. . . to paraphrase Mr. Mojo Risin’ himself, Jim Morrison.
As far as the story that won’t go away goes, and all this hyperventilating about the Harbaugh trade to the Browns, the one thing to come out of it is the notion that Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke are not pals. As in, they can’t be in the same room together, and they now communicate strictly by email. Now I’m not a huge proponent of Kumbaya, peace, love, granola, and all that shit in the workplace, but really, we’re poised at the edge of the 2014 draft, and the head coach and General Manager aren’t talking? Not a good scenario.
The Niners very recently travelled this road when sloppy Scotty McLoughan was canned a month before the 2010 draft, and Baalke took over as the interim GM. Of course that draft netted Anthony Davis, Mike Iupati, Navorro Bowman, Nate Bynam, Anthony Dixon, KW, and Phillip Adams. The only really bad guys from that draft, for us anyway, were Taylor Mays and Nate Bynam, although they are still in the league. So, maybe a little turmoil is good. But I’m not too happy to hear about all this shit right before the draft.
Throw in the apparent problems between Harbaugh and Greg Roman regarding play calling, and the recent uproar around the Harbaugh trade, there seems to be power struggles at every turn. All centering on Jim Harbaugh. And to me, this is the crux of the biscuit. Harbaugh wants more control. From the draft perspective, and from the play calling side as well. All the while he’s been stonewalled in his attempts to negotiate a contract extension with the 49er front office. Which leads me to believe he wants top money. Lets’s say the $9-10 million range? In other words, he wants Super Bowl money, even though he hasn’t delivered a Super Bowl.
Harbaugh’s point appears to be, well, I need to make the personnel decisions to GET us to the promised land. That’s fairly easy to infer from all these machinations going on. Also the play calling aspect. As I wrote a few threads ago, this team is in transition as to how the offense is built, the players they have, and the plays they are calling. There was a link to a story that addressed this very thing. About how the team is building itself to evolve into a more wide open offense as the old guard power running guys leave or retire. Of course the main thread of THAT story didn’t have the notion that the HC and GM can’t look at each in the eye, and that Greg Roman is becoming a puppet in his job.
So, this situation has become a lot more than offseason speculation and the nothing-to-talk-about news cycle. Although this certainly feeds into that in a big way. If this power struggle really is as bad as the noise suggests, Harbaugh is certainly the guy holding the aces. When he came here the 49ers, from top to Singletary’s flashing bottom, were seen as a national joke. A team with perennial high draft picks who managed to find new and intersting ways to lose. Head coaches who couldn’t design an offense other than Gore right, Gore left, Gore up the middle, punt. A front office of mid-level managers all wandering around the building with no direction or purpose.
Harbaugh comes in, and with little time with the team due to the lockout, takes them to the NFC Championship game in year 1, the Super Bowl in year 2, and the NFCCG in year 3. So, which piece is essential? It certainly isn’t Baalke. Or Roman. Strange days, indeed. Young Sir Jed has his hands full all of a sudden.
Forty Niners Forever 
If anyone goes it hopefully is not Jimi. Tomsula is the replacement? Jimi got a laugh over that and the FO is admitting there are no actual replacement coaches worth considering.
Give Jimi control over player selections, tell Baalke to deal with it or deal with Tomsula in 2 years or less. And good luck with yer new stadium. Baalke is expendable if necessary to keep Hendrix.
And furthermore (bumped):
No one gives a shit what the Browns said or the Niner denials. The story wont go away until the power struggle between Jimi and Trent is resolved. Thats real and is not resolved. New contract for Jimi = evidence it is. Absent that the longer it goes w/o the worse it is for 9ers on all levels.
Dont screw this up Jed. Only one of these 2 hot shots is irreplaceable. = Hendrix
Which guy came in and coached the Niners, from a standing start with virtually the same team as Sing, into the NFC Champ Game? Not Baalke…
Nightmare scenario. Raiduhs chug a lug, as expected, to another 4 win season this fall (they have a tough schedule, and should still be garbage anyway, mildly improved with the upcoming draft). Mark “haircut” Davis fires Allen, fires Reggie. Who’s available? Oh, Harbs hasn’t been extended. Davis makes it known Harbs can be HC and AND GM. Fun ensues. If Harbs ended up as the Raider Grand Poobah, oy…
You know I’d love that but there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that happens. York & Co. will find a way to keep Jimbo, at any cost…but this in-house drama looks to be quite the budding mess.
