SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke in the media tent Friday afternoon an hour after the 49ers sent out his statement which responded to Kevin Gilbride’s statement about Justin Smith. Harbaugh, however, did not want to talk about his written statement. Here’s what he said.
Q: We saw your statement. Could you expand on it, what Kevin Gilbride said about Justin Smith?
HARBAUGH: Nothing to expand on. I said what I felt.
Q: What was your initial reaction when you heard Gilbride’s comments?
HARBAUGH: Heard about them this morning and jotted down my reaction. It’s been addressed. Now we’ll move on.
Q: Is this something you fear can stick in the heads of the officials and influence calls during a game?
HARBAUGH: You know exactly how I feel on it. It’s wrapped up in a concise statement. Confront it, address it and move on.
Q: But why an hour before meeting with us?
HARBAUGH: Just to address it on the spot.
Q: Have you heard anything from other coaches about Justin Smith’s tactics over the years?
HARBAUGH: No. Like I said, it’s been addressed. I moved on from it about two hours ago.
Q: One more thing on Gilbride, did you reach out the Giants’ staff at all before issuing your statement?
HARBAUGH: Like I said, I addressed it and we’re moving on.
Q: Your written statement said Gilbride’s analogy was absurd. What analogy did he make?
HARBAUGH: I stated what I want to say.
Q: It’s unclear, that’s why I’m asking.
HARBAUGH: I think it’s pretty summed up.
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Just 4 more questions about what you already stated you don’t want to talk about. Feels like it’s gonna be a heated game on Sunday.
Gilbride is going to regret opening this can of horsesh!t.
I’m hoping its Eli that pays for Gilbride’s yapping. This was going to be the game it is before KG spoke.
Harbaugh comes off like a real jack-ass when he handles his pressers like this. In a highly unusual move he issued a statement prior to a press conference. He really needed to use his words and not act like a child in that press conference.
Sometimes if you had not noticed, in football you need to be “a real jack-ass” just like you need at least one or two nasty attitude characters on the offensive line. It comes with the nature of the game.
Totally disagree. A coach can be a jack ass to other players, other coaches, his own coaches, his own players but there’s no need to treat the press like crap. Really no good reason to have handled his presser like that.
Except that the players, for the most part, loathe the press and are loving this. It’s basic Us against Them. It worked for Walsh and it’s working for JH.
I agree Houston,
There’s no need for Harbaugh to be such a douche to the press.
I have to agree with Houston on this one. Sometimes Harbaugh comes off as a psycho. Other times he’s just weird or quirky.
This will wash as long as he’s winning. If it ever goes south, look out.
First of all, Jim Harbaugh has never talked bad about another teams player. If he has please educate me. So if some ID10T from another team is talking about how his players play, that is a direct insult to your coaching ability because what the Giants OC is saying is that the Niner coaches are teaching this kind of play. So not only did Harbaugh defend his player but he also defended his own coaches ability. Which is what the Giant’s OC did in his statement.
If you don’t like the way Harbaugh treats the media, then perhaps you need a refresher course on how the media treated this team in years prior. I didn’t see your sympathy then. Perhaps you should root for the Cowboys, they get a log of sympathy from the media. Harbaugh doesn’t need to respond to you at all, I as a fan don’t need to know how he feels, or how he will win, all I need to know is that he will win a Super Bowl for the 49ers. Other than that I could care less how he treats the media, he isn’t running for President.
Your talking about apples and oranges. Of course Harbaugh should have blasted Gilbride. His written statement was perfect. He should have backed it up in his press conference by blasting him again. No one is saying Harbaugh should have kept his mouth shut. Just saying to be such a db with the media serves no good purpose.
And if you think the media was hard on previous coaching staffs then you need to get out more. The local media in San Francisco is really one of the softest group in the country. They rarely ever blast the local guys even when they deserve it.
I disagree. Who gives a rats toosh about how nice or mean harbaugh is to the media.
Secondly, They are not there to be friends with one another. The media wouldn’t hesitate for a second to write/expose something terrible or embarrassing that would trash the 49ers or JH personally. In fact, that is what many of them are intentionally looking for to break the next big story. That is what the media’s job is. And JH knows this, so he treats them accordingly, as potential adversaries, who do not have his best interest in mind.
But also I just find it funny. If you put yourself in the position of having to answer the same questions, each restated 6 times, over and over again, master-of-the-obvious stuff, I imagine you would get sick of it too.
Harbaugh handled himself just fine. What more does he have to say? He provided an answer, the press chose to keep asking away. He’s not obligated to elaborate on anything.
Exactly. Guess he has not seen any of BB’s pressers.