. . . 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 
Jim Tomsula? Please. I’d rather have Mike Nolan than Jim Tomsula. Tomsula coached in the arena leagues. So let me get this straight, to answer my question who’s the next hire? The answer is Jim Tomsula? We’d go from competing for Super Bowls to an arena league coach? Please, let’s not let that happen.
Let me give you guys a taste of what Jim Tomsula would be like as our HC. First off, Colin Kaepernick would demand a lot more from the 49ers. There’d be no, as he said, “I need to take less so my guys can have more so we can all compete for championships,” philosophy because Kaepernick would know that when things got tough in games, he couldn’t come back to to the sidelines to Harbaugh for wisdom about playing the qb position. There’d be no championship runs under Harbaugh. He’d walk off the field and be greeted by a D line coach. Remember Alex Smith walking off the field dejected, fighting with Singletary. Tomsula would be more diplomatic, but he wouldn’t be anymore insightful.
Tomsula, this late in the game, would certainly retain his coaches…. for a year. The team wouldn’t make the playoffs because the Cardinals almost beat us out with first year head coach, Bruce Arians. Jeff Fisher is building a monster in St Louis, now with Gregg Williams. We know about the Seahawks. We wouldn’t make the playoffs with Tomsula, and the next year his coaches would leave for other, real opportunities. That’s a staff that Jim Harbaugh put together, not Jim Tomsula.
Eventually Tomsula would be exposed as a guy with limited overall knowledge about how to run a football team. Then the 49ers wouldn’t be a hot commodity for actual good coaches in 2015.
The guy I’d hire if Harbaugh left would be Vic Fangio. Greg Pappa confronted, on air, Matt Maiocco and asked him where he got the Tomsula idea? Maiocco said it was just speculation that would be the 49ers’ guy. So from speculation from a reporter, we get Tomsula running this team into the ground. But even Fangio would be a huge downgrade.
Who else? Vic Fangio, Greg Roman, Jim Tomsula? Who else out there could keep the wheels from falling off? Nobody. You give Jim Harbaugh whatever he wants and be happy you did.
And yes, NoFear, I’d give Jim Harbaugh whatever he wanted. He’s the glue that keeps this entire team together. He keeps all the coaches together. He makes the players want to sign for less to play for championships, and he’s by far the best option for the 49ers going into a year when the new stadium will be opened. You give Jim Harbaugh whatever he wants and be thankful you did.
Dont replay the Eddie death wish and run off the best coach around here for the past 10-20 years.
“Please don’t Tomsula me! Please!”
Maiocco enough ass kissing
On the ESPN website right now…. “The 49ers shouldn’t let Jim Harbaugh get away. They need him more than he needs them.” Exactly. EXACTLY. YOU PAY THE MAN WHATEVER HE WANTS FOR AS LONG AS HE WANTS.
Here’s a well written article: Pay the man!
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10511781/49ers-give-jim-harbaugh-deserves
And yesterday it was reported Boldin is close to signing. Wonder why a contract hasn’t been announced. If I was Boldin I’d wait to see Harbaugh resigned. It’s one thing for backups like Dahl and Baldwin to take paycuts. It’s another thing entirely for super stars to re-sign under the cloud of uncertainty. Show of hands….. how many think Boldin wants to play for Tomsula? Anyone? Anyone? Didn’t think so.
If Tomsula could get a good OC, why not? Shit, pry away Bill Lazor, QB coach from the Eagles. He’s an up-and-coming guy. Let him run loose. Or go pass happy.
Not for me, thank you.
I ain’t saying I like it, just that there are options out there.
Sure, and me hitting my foot with a hammer is an option. But I really don’t think it’s in my best interests.
And now for something completely different
http://49ersnews.com/2014/02/colin-kaepernick-vernon-davis-late-night-jimmy-fallon/
Let’s take a closer look at Jim Harbaugh for a second, just for kicks.