Ah yes the power struggle. well, lets look at Mr B Walsh. when he came in he work with the GM on Player personnel, but ultimately Bill had the yeah or neigh vote on a player. So give Jimmy the reins and let him run with it. He was a college coach and a pretty successful one at that. So I would think he know how to evaluate a player. I am sure that he will take advice just as surely as Bill did. And it is not like Bill didn’t make mistakes. Rare as they might be, think Rynaldo Neimia. So give up that control Trent, take it like a man and let Jimmy make the decisions.
Wash was hired in 1978 and he hired McVay to be his personnel guy a couple years later IIRC.
Well, it mirrors exactly the scenario surrounding Kaepernick. In that the longer he’s left dangling, the more ammunition he will have to get a bigger deal. As that comes to pass, the likelihood someone backs up the Brinks truck to lure him out of here becomes greater and greater.
Well, the Raiders need a starting QB…
I’m not that concerned about the details of this Browns trade stuff. It’s to the advantage of the Browns owner to troll this stuff up as much as possible to make it look like he’s trying everything, rather than look like the doofus he is to the apoplectic Browns fan base Any owner or GM could call up Jed York and ask if he wants to trade Harbs, then leak a bunch of crap about it, whether Jed hung up on him or met him for beers over it. The Harbs v. Baalke BS is the more worrisome, especially crystallization that Harbs is probably more of a prick inside the org than we thought. Oh well. Mozart was a prick, and he made great music. Bonds was a prick, and was a great player. Harbs is a prick, but a winner…
Yeah, the only thing to come out of this is the fact that it unearthed the power struggle between Baalke and Harbaugh.
That Baalke boy is a power struggling kinda feller. Hopefully he loses this one or we’re fucked royally
Ray Ratto wrote a story saying Jed York wasted a lie. Sometimes Ratto and Maiocco make things up and it hurts them more than anything. Greg Papa called Maiocco on starting a Jim Tomsula rumor that had no merit. York to Peter King said the Browns contacted him but weren’t interested in trading Harbaugh. Ratto asserts York lied when saying the PFT report wasn’t true. There’s no lie there on York’s behalf. Pro Football Talk implied there was an offer and negotiations and Harbaugh nixed the trade. Jed York saying, “The Report wasn’t true,” was right. That report wasn’t true. The Browns and 49ers didn’t enter into talks. Ratto should shut up. Get it right or shut up.
Take the Browns out of the equation. We now know Jim Harbaugh is in a tough contract negotiation and he’s not getting along with Trent Baalke. We also know Jed doesn’t want to trade Harbaugh. So Jed has no leverage. He’s staring at dumping either Harbaugh or Baalke (and apparently it won’t be Harbaugh), or Jed needs to find a way to mend the fence – big time. There’s no chance of harmony in the 49ers’ front office until Harbaugh gets a contract.
If Jed lets Harbaugh get out of town, the 49ers are screwed and Jed will be vilified. The taste of the Singletary and Nolan years hasn’t left a lot of 49er fans. Those memories are all too familiar.
If I’m Jed, I pay Harbaugh whatever he wants, for as long as he wants, and I tell people within the organization they better start dealing with Harbaugh’s abrasive personality or they’ll be the ones with a pink slip. Then I tell Harbaugh, after he has a contract in place that he basically wrote for himself, to grow the hell up. The crying on the sidelines, the too tight before big games – it’s all immature. Pay what he wants for as long as he wants, then get Harbaugh to grow the hell up.
Right, Spitty. The Cleveland part of this story is now a footnote to the impasse between Harbaugh and Baalke. Ratto, Florio, and Schefter, et al may try to wring a little more gristle from it, but that is a dead end.
