SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh held a press conference with the Bay Area media Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said about his sideline behavior, the 49ers’ two-week preparation for the Ravens and the 49ers’ final four offensive plays of the Super Bowl.
Q: The last four plays are going to get scrutinized for a long time, I’m sure. What are your thoughts after processing that for a day, maybe even more? Were the right plays called in that situation?
HARBAUGH: We came up five yards short. Certainly knowing how it ended up – that we didn’t get the ball in – yeah, I would have liked to try a different play call or a different scenario. That’s the way I always feel if you do something and it doesn’t work. Would have liked to do something better. At least tried it. But you can’t. Would have, could have, should have is undefeated. That’s never failed.
Q: Were the Ravens doing something defensively in the red zone to take away Kaepernick’s outside runs?
HARBAUGH: They’ve been exceptional in that area of the field – ten yard line on in – all season. They have been in the playoffs. That’s something they’re very good at. It was a Cover Zero, bringing the house, and we felt our best way was to throw it in.
ME: In the two weeks of prep for the Super Bowl, did you offense practice two-point conversion plays against Zero Coverage with press corners?
HARBAUGH: Yeah, from that distance. We didn’t say this was a two-point play, Zero Coverage, press corners. We didn’t say that, but we did practice that area.
ME: Did you put the ball at the five yard line, say they needed a TD to win, give them a few downs to get it and script the Ravens’ blitzes and coverages?
HARBAUGH: We did for those different yard lines, but not, “This is the last play from the five yard line from the left hash,” no.
ME: Did the special teams punt rush unit practice against the Ravens taking a safety?
HARBAUGH: During the season? Yes.
ME: During your two weeks of Super Bowl prep.
HARBAUGH: No, I don’t think we did that during the two weeks.
LC: Jim.
HARBAUGH: Lowell.
LC: How ya doin? This will be the last time for a while, so here’s a good one for you.
HARBAUGH: OK.
LC: There’s been a lot of discussion nationally about your behavior on the sideline during the Super Bowl. Have you considered altering it in the future?
HARBAUGH: In terms of what – my etiquette? Is that an etiquette question?
LC: Etiquette is a good word – etiquette, acting out, that kind of thing.
HARBAUGH: We fight to win. If you’re asking did my personal etiquette need to be changed, more catatonic on the sideline, I don’t anticipate that happening.
LC: So you think the two goals are…
HARBAUGH: I think it’s coached and played by emotional people.
LC: OK. Fair enough.
Q: Do you feel like calls might go your way the more you press the officials?
HARBAUGH: No, there’s no strategy there or unprofessionalism. I’m asking questions. Yes, sometimes it does get emotional. I think the game is played and coached by emotional, like I said. And people do that within their own personalities.
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I have to agree with Ditka, “Jim is going to get an ulcer.”
I have mixed feelings. I love his passion but sometimes he comes across as…difficult? Seems unnecessary. Dunno.
He’ll be lucky if he gets an ulcer. I’m thinkin’ stroke, and I hope to hell I’m wrong.
He’ll get an ulcer from the O not getting to the LOS quickly and not getting the plays off on time. The stroke will come from the embolism from throwing his phenomenally childish (emotional) hissie fits. But at least he’ll die doing what he loves doing – competing with passion, smelling his players’ mighty men breaths.
Jim Harbaugh may have a heart attack like Jerry Lawler. Regardless of pro wrestling, the heart attack Lawler had on the air was very real and scary in Canada, and he’s still recovering. Harbaugh has to learn ‘stuff happens’ and screaming like a lunatic according to Lowell will not get things done.
An ulcer!?!? I fear that Jim Harbaugh is gonna stroke out on the sidelines during a game if he doesn’t get ahold of himself.
LC: How ya doin? This will be the last time for a while, so here’s a good one for you.
HARBAUGH: OK.
LC: There’s been a lot of discussion nationally about your behavior on the sideline during the Super Bowl. Have you considered altering it in the future?
What is so good about that question, LC ?
The follow up was weak. He should have just asked point blank. “No one is questioning coaching with emotion. I’m sure everyone would like to see that, but do you fear over the top behavior might alienate the officials and then borderline calls or non-calls start going against your team?”