In Jim’s first year, a strike shortened year, Jim made it to the NFC Championship game with Alex Smith beating the Saints. Remember what a thrill that was? Alex running around the corner and then hitting Vernon? Then against the New York Giants, Jim Harbaugh’s team went into overtime with Smith throwing for like 12 yards passing to his wide receivers. The only thing that kept Harbaugh and his 49ers from going to the Super Bowl in Harbaugh’s rookie year was not one but two Kyle Williams’ fumbles.
Then in year two, Harbaugh makes it to the Super Bowl. His team plays way too tight for three quarters, but then they turn it on in the 4th and almost win the game in the last drive. If it wasn’t for a false start or delay of game, the play designed to hand the ball off to Gore (behind Iupait) would have won the game for Jim Harbaugh and his Niners. Then you have Crabtree mugged in the end zone. Harbaugh was close on two separate occasions in that final drive.
This year there’s a ton – A TON of blown calls that should have gone the 49ers’ way in the NFC Championship game. Running into the kicker? Navarro Bowman’s fumble recovery. Bad spots. Carlos Rogers getting an unsportsmanlike. And there were more bad call that I can’t even remember. Yet the game still came to down to inches. Kaep throws that ball two more feet over Sherman’s head and we trounce the Broncos in the Super Bowl.
Now it’s not a given the 49ers with Alex Smith would have beaten the Patriots, but for my money, it’s a given the 49ers would have beaten the Broncos. So Jim was basically two Kyle Williams fumbles, a delay of game penalty, and one pass falling a foot or so short of potentially winning three Super Bowls. I know these are apologies. I know Jim fell short. But think of how close that guy is and he’s only been an NFL head coach for three years.
I don’t think Jim Harbaugh is getting the respect on this blog he deserves. The man’s a great coach, with an entire career of learning ahead of him. And he’s got a young, super star quarterback that Jim hand picked. And you guys would consider Jim Tomsula? I just threw up in my mouth a little.
Talk yourself into a frenzy much?
Nobody has said they prefer Tomsula. The hypothetical is who do they replace Harbaugh with if it comes to that. Grow up a bit eh?
Grow up? My question is simple: Who do the 49ers select to replace Jim Harbaugh who will bring the 49ers back to the playoffs? And don’t say it’s not a given Jim Harbaugh will do that. Harbaugh will get the 49ers back into the playoff next year. Any suggestions?
Relax 12 Spitblood is hardly in a frenzy. He just doesn’t agree with you on this one. He’s in the majority here I believe
Time will tell Phil.
Why would the Niners go very far with this Harbs for picks things? They have hardly any cap space for 2014, they’d have to load up on future, not present picks, because they’ve got no cap room to handle extra picks in the 2014 high rounds. And, what good is loading up on 2016 and 2017 high picks, when you give up your world class but pain in the ass coach NOW? Doesn’t make much sense to me that his Browns thing went very far at all…
Agreed. The Browns had nothing the 49ers wanted.
And, I can’t believe that this Harbs problem is really about money that much. The Niners are building a $1.2 BILLION stadium. What’s giving Harbs $7.5 or $8 million a year in an extension? That’s chicken feed in the scheme of things. This can’t be much about salary money. This is about ego and how the organization is to be run — way more important things than straight cash…
Agree here as well. Looks like this is a power grab by Harbaugh.
It’s a classic power struggle that Jimi needs to win. Why the hell should Baalke have control of player selection if the competent HC is frustrated and wants to do it his way.
Why Jed? You addicted to control like Unca Eddie? Good like with that
Interesting. I just read on the CSN Bay Area website that after the Seattle game Harbaugh told his players he’d fight to bring them all back regardless what the front office did. It also said Harbaugh wanted guys like Randy Moss back but that the front office nixed the idea. Looks like Jim Harbaugh does want to the be the GM.
What’s interesting to me is that Baalke might be a little more insightful about who to keep and who to dump while Jim is a lot more emotional about decisions. I’m thinking Baalke is good for Jim, regardless if they get along.
Maybe Baalke will draft to replace Frank Gore. I wonder how many players were forced upon Harbaugh, then Harbaugh didn’t spend much time developing them only to have them traded away by Baalke? I could see this really pissing off Baalke.
