by Peter King
Some history on the trading of coaches.
Looking at the history of the six coaches who have been traded in the past 20 years, it seems foolish for the 49ers to think of getting only a third-round pick for Jim Harbaugh, if they trade him after the season. That’s the compensation Pro Football Talk reported the Browns and Niners were discussing after last season.
That is a ridiculously small bit of compensation for a coach who has turned around a once-proud but moribund franchise and helped turn it into one of the winningest teams in football.
Harbaugh has engineered one of the most decisive turnarounds in recent NFL history. In the four years before he arrived in 2011, San Francisco was an afterthought, 26-38 over the four seasons. In his first three full seasons, Harbaugh coached the Niners to the playoffs each time, and a 36-11-1 record, and one Super Bowl appearance. The Niners are 7-5 this year, struggling to make it four-for-four in the playoffs under Harbaugh.
Look at Bill Belichick’s résumé before Patriots owner Bob Kraft traded a first-round pick for him in 2000. He was 37-45 in five seasons as Browns coach, with a distinguished career as a coordinator. And he got Bob Kraft of the Patriots to give up a 2000 first-round pick for him.
The six coach trades in the last 20 years:
| Date | Coach | From where to where | Compensation |
| Jan. 9, 2006 | Herman Edwards | NY Jets to Kansas City | Fourth-round pick |
| Feb. 18, 2002 | Jon Gruden | Oakland to Tampa | 2 first-round picks 2 second-round picks $8 million |
| Jan. 10, 2001 | Dick Vermeil | St. Louis to Kansas City | Second-round pick Third-round pick $500,000 |
| Jan. 3, 2001 | Marty Schottenheimer | Kansas City to Wash. | 2 third-round picks |
| Jan. 28, 2000 | Bill Belichick | NY Jets to New England | First-round pick Other low-round picks swapped |
| Feb. 11, 1997 | Bill Parcells | New England to NY Jets | First-, second-, third- and fourth-round picks $300,000 |
For the record: Coaching trades can’t work the way the player trades do. Coaches do not have clauses in their contracts allowing them to be re-assigned, as player contracts do. What happens if a coach wants to leave or a team is interested in testing the market for the coach: The two teams agree on the compensation (draft picks or cash) that would be exchanged if the acquiring team can work out a new contract with the coach. Then the current team terminates the contract in exchange for cash or the draft compensation, or both, when the coach is dealt.
If I were Niners owner Jed York, I’d read Parcells: A Football Life, by Bill Parcells and writer Nunyo Demasio. In it, Demasio describes Parcells playing hardball with Patriots owner Robert Kraft over the Belichick compensation. Kraft first offered third- and fourth-round picks for Belichick. In the next phone conversation, it rose to second- and third-round picks. In one last conversation, Kraft agreed to surrender the Patriots’ first-round pick, with some low-round picks being exchanged as a sweetener.
I don’t see why Jim Harbaugh in 2015 isn’t worth to some team at least what Bill Belichick was worth to the Patriots in 2000. At least.
THE FINE FIFTEEN
1. Green Bay (9-3). Not that it’ll matter much, but the wind chill tonight will be about 26 at kickoff, with snow showers during the day. Neither sleet nor snow nor blah blah blah will keep Aaron Rodgers from continuing this remarkable streak over the past 24 months at Lambeau Field: 31 touchdowns, zero interceptions.
2. New England (10-3). Quick note about the 2014 Patriots: Jamie Collins was a really good pick by Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio in the second round of the 2013 draft. Rangy and hard to block. Anyhoo … The Patriots clinch the AFC East with a win Sunday at home against Miami (yawn), and if it’s not this Sunday, it’ll be the next one. They’re at the Jets in 13 days.
3. Seattle (9-4). Troy Aikman on FOX, as the 24-14 dismantling of the Eagles in Philadelphia wound down: “The Seattle defense, they’re completely overwhelming. They’ve given up one play—that touchdown to [Zach] Ertz.” In the past three wins over Arizona, San Francisco and Philadelphia—by a combined 62-20—the Seahawks have allowed 204, 164 and 139 yards. 139 yards against a Chip Kelly offense! In Kelly’s house!
4. Denver (10-3). That was a tough win, 24-17 over Buffalo. When Peyton Manning goes touchdownless, with two interceptions, you know you’ve played a tough defense. But you also know the offense isn’t clicking the way it should. The Broncos really need Julius Thomas (ankle) back.
5. Philadelphia (9-4). A bad loss, if you’re thinking about how poor the Eagles’ passing game looks (10 of 20, 96 yards, 2-1 TD-picks), and if you consider that the Eagles may have to beat Seattle get to the Super Bowl. But of a more immediate nature, the Eagles still control the NFC East and have a home game with similarly 9-4 Dallas before finishing against the Giants and Washington. The division is there for them to win.
6. Dallas (9-4). Speaking of a division being there to win, Dallas is in this position: For the fourth consecutive December, the Cowboys will play to win the division; in the previous three years, that has come in Week 17. This year it’s in Week 15, assuming, of course, that if the Cowboys can beat Philly on Sunday night they finish the job against Indy and Washington.
7. Indianapolis (9-4). When the Colts clinch the AFC South in a week or two, this 25-24 win over Cleveland is the game Chuck Pagano will think of when he says to his staff, “Guys, it’s a good thing the games are 60 minutes long.”
8. Arizona (10-3). It wasn’t always pretty, but Drew Stanton (15 of 30, 239 yards, one TD, no picks) did the most important thing of all: He didn’t cough the ball up. No turnovers. And now the Cards can take a giant step toward the most incredible division title by any team this year Thursday night at St. Louis. Very, very tough game.
9. Detroit (9-4). Sunday’s 34-17 win over Tampa Bay might have been the closest this season to a classic Lions win—311 passing yards for Matthew Stafford, 158 receiving yards for Calvin Johnson, and a defense that forced three turnovers. The Lions could walk into Lambeau in Week 17 with an 11-4 record, beat a 12-3 Packers team and win the division tiebreaker because of a 2-0 series sweep.
10. San Diego (8-5). Still in decent shape for a wild-card spot, but the Chargers may have to beat Peyton Manning at home this week to get there. By the way, liked this Al Michaels line from the second quarter about the Chargers, desperate for a new place to play: “The stadium looks great from the air, but you walk underneath, and it’s like you’re walking in the ruins.” He’s right, and Los Angeles beckons for one or two teams. Soon.
11. Baltimore (8-5). Can’t believe the defensive effort without Haloti Ngata and with a sketchy secondary, holding the Dolphins to 249 yards. This was a huge win for a team that looked so deflated in midweek.
12. Pittsburgh (8-5). After a great day in Cincinnati, and another huge play by Martavis Bryant, I am left with this: You figure out the Steelers. They confuse me.
13. Cincinnati (8-4-1). Speaking of that, you figure out the Bengals. They confound me.
14. Kansas City (7-6). The Chiefs have to get far more with 390 yards than 14 points, especially against a team as strong defensively as Arizona. The Chiefs did have good reason to complain about the officiating.
15. St. Louis (6-7). The Rams are 3-1 in their last four, including three dominant defensive games: 22-7 over Denver, 52-0 over Oakland and 24-0 over Washington. First back-to-back shutouts by the Rams since 1945. That is pretty good.