The next domino is Kaepernick. I’m sure he’d be more than a little leery if Harbaugh gets run out of town on a rail. He’d be hard-pressed to commit to the team with major upheaval going on. Where would we be without Harbaugh and Kaepernick?
Hello 6-10.
7-9. I’m an optimist
If Harbs left, but most of the coaching staff stayed, it wouldn’t be a disaster. If he went to the Dolphins, for example, would all/most of the assistants follow? I don’t know the answer. If they would follow, then THAT would be a disaster…
On the other side, any new HC replacing Harbs would want most of the staff to be his own guys. Again, possible disaster. If Fangio or Roman were promoted, and everybody else stayed, probably not a disaster…
If Harbaugh left, eventually all the other good coaches on the 49ers’ staff would as well. The key word is “eventually.” Some might stick around for a while, but if they were given other opportunities win teams they felt could win championships, they’d leave as well.
Sorry I don’t agree the Browns attempt means nothing. I think its key to what happens next. No way the Browns got as far as putting an offer together without the Niners signaling they were open to at least hearing what that offer is. If you choose to believe otherwise good for you.
Two things come from the offer A) The Niners got to decide if it was tempting enough and B) they got to show Harbaugh that if he pushes too much they may be willing to let him go.
The Harbaugh/Baalke issue is not a symptom of the Browns offer, it is because of it the Browns were able to make an offer.
I do agree that something has to give but figure this season stays status quo. If I were a betting man I would bet Baalke stays and Harbaugh goes if it does come down to that. Not because Harbaugh has not done well or is not a good coach but because he rubs the FO the wrong way including Jed apparently.
Jed hid behind semantics, people do it every day, no biggie.
I agree with Spit that Harbaugh is likely to get a contract, at least I hope so because I think despite his play ground antics he does coach well. Not sure that manly men stuff still plays and there are plenty of ex players of his that don’t like him but results are what counts and by most measures he has them.
I don’t see that Kap is tied to Harbaugh particularly.
12th – The Browns never got their horse out of the barn, but they’re claiming they ran that steed through the hills all night.
Lol yeah the Browns. Then to hear ’em tell it Del Mar raked out the stall early the next morning
Yeah Jed was a great coach evaluator = SINGLETRON.
Lest we ferget
Chuck: If I’m Jed York, I’m negotiating with Harbaugh right now. Harbaugh is the gate keeper to other contracts like the Boldin contract that people just reported was close to being done. If I’m Boldin or Kaepernick, I hold off on signing until I know Jim’s there for another five years at least. To Boldin, five years doesn’t matter. But it sure would to Kaep. And Jed, if he was tough in negotiations, just lost a lot of leverage due to this Browns bs. Jed looks stupid because he didn’t pursue the Browns’ offer, but the Browns and media have made Jed out to look like a guy who was interested in pursuing it. Jed still doesn’t get the PR game outside the lines.
And for a while there, I was reading Berger’s comments because he was spot on about a lot of things, but now Berger’s gone off the rails. First off, Berger writes that to think there’s nothing to the Browns’ story is naive. Well, there’s nothing to the story, so I guess I’m naive. I’ve said all along, Del can ask Jenna Jameson out all he wants, but come Saturday night he’ll still be feeding the ducks. The Browns never got the horse out of the barn, but they’re claiming they ran their steed through the hills all night.
Berger also was saying, “What’s the difference between 6-10 without Harbaugh, and losing the NFC Championship with Harbaugh?” And Berger lets it be known that Del is influencing Berger’s thinking regarding Harbaugh. The difference is, like I wrote about earlier, that Jim Harbaugh is not a finished produce. This Berger and Del thinking assumes losing is all we’ll get from Harbaugh for the next ten years, and that’s drunken, emotional conclusions. I’d much rather have a great coach (top 3 in the NFL), losing but learning how to win, than a 6-10 season. That’s the point. That’s the difference. Jim Harbaugh could becoming Tom Coughlin, and Colin Kaepernick is young. Now do some backtracking, Berger and Del.
