unwilling to find common ground with others, which ultimately was his unraveling in San Francisco.

“When Jim focuses on something, he won’t let it go,” said a close friend of Harbaugh’s. “That can be both good and bad.”

Midway through last season, 49ers general manager Trent Baalke called a staffer on another team. At the time, San Francisco’s season was falling apart—the Niners would finish 8-8—and Baalke’s relationship with Harbaugh had frayed to the extent that the two were known to ride elevators together in silence and not make eye contact.

“I just can’t deal with Jim anymore,” Baalke told his friend, a veteran front-office employee of an NFL team who relayed the conversation to Bleacher Report. “This guy is a nut. Every day he’s bitching at me about something new. It’s this, it’s that. He’s wearing all of us out. He’s grinding us down.”

“But Trent, you guys have won with Jim,” the friend told Baalke. “Can’t you just focus on the winning?”

“I’m getting stepped on every day by Jim,” Baalke replied. “I can’t do this much longer.”