Jed York wants a coach and GM in lockstep? Sounds like that’s far from happening, and it also sounds like the rift between Harbaugh and Baalke is over personnel. I hope the 49ers can manage to keep Harbaugh and Baalke around just long enough for Baalke to dump Frank Gore. When Gore’s gone, dump Baalke. Harbaugh would keep Gore until Gore was 60.
Lol good one Spit
Well, based on playing time I think we can safely assume AJJ and LMJ were Baalke’s babies.
Adam Schefter reported the offer didn’t include a first rounder, cheapskates.
Where’d he report this? It’s not on his twitter account.
Also not on ESPN. Are you making stuff up again?
Yeah Spit I make stuff up. Don’t judge everyone else by your own standards. Make a little effort and you will find it. It was on Sunday.
BS. If that was the case, other people would be quoting Scheftner. You don’t have to lie to kick it.
One of us is a known bullshit artist but it isn’t me.
Last paragraph:
Don’t call me a liar because you are to inept to find a story line.
Dude… you need to take a walk around the block or something… get a breath of fresh air.
Much ado about nothing…….yawn….
Saturday night the story comes out. Gives all the writers time to think. By Monday all the writers are saying the same thing but trying to put their own spin on it. Some true, Some not true. Just get me in the spotlight. Either way, the Brown horse never got out of the barn, even if 12th wants to convince everyone it did.
Lol. Talk about spin. Yeah I figure your on to something Spit, nothing to see here, move along. Funny thing is not one of the beat writers has taken the Niner side of events in denying anything. Weird that since they could have scored solid brownie points with Jed and co.
Whatevers, denial is the first stage.
Find me a source that says there was an offer made by the Browns, presented to the 49ers, and considered by the 49ers. I mean, hell – go even one better and show me a source where the 49ers’ countered.
Haslam and now York have both said talks were held. York has gone into moonwalk mode and admitted there was an offer but they weren’t interested. Quite different to the absolute denial he first went with.
If it takes it being carved in stone for you to understand how these work I suggest you consult with Moses, he was big into that.
The National reporters have said some version of this event happened and it clearly did. No beat reporter has refuted it and further they have spoken of “rumblings” they have been hearing for quite some time about the internal disfunction (Maiocco) You want it in rhyme and reason and no story ever gets out that way.
Stick your head back in the sand, it will all go away.
You try to spin it that I am making this story up, maybe you should look on the pages of USA today, espn, PFT and on and on. Name the national reporter out there who has not confirmed it to one extent or another,that will be a shorter list.
You still don’t have your facts straight. Even now. Jed York confirmed, with the Sac Bee, only that the Browns reached out to them and that “the overture was turned down.” That’s all there is to it. You can keep claiming there’s more, like an offer or on-going dialogue, but you have no proof of that and no reporter is claiming they know that. The story has no legs. Until you can produce a reporter (or anyone for that matter) who says the Browns made an offer and presented it to the 49ers, you’re just spinning your wheels.
I’ve made this analogy one hundred times, and it looks like for 12th’s benefit I’ll have to make it again. Del can ask a pretty girl out, but if she says no Del’s still feeding the Ducks come Saturday night. And there haven’t been any new stories develop regarding Cleveland since the story broke. Nothing. Until a reporter or anyone can say, “Cleveland offered a 1st and 3rd rounder this year, and 2nd next,” I stand by Jed’s account of the story…. Why? Because Cleveland has nothing the 49ers want. Draft picks? We have plenty and very little cap room. The Raider need draft choices. We don’t. What about money. That stadium is going to rake in cash.
12th: Go find a link where a reporter says the Browns presented an offer and there was dialogue after. You simply can’t do that.
You choose to lay out your terms by which I need to prove a story to your satisfaction or it’s bullshit?
Get real. You want to believe nothing happened go ahead, I’m not stopping you.
I don’t believe nothing happened. I believe the Browns approached Jed York about an idea and Jed turned them down.