Most important thing that could happen right now is for Jed York to give Jim Harbaugh whatever he wanted in terms of a contract. Players are stopping their contract negotiations, waiting to see if Harbaugh will be back. Boldin was close to signing, Kaep was in negotations. Harbaugh leaves, that changes everything for those players and their negotiations. I sign Harbaugh to whatever he wants for as long as he wants, and I tell the front office if they don’t like Harbaugh they can kick rocks and go someplace else. That goes for Del and Berger, too.
The ever tasteful Berger agrees with me then, you are being Naive. I mostly agree with his O philosophy too. Not the one attributed to him that says we go 4 wide every down because that’s not what he is talking about.
This horse never got out of the barn.
Influenced by Del? That explains it. = Ninerphobia.
Bullshit, a future 8-8 is better than 6-10 but compared to what we have in Jimi- I’ll take Hendrix.
Jed- Pay The Man. Never mind your supposed hurt feelings
Another thing that really makes Berger look foolish about his claim that he’d rather go 6-10 than lose Championship games is that Berger was and still is an Alex Smith fan. So Berger and Del assume Harbaugh will never improve, but that Alex Smith in year 9 has a better chance? That’s just stupid thinking right there. Coaches evolve while players in year 9 have pretty much shown their limitations. Wooden coached for 15 years before winning championships, and is now considered one of the greatest coaches in all of sports. Bilichick coached for years under Parcels, then the Browns, then finally started winning championships as a HC with the Patriots (while spying). Walsh wasn’t an overnight success. He coached under Paul Brown for years. Pete Carroll was with the Jets, Patriots, 49ers and maybe other teams. Tom Coughlin was with the Jaguars, then won with the Giants. It takes a HC a while to learn how to win Super Bowls.
But Berger, unlike Del, is on the wrong side of the Alex Smith debate. There’s no winning a Super Bowl with Alex Smith. Love the guy’s character, but Smith will never be able to throw deep. He’ll always take too many sacks. He’ll always be inconsistent with his accuracy. He’s not a big game quarterback, but Berger claims he wants a big game head coach when those guys don’t grow on trees, they’re honed and nurtured over time. At least Del saw that Alex Smith wasn’t a big game qb and is consistent with his claim that he wants a big game HC. Del is a little short sighted in that there’s nobody out there to take this team to the Super Bowl. Harbaugh’s our best shot. Look at the recent hires: Whissenhunt, Jim Caldwell, and the Browns’ recent hire? Please. Jim Harbaugh is a great head coach, and it’ll take time for him to learn how to win Super Bowls. Jim Harbaugh is our best shot. Sign him to a long term deal and tell Baalke to get out of his way.
Well said
Spitty, I’m totally with you on the York part of this. Too many of the impending decisions the team needs to make are based squarely on what Harbaugh’s status is. I really don’t think they can afford to drag their feet. Especially when you hear what York admitted to this morning:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
York told the Sacramento Bee that the Browns called the 49ers in January with the intent of speaking with 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman and defensive line coach Jim Tomsula about the Browns coaching vacancy.
During that conversation, the Browns asked about Harbaugh’s availability via trade.
That line of questioning went “not far at all,” York told the Bee. “We had no interest in entering those discussions.”
He added that: “We want Jim to be our head coach, and we’ve said that very clearly.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Since those words (especioally that last line) came directly from the horse’s mouth, it’s time for the horse to put out. Boldin (and Whitner for that matter) I’m pretty sure will be taken care of shortly. But Kaepernick is the issue and the golden goose in this. If they drag their feet on Harbaugh, I seriously don’t think Kappy commits to this team. Kappy has it VERY good here. He could very well end up in a situation like Sam Bradford, Matthew Stafford, or even early Alex Smith, where the coaching staff is a big deterrent to one’s success.
And, before the shitstorm begins, I’m not saying any one of those guys are Super Bowl worthy, I’m just saying that with better coaching, all those guys could have had much more success in the NFL, either in individual numbers, or wins in general.
Jed has to know where his bread is buttered = Not Baalke since push has now come to shove. Fuck his supposed hoit feelings
Dennis is a little shortsighted? There’s the understatement of the century . . . maybe even the millenium . . .
Yeah but the millennium is only 14 years old- give him time
Sheist. The shit keeps getting deeper.
