Jim Harbaugh almost traded to Cleveland?

plutoblue11 · Feb 24, 2014

I did notthink things were this bad.

http://nfl.si.com/2014/02/24/jim-harbaugh-tension-san-francisco-49ers/

plutoblue11 · Feb 24, 2014

Multiple reports indicate tension between Jim Harbaugh and 49ers front office

http://nfl.si.com/2014/02/24/jim-harbaugh-tension-san-francisco-49ers/

The news last week that the Cleveland Browns tried to acquire San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh via trade certainly set off a lot of fire alarms at the scouting combine and throughout the NFL. But if you’ve kept up on the recent history between Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that another team saw a possible opportunity to swoop in and take a coach who’s led his team to the last three NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl.

It’s no surprise to anyone who’s interacted with him that Harbaugh’s personality can be grating at times. He’s a great coach, and a proven winner wherever he’s been, but he does tend to do things his own way (which is both good and bad), and reports of tension between Harbaugh and Baalke have been out there for the last few months. In December, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News detailed a relationship that occasionally leaked into the public eye, when Harbaugh would tout specific players to the media as future 49ers, and then, for whatever reason, the team (i.e., Baalke) would not pull the trigger.

As Kawakami noted, no one thing really popped up and alerted anyone to a serious rift, but when you get two alpha dogs in a room as Harbaugh and Baalke are, there will be sparks, and they won’t always be good. Harbaugh has always had to cede control of personnel to Baalke, and after two sub-par drafts in a row (San Francisco’s 2012 draft hasn’t produced a single functional starter, and 2013 brought only safety Eric Reid), one wonders if Harbaugh is a bit agitated at the lack of new talent coming in the room. In today’s NFL, recovering from two such drafts is very hard to do, especially with the core of your talent base getting up there in age.

On Monday, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported that the divide between the two men has grown so great, San Francisco’s higher-ups (meaning CEO Jed York) may have to choose between the two.

The men are barely speaking, I’m told, and almost all communication is through email. Harbaugh also has a strained relationship with team president Paraag Marathe, sources said, and he has clashed with many within the organization. It could prove untenable. If anything, the impression I got this week was that the situation there is actually much worse than how it has been portrayed in the media, and helps explain the delay in giving a new deal to the coach, who has two years left on a contract he has outperformed.

NFL.com and former Sports Illustrated writer Mike Silver, who’s been connected in the Bay Area for eons, added Sunday that while those in charge view Harbaugh’s achievements as remarkable, they’re not necessarily going to bend in the face of any pressure when it comes to locking him up with a new long-term contract.

“We didn’t do that when we hired him in the first place, either,” one top Niners official reminded me on Saturday, referring to the team’s refusal to raise its offer to Harbaugh in the face of a late push (and reportedly sweeter deal) from Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. “Why would we run scared?”

Simply put, the Niners’ brass believes that Baalke has assembled a talented team and is likely to continue making smart roster decisions — and that Harbaugh is hardly the only person who could coach this team to a championship.

York has said that there was no truth to the rumors that the Browns were close to a trade for Harbaugh — the idea was floated from the Cleveland side, possibly when the team called to express interest in offensive coordinator Greg Roman. We do know that the Browns didn’t even submit Harbaugh’s name to the league in the latter stages of a head coaching search that ended with the hire of former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.

But that’s the Browns, a team with all kinds of front office turmoil, and no obvious clear direction. If the word about tension between Harbaugh and Baalke is true, one wonders if a more together team might swoop in and make that deal a reality further down the road.
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ubigred · Feb 25, 2014

Harbaugh strained relationships at Stanford as well. He needs to get his act together

J.R. · Mar 2, 2014

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Report: Jim Harbaugh's "act has worn thin" in 49ers locker room <a href="http://t.co/c3P3zlfctr">http://t.co/c3P3zlfctr</a></p>— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProFootballTalk/statuses/440221796478898176">March 2, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Link

plutoblue11 · Mar 3, 2014

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...ernick-seeking-18-million-annually-from-49ers

plutoblue11 · Sep 29, 2014

Deion Sanders says 49ers players want Jim Harbaugh gone
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/9/29/6863375/jim-harbaugh-49ers-rumors-deion-sanders

Ziggy · Sep 29, 2014

plutoblue11 said: ↑

Deion Sanders says 49ers players want Jim Harbaugh gone
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/9/29/6863375/jim-harbaugh-49ers-rumors-deion-sanders
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I know they assume the source is a player but I wouldn't be surprised if it was another type of 49'ers employee. The organization probably wants him out. On the field... they win. Despite obstacles.

plutoblue11 · Sep 29, 2014

Ziggy said: ↑

I know they assume the source is a player but I wouldn't be surprised if it was another type of 49'ers employee. The organization probably wants him out. On the field... they win. Despite obstacles.
Click to expand...

Kawakami: 49ers' Harbaugh well aware his enemies are plotting

http://www.mercurynews.com/tim-kawa...ami-49ers-harbaugh-well-aware-his-enemies-are

SANTA CLARA -- Jim Harbaugh answered the questions for as long as his patience allowed, which was more than I expected, actually.

He fired back at Deion Sanders and Trent Dilfer -- two former players who have reported that the 49ers are in disarray under Harbaugh's reign.

He brushed off the series of stories from the NFL Network suggesting that 49ers players have lost faith in their coach.

He stood at the podium, tried to talk about the significance of the 49ers' victory over Philadelphia on Sunday, and maintained as much of an even keel as possible.

"Personally, I think that's a bunch of crap," Harbaugh said icily when asked directly about Sanders' comment that the 49ers players don't want to play for Harbaugh any longer.
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boomboom · Sep 30, 2014

Ziggy said: ↑

I know they assume the source is a player but I wouldn't be surprised if it was another type of 49'ers employee. The organization probably wants him out. On the field... they win. Despite obstacles.
Click to expand...

Funny thing...there hasn't seemed to be much support for Harbaugh coming from the players. Me thinks where there's smoke...

In my perfect world...I would've loved to see Harbaugh get canned, Garrett get canned and General Manager Jerry Jones hire Harbaugh. That would be the best circus of all time.

conquistador#11 · Sep 30, 2014

a bunch of ingrates whoever wants harbaugh out. quickly they forget they were fighting for toiletbowls before he got there.

Rocket River · Sep 30, 2014

conquistador#11 said: ↑

a bunch of ingrates whoever wants harbaugh out. quickly they forget they were fighting for toiletbowls before he got there.
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This makes me wonder what the HELL is he doing to piss people off so much

Rocket River

ima_drummer2k · Sep 30, 2014

Do they want to go back to the Mike Singletary days?

I don't get this.

plutoblue11 · Oct 5, 2014

http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/10/05/jim-harbaugh-niners-not-coming-back-coach

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