by Peter King
Jim Harbaugh and San Francisco went from three straight NFC title games to ‘doomed from the start’ in 2014. A source explains what went wrong.
So late Sunday night, as the Steelers were winning the final game of the 2014 regular season, completing the last bit of the playoff puzzle, I had a well-placed 49ers operative on the phone from California, discussing the inevitable that had happened 90 minutes earlier: The 49ers and coach Jim Harbaugh, after four tumultuous but highly successful seasons, were divorcing. The press release sounded amicable enough (SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AND JIM HARBAUGH MUTUALLY AGREE TO PART WAYS, was the headline), but don’t they always?
“This year was doomed from the start,” said the 49er smart guy. “It’s the classic example of, ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ This organization was totally tight the first year or so Jim was here, but lately, especially this year, it was always, ‘Sources say this, sources say that.’ You cannot run a successful organization with one side of the building leaking stuff to hurt the other side of the building. And it never stopped.”
the story of the day—probably the football story of the year—is the 49ers pasturizing Harbaugh so he can seek his fortune elsewhere, like the University of Michigan, where he would become the highest-paid coach in college sports history. It’s been a long time coming. In retrospect, the Niners would have been smarter to cut the cord last winter if Harbaugh could have been convinced to take the Cleveland job; that way, San Francisco could have gotten compensation for him, and the rebuilding could have started earlier. Instead, this was a wasted year.
For eight straight years pre-Harbaugh, the Niners didn’t have a winning season. In his first three regular seasons, he restored the glory of the franchise. San Francisco went 37-10-1, a stunning turnaround, and reached the NFC title game three years in a row. Then this 8-8 disaster happened. For the sake of a proud franchise, I just hope CEO Jed York and GM Trent Baalke know what they’re doing, letting Harbaugh walk instead of doing major surgery on their relationship and somehow, some way finding a way to make it work.
In October, I ran into Ronnie Lott in Chicago. He was stunned the Niners seemed ready to divorce Harbaugh, and recalled how uncomfortable it often was playing for Bill Walsh. “Getting guys to play at their highest level is not always a comfortable thing to do, but that’s what Bill coached us to do,” Lott said. “I wanted a coach who’d get the best out of me, out of us. I didn’t want a buddy.”
That led me to call Carmen Policy, team president/ombudsman during the Walsh era, who I recall was so often the referee between Walsh and many in the organization, occasionally owner Eddie DeBartolo. “There were times under Bill where it was a constant crisis-management situation,” said Policy. “But you’re winning, and so I’d say, ‘If we can just keep it together for the next month, month and a half, we’ll be okay.’ Eddie had this insatiable desire to win, and Bill did too. Life at the 49ers wasn’t about being easy, or about everyone getting along. It was all about winning, every day. I don’t know that any players loved Bill, but they had respect for him, and they knew he could lead them to the promised land.”
Walsh lasted 10 years. He won three Super Bowls. He averaged 10.2 wins a year, including the postseason.
Harbaugh lasted four years. He won no Super Bowls, losing the only one he coached in. He averaged 12.3 wins a year, including the postseason.
York said Sunday night that Baalke would be in charge of the coaching search. And boy, will there be pressure on the next head coach. I hear a few things: Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will be interviewed, and he has a chance to get the permanent job; Fangio is very well-respected within the building, and in particular on the staff. I hear Baalke may have interest in UCLA coach Jim Mora, who was San Francisco’s defensive coordinator for five years (1999-2003). And I hear the offensive staff, at least most of it, is likely to be purged—though Baalke and/or York could make a couple of aides (offensive line coach Mike Solari, running backs coach Tom Rathman) part of the deal for the new coach.
Whoever gets the job will have much to live up to, and many problems. Can Colin Kaepernick be saved as a player? He has regressed significantly this year, and the most important coach on the staff may not be the head coach but rather Kaepernick’s mentor. Who will that be? Is Vernon Davis any good anymore? Can the aging and rehabbing defense rebound?