This report has Harbaugh initiating the contact w/the Browns. .
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/2/24/5442024/jim-harbaugh-san-francisco-49ers-cleveland-browns-trade
Myck Lombardi???
Despite Spitty’s proclamation, there clearly was a story with legs and they keep getting longer. Since that is pretty much without doubt the real question is what happens next?
If the shit gets deeper then pride becomes a factor and the status quo for this year is in jeopardy. A resignation? A firing? who knows. All is not well in 49er land and I hear bay bridge sections are selling like hot cakes.
What happened to your theory that Jed pulled this to put Hendrix in his place?.. Maybe the other way around. Either way it is irrelevant to solving the baalkebaugh power struggle. Jed get on yer horse and corral that cowpuncher
I haven’t made that theory Phil. I don’t think Jed pulled anything to put Harbaugh in his place. I think Jed is quite willing to let Harbaugh go if that is what he wants and I think Harbaugh has tried to use that gambit several times now. Jed just wants something in return for letting him out.
I think Jed would prefer to find a way to work it out but he sure as shit ain’t going on bended knee to Harbaugh to keep him or pay him top dollar. Now it’s up to Harbaugh to decide what he is willing to accept.
People keep reporting on the same story, over and over.
So this is still a non story for you? OK.
You’ve put yourself in a position to prove the Browns presented an offer and the 49ers considered it. You have no proof. Not a single reporter is saying the Browns presented an offer, or that the 49ers considered it. The burden of proof is on you. Until then… not much happened.
Again the story is the baalkebaugh POWER STRUGGLE. That’s the DOG; this is the TAIL lol
The point being, shit like this will fly around any time the Harbaugh’s name comes up in conversation, Until Harbaugh gets an extension.
As Bob Dylan famously said. you don;t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
Harbaugh and his agent understand that to get what they contractually want from the 49ers they need to create leverage. That leverage comes by way of rumors that other teams might want his services…. and they do. 25-30 other teams in the NFL, and certainly at least that many in the college ranks, would fire their current head coach if they were to land Harbaugh. The Browns issue, and talk of a divide between Baalke and Harbaugh, only gives Jim more leverage. The 49ers can sit and do nothing with Harbaugh under contract; however, even if the the 49ers don’t win the Super Bowl in 2014, Harbaugh will still have the upper hand at that point with negotiations. Jed York needs to realize this, and realize that Harbaugh is a very limited commodity. Jed York needs to pay Jim Harbaugh whatever he wants, for as long as he wants, and tell his front office Jim has a free hand. I’ll ask this question again, a question nobody seems to have an answer for: Who is available to do the job Jim Harbaugh has done? Who could the 49ers’ hire to take over while not seeing the 49ers skip a beat next year? The answer is nobody. So Jim Harbaugh has all the leverage, and Jim Harbaugh needs to get paid. If Jed York doesn’t step up to the plate, his tenure is in a lot of trouble. Like Alex Smith, Jim Harbaugh has rejuvenated Jed York’s image.
Surely you’re not serious about giving Harbaugh whatever he wants. If it was all about coaching the greats would never fail, but they do.
Coaching is one of the pieces that must come together to make a winner but certainly not the only piece.
If there is a rift anywhere near the scale the rumor mill citing unnamed sources and “I’m told” and “I’m hearing” tries to make it, it’s up to Jed to put an end to it or make it workable or get rid of the problem.
Let Jim bring a couple rings to knock on the table from teams that started on the bottom or the top, like the one he inherited, to the next negotiation.
Agree.
The point you make is an obvious one Spit, Harbaugh is a hot commodity and 2/3 of the league would prefer him over their current guy, that part is easy. The next part is also a no brainer, who would the fans rather have? Speaking for myself I prefer Harbaugh. The point you don’t address is much like tooth ache there comes a point where even a root canal is preferred over the constant pain.
I have no idea how bad things really are in the Org but it is turning into a mess quickly and soon it will have a mind of its own. If it turns out Harbs did initiate the contact with the Browns he is gone. No way the Niners can stand to have their HC be seen to want to coach somewhere else and make the Niners look like a second tier Org.
