Braktastic said:
chinawildman said:
After reading all the articles regarding locker room tumultuousness, some of them are saying that this is likely Harbaugh's last year in SF. I thought he had another year on his contract? Or are they inferring that he will be lured away by another team or the college ranks due to all of the alleged issues behind the scenes?
He has another year, but,
if he's really losing the locker room with another year on his deal do you want him in there for another year as a lame duck coach?
And therein lies the actual issue... for which I find strangely curious.
If Harbaugh indeed has ridiculous demands of players that veterans find intolerable, why weren't there any whispers of locker room disatisfaction in his first 2 years when he was relatively unproven? I mean he was much less proven as a coach then, and also made an unpopular decision of benching smith for kaepernick. Surely whispers about his patronizing ways would have surfaced at some point during those 2 years?
But it's only after he takes the niners to a superbowl with what looked to be an ascending quarterback in Kaepernick... when Harbaugh's stock was at an all time high (not since Gruden have teams inquired into luring away an active NFL coach with draft picks) that suddenly all the negative stuff started coming out.
Curious timing isn't it? That when Harbaugh is MOST coveted by other organizations that suddenly rumors of incompatibilities with his own organizations should surface. Last season it was problems with Baalke, and some whispers of player discontent after being 1-2. Yet despite what was a purported rift in the locker room that team rallied to go to the NFC championship again... pretty impressive for a team on the brink of implosion.
And so the whispers get stronger again this year. Any time Harbaugh loses a couple of games, the sky starts falling and everyone in 49er land is at war with each other. And yet Harbaugh still remains a coveted prize... How is it that a coach can be so abrasive and difficult to work with, yet be so successful and desired at the same time?
My guess? There are external powers at work that are trying to make sure Harbaugh gets to free agency. Call it a conspiracy theory if you'd like, but in light of the actual facts, that seems to make the most sense.