To me, Jim Harbaugh has no credibility when he says, “He knew nothing.” However, that doesn’t mean it’s not true. It just means he has no credibility in my eyes because of the Peyton Manning deal. But I think it’s true in spite of Harbaugh’s words because…..
1.) The Browns have nothing the 49ers want. We have all the draft choices we need. We have all the money we need.
2.) Jed York doesn’t let Harbaugh get away when Harbaugh made York, Eddie lost Bill and Jed let Singletary move McCloughan.
I don’t believe the entire deal was worked out and Harbaugh balked at it. You’ll have to show me a lot more evidence. It doesn’t make sense. Put all the pieces together and if Jed went that route he’d be committing political suicide. The fire storm that went after Jed York would be overwhelming. And furthermore, that would be a mark against Jed York that would stay with him his entire life because Jim Harbaugh will win Super Bowls in the NFL. And each time he does with another team, particularly if the 49er then suck, Jed York will look like an ass. The thought of actually entertaining moving Harbaugh needs a lot more evidence for me to believe it. The pieces don’t add up.
Nobody has said the entire deal was worked out. You keep stretching this further and further from your starting point of its all bullshit. You like quoting ESPN lately, here is the quote from Chris Mortenson of ESPN
“Browns did indeed make a run at Jim Harbaugh that reached a serious stage, sources confirm substance of @ProFootballTalk report,” Mortensen said via Twitter.
Now I’m a bit tired of you calling what I am saying is reported into question so I think it best I call it a night.
So you’ve always taken the high road? If you can’t stand the heat, get outta the kitchen. Nite 12th.
Kawakami has this about the talks with Kap:
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2014/02/24/the-49ers-start-contract-talks-with-colin-kaepernick-and-so-far-so-good-with-a-long-ways-to-go/
Funny thing is, cheatin’ Pete is on his last year, and no one is talking about it. I find it hard to fathom that Jimbo plays the waiting game. At least quietly.
Give Harbaugh a 2 year extension in the 7.5 a year range with escalators if he wins the big one. That means he makes 40 mil over 6 years with a chance to be the highest paid coach if he earns it and he will have a 4 year contract in hand. Seems fair to me as he has outperformed his current contract.
Pete has done more with less to be honest. His roster was not as good as the Niner roster when he took over. I hate the Squawks but give him his due he has won the SB. He was a 1/2 game behind the Niners in 2012 and a game in front in 2013, that is pretty consistent stuff. I guess he will get a pay bump soon.
I think this is the most relevant and interesting couple of paragraphs that’s been published regarding the Harbaugh / Front office rift:
“Harbaugh told the assembled players [after the Seattle game] that he did not care what the front office planned for the offseason. He was going to fight hard to bring back everyone in the room.
It was an awkward moment, a source told CSNBayArea.com. But it was not too different than some of Harbaugh’s public statements about retaining such players as Josh Morgan, Randy Moss and Dashon Goldson – none of whom was re-signed.
Harbaugh also made public statements last season, in effect, challenging Baalke to re-sign safety Donte Whitner and kicker Phil Dawson.” ~ CSN Bay Area
What this is telling me is that Baalke is clearly in charge of the salary cap, and Jim Harbaugh is clearly in charge of the team. Duh. But we once thought they worked well together. Hell, I thought up until two days ago the two worked well together. But Harbaugh must feel like he’s being hamstrung by Baalke and Paraage. Harbaugh must almost blame Baalke and Paraage for him not winning Super Bowls because he’s not given the tools he deems necessary.
In this regard, I don’t side with Harbaugh. I support Baalke. Baalke has done a good job with our salary cap. You have to make tough decisions regarding the cap, and it doesn’t appear to me that Harbaugh has the objectivity to cut loose of players who are either too expensive (Goldson), or too old (Moss). Jim Harbaugh may not like it, but he needs someone like Trent Baalke to balance him out. However, I’d bet dollars to donuts that Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke’s relationship is beyond repair. To me, the best move Jed York can make is giving Harbaugh more money with the understanding that he has to accept that he’ll lose key players and must work harder to develop younger players. This is what’s being argued here, and there is a way Jed York can fix it. Jed York needs to throw money at Harbaugh while convincing Harbaugh salary cap management is beyond necessary – it’s what keeps the team in contention year in and year out.