I hope it blows over soon and they sign a contract but it sure as shit won’t be for 5 years or the highest pay in the league.
12th – your tooth ache analogy leaves out on thing: Who do you hire that’s less of a tooth ache, because not competing for Super Bowls, which Harbaugh’s done even with Alex Smith, is a different kind of tooth ache, one I don’t want to feel again. Who do you hire?
It would mean an internal hire Spit. Going outside is too much turmoil. I would leave Fangio alone with the D, suffer Roman for another year and promote Tomsula. He was a HC in Europe and for 1 memorable game in the US and was mentioned for HC interviews this year. Again, this is hypothetical and I prefer Harbaugh stays but if I was forced into a decision that’s what I would do.
One year after Tomsula is named coach the staff leaves and the 49ers become just another place to collect a pay check for the players.
Tomsula’s name has come up repeatedly. Which, while Tomsula has the best winning percentage in 49er history, you’d have to wonder who he would pick, as he’s completely hamstrung by the fact all coaches are accounted for and Tomsula, while an NFL veteran, does not have a black book of names to pull out to build a coaching staff from.
So he’d have a lame-duck staff, and who knows as HC. Roman?
Fuck that. I’d be out on the ledge with Dennis.
As you and I and many others have said, Harbaugh holds all the cards in this poker game.
Tomsula makes the most sense if Harbs were to go. They keep the OC and DC intact since they are under contract and Tomsula has HC experience and is well liked. I am not saying he is as good as Harbs cause we have no idea but the pieces would stay in place.
I vote Tomsula!
I can pretty safely say Tomsula isn’t as good as Harbaugh.
I would guess the same and hope not to find out.
Tomsula?? Let’s get real 12th,no way in hell would he become HC of the Niners! Man that 1-0 coaching record has guys delusional …
One other tidbit about Tomsula is that although he wouldn’t need a black book if he took over on an interim deal he has for certain got one. No coach can interview for a HC position without having his staff lined up 3 deep.
AK, I’m kidding about Tomsula’s record. The point being there isn’t anyone readily available to BECOME a head coach. Let alone hire a coaching staff.
The hire, if it comes to pass, would have to be internal. The players would likely mutiny if Roman took over. Fangio is a better possibility, but that still leaves the offense in a huge bind.
OK Kat, tell me your hypothetical plan if Harbs goes? New coach from the outside = likely an all new staff.
As for Harbs holding all the cards, Nah. A good negotiating position without doubt but I’ve never yet seen the tail wag the dog and it won’t happen now either. This is the San Francisco 49ers with all that prestige that goes with that.
Prestige? ALL the recent prestige stems from Harbaugh and no one else. These are uncharted waters for Jed. If this was Eddie’s team, he’d have the check already written.
I think if this was Eddies team Harbaugh would be sitting at home by now. OK that’s an exaggeration but the point is valid.
Not one single coach in the league is bigger than the team that employs him, even the lowliest team and the Niners are far from that.
Eddie D said, in an interview before the HOF candidates were announced, “It’s very important that this team signs Jim Harbaugh to an extention.” Eddie D would have learned from his Bill Walsh mistakes and made it work with Harbaugh – something Eddie failed to do over the long haul with Walsh.
Good point = Eddie drove BW off with his meddling IMO and young Sir Jed needs to profit from that mistake. Or we are gonna get “Tomsula-ed” = FUCKED
NoFear, the obvious point here is, on Jan 1 2011, the 49ers were a national joke. From Singletary dropping trou to the front office being called out by Eddie D as a muddled mess of middle managers with no direction.
Now they are perennial Super Bowl favorites. Regardless who did what before him, the team was a shambles in the front office and a joke on the field.
Harbaugh singlehandedly changed the perception of the 49ers. He will get $7-8 mill. And likely more control over the personnel.
Yeah this is the major issue facing this team. Forget Kap extension, O woes, Browns shit or Baalke and Jed’s hurt feelings. Horse pucky.
Fix it Jed. 7-8 mil and control over player selection. Or kiss yer ass g’bye