Fans don’t care who’s at fault. They don’t care that Harbaugh was increasingly difficult to get along with. They know that he, probably more than any single person, was responsible for taking the Niners from irrelevant to the Super Bowl. And so they’ll be watching, warily, as York and Baalke make a crucial hire for the future of the franchise.
THE FINE FIFTEEN
1. Seattle (12-4). There are many reasons the Seahawks will enter the postseason as the most dangerous team, but this is the big one: During Seattle’s six-game winning streak, foes have scored three touchdowns. That’s one every eight quarters.
2. New England (12-4).I don’t have a lot of confidence in either fifth seed Cincinnati (Oct 5 in Foxboro: Pats 43, Bengals 17) or fourth seed Indianapolis (Nov. 16 in Indianapolis: Pats 42, Colts 20) journeying to Foxboro in 12 days and beating the rested Patriots.
3. Green Bay (12-4).Team most needing a bye: Packers, with Aaron Rodgers and his balky strained left calf. Green Bay will have 13 days between the re-straining of the calf and the divisional game at home a week from Sunday.
4. Dallas (12-4).Stat du jourfrom ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss: Dallas finished an 8-0 road season Sunday with the win at Washington. Seven NFL teams since the 1970 merger between the AFL and NFL have had perfect regular-season road records. Six of them advanced to the Super Bowl.
5. Denver (12-4).The Broncos needed this kind of day: eight scoring drives out of 12 possessions, 451 yards, Peyton Manning being able to be relieved, holding a foe under 200 yards (199). And the bye. For a team with aging stars (Manning, DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, Wes Welker), rest is key.
6. Pittsburgh (11-5).Yep, Steelers have come a long way from the team that, in a two-month span this season, lost at home to the Bucs and Saints, and lost on the road to the Jets and Browns.
7. Detroit (11-5).The 24th straight loss to the Packers in Wisconsin means the sixth seed in the NFC, and this daunting road to the Super Bowl, if favorites hold the day: at Dallas, at Green Bay, at Seattle. Not sure there’s been a tougher road recently.
8. Cincinnati (10-5-1).Ten weeks ago, Indianapolis hosted the Bengals and wiped them off the field, 27-0. Rematch Sunday. And let’s just say I don’t believe the Colts will pitch a shutout this time.
9. Baltimore (10-6).Haloti Ngata returns for what would be a tough playoff road if form holds: at Pittsburgh, at New England, at Denver. The Ravens, of course, have battle-tested veterans who can rise to playoff occasions, but they’ve scored 53 points against three pretty average defenses when the season’s been on the line the past three weeks.
10. Indianapolis (11-5).Defense and the run game are both problems entering the playoffs. That’s too much pressure on Andrew Luck. Trent Richardson’s best rushing game in the past eight weeks: 42 yards. His 3.3-per-carry average won’t help win January games.
11. Arizona (11-5).Last six games: 2-4. Last six games: 12.2 points per game. They played very competitively against a beat-down 49ers team Sunday, but it’s hard winning playoff games when you can’t score past the teens. Will Drew Stanton play this weekend in Carolina? Will Drew Stanton matter this weekend in Carolina?
12. Carolina (7-8-1).On a neutral field, I’d like Arizona, narrowly. At Charlotte, I like Carolina. One big reason is the 105 rushing yards the Panthers had in the first quarter Sunday. Arizona had better bring its big-boy pads to Charlotte this weekend.
13. Houston (9-7).Case Keenum climbed out of a tree stand and went 2-0 in the past two weeks. What a country! Hey, Bill O’Brien, whatever you’re doing—keep it up, and do more of it.
14. Kansas City (9-7).Some interesting symmetry in this Chiefs season … First downs: Chiefs 309, Foes 310. Time of possession: Chiefs 30:00, Foes 30:00. Net yards passing per game: Chiefs 199, Foes 203. Still can’t believe you can play a full season in today’s NFL and throw no touchdown passes to wide receivers.
15. Buffalo (9-7).I do believe a Polian family member is a serious candidate to run the Bills’ personnel staff. Or two Polians.