Spit that’s the rub with Harbaugh.
He thinks it’s an endless supply of talent and money.
They don’t have endless benches in the NFL like he had at Stanford.
I value a good GM as much as I value talented Coaches.
Harbaugh seems to think he’s above the process.
It’s business with highly talented personnel making tons of money.
Stick to Coaching.
The Team, the team, the team plays well for the media.
Understand that you’re not the only guy that matters, in the grand scheme of things.
Draft Picks are handed out like Scholarships.
Draft Picks AREN’T handed like Scholarships, (of course).
Paraag Marathe is in charge of the salary cap. Baalke is the GM. Harbaugh is the coach.
Correct 12th.
Each guy plays an important role here.
Marathe has largely been identified as the guy that got us out of Cap H3ll.
It’s not an easy task, nor is acquiring the talent via the Draft.
Juggling act of monumental proportions.
Seems like a clash of ego’s between Jim and Trent if you buy the media feedback.
That’s what I see too.
Yeah, Pete rolled that roster pretty hard in 2010. And he got through the door and won the whole thing.
I don’t think Harbs takes a 2 year deal but that would work for me.
I contend that HCs certainly lobby for their guys, as it relates to the Draft process.
I’m also gonna suggest, that LMJ would have been a selection influenced by Harbaugh, simply because of comments written, that Harbaugh was victimized by LMJ when facing him vs Oregon, ergo, give me a weapon like that and watch what we can do.
Assuming there is the quintessential power struggle taking place, about who builds the roster, I’d give leverage to the GM over the HC.
Harbaugh may feel his recruiting acumen can translate to the Pro level, however, Baalke’s career resume as a Scout holds more water for me.
Many a Type-A HC feels he’s capable of mastering the entire process.
History has shown that, while having the ability to recruit numerous HS Blue Chippers, with bountiful roster depth afforded at the Collegiate level, it isn’t quite so simple when Draft Picks are brought in with expectations to produce quickly .
The Harbaugh/Carroll dynamic is one that will define this Division.
Neither guy wants to concede an inch to the other.
Fact remains, Harbaugh lost to Carroll.
Whether Harbaugh feels he deserves equal, or better compensation than Pete, is irrelevant.
Pete won, Jim lost.
I can’t buy the argument that Jed should hand Jim a blank check Spit.
Like any negotiation, there needs to be incentive based expectations applied.
Player or Coach wants X, Team wants Y. Team pays for results, not expectations.
Use an average number for HCs with Playoff appearances, with an incentive, to achieve the numbers paid to HCs with the Lombardi hardware in their possession.
Agree NJ finding players is the GM’s job. Harbaugh needs to stick to coaching.
Finding players fine. Actually signing them = the Trigger can be Jimi’s deal w/ Paraag’s + Baalke’s input. Why “should” Jimi stick to coaching? Bruised feelings for the GM? Big deal. Win the big one, this current shit is not working = historical fact.
Fix it Jed
Harbaugh doesn’t just need to stick to coaching. Jed’s first comments when they hired Jim were right, “I need a GM and HC who work together lock step.” The two jobs bleed into one another. Trouble is I’m betting the relationship between Harabaugh and Baalke is past repair. Jim Harbaugh is the one who wins that battle. What did ESPN write earlier? “The 49ers need Jim Harbaugh more than Jim Harbaugh needs the 49ers.” Baalke’s gotta go. Bring in a puppet for Jim to evaluate talent and do what Jim says. Why? Because first off Jim can evaluate talent. He did it at Stanford…. and well. Think Andrew Luck’s pretty good? But secondly you chose Jim over Trent because Jim is much more of a limited commodity. Again…. the ESPN quote….. “The 49ers need Jim Harbaugh more than Jim Harbaugh needs the 49ers.” If Jed York lets Harbaugh go, it’ll be a black mark against Jed for the rest of his life.