+1
You blew it Jim. The biggest game of your career representing the premier franchise in the league, and you whiff against an aging punk Ravens team. Those were the wrong four plays Jim.
Time to fire Seeley and find someone better.
So, if Seely’s replacement gets his guy right in front of the return man and one of the kick return blockers wraps both arms around his waist, allowing the returner to go all the way, you fire him also?
I don’t care who held who. You don’t come out at halftime after being dominated and give up a touchdown on a kick return. Do what you have to, clothsline the guy, whatever…inexcusable. Just a fans opinion bro.
Grosse you are correct. Watched the replay. It was terrible. Refs absolutely sucked.
Ravens did the same thing on the safety play.
The safety play is different. There is no penalty for holding on the safety play because holding in the end zone results in a safety. the holding works there for Baltimore because it lets the clock run longer.
As for Razor not caring who held who, he needs to look at the play again. The reason Baltimore got the TD was because of the holding.
I saw the hold dude, but my point is that the 49ers can play dirty as well. You do not permit a touchdown. Facemask, trip, clothesline somebody.
Seeley is known as one of the best ST coordinators in the game, talk about an overreaction. That return td was clearly about execution, plus ravens players holding, and not coaching.
Yea I know he’s supposed to be the best, but he’s not. Our special teams was not that special this year.
KNBR, and Larry Krueger especially, were highly critical of Lowell Cohn’s question involving Harbaugh’s sideline behavior. Krueger imitated Lowell’s
question, then said he’d “lost his fastball long ago.” He and Radnich then
said that the question was unprofessional under the circumstances and that Lowell was “showboating, as always.” I really thought Krueger’s accusing Lowell of unprofessionalism was the cat calling the kettle black, as Krueger has shilled the 49ers for the last two weeks and predicted a 49er blowout.
Krueger’s a big time bloviator.
Too bad. Showboating? LOL Those pansy suck ups would never ask the question, you are right. Someone has to face the facts that alienating the officials by acting like a cry baby or worse, over and over, will come back to haunt the team. If all the officials in the league end up hating JH then you can bet the borderline calls start going against him. Harbaugh can get better on the sideline and he should for the well being of the team.
Damon Bruce, how’s he been handling it? I stopped listening to Bruce since he’s a 49er homer and a Alex Smith hater.
I wonder what Jed York thinks of Jim’s sideline etiquette and how it reflects the whole organization on the biggest stage in sports.
I would at least raise the issue. No one is asking him not to be fired up, we ALL like that. But alienating officials is counterproductive in the long run. It might have already cost us the Superbowl. Maybe the back judge who didn’t throw the holding flag was thinking to himself, screw JH, I don’t like the man. Who knows?
As long as we keep getting to the playoffs all will be fine.There teams that have never been there.
I love this coach. I WANT him to be fired up. I WANT him to be pissed off at every little slight the team suffers at the hands of the officials or the opposing team. I WANT him to act like every play has a direct bearing on his job and his life. I know, as a fan, I get excited, riled up, fired up, amped up, you name it, when I watch these games. I want it to matter to him (and them) as much as it matters to me.
Yeah, we just lost the Super Bowl. Calls could’ve been made. Behavior could’ve been different. Hindsight is 20/20 and clear as a bell. But you know what? This guy is a winner. I’ll take competitive fire, a competitive team and a Super Bowl loss over 6-10, 4-12, 2-14 ANY and EVERY season.
As for the “fans” of this team, the nay-saying fans of every other team and the piling on national media – that’s fine. Have your say. Dissect every call and every tooth-grinding grimace he makes. I got no truck with that. Just know, without tongue-in-cheek and with no irony intended, In Harbaugh “I” trust.
Seriously. I don’t want a coach that stands on the sidelines and is off staring at the butterflies. I want emotion, fire and passion. Someone who is ready to jump into a fight to defend his players. Lowell has always had a personal vendetta against Harbaugh going back to when he was hired. No one reads his garbage anyway.
I agree, anytime I feel a call that goes against us is wrong I yell and scream at the officials and I’m just a man behind a television. How do you expect a man on the sideline of an intense game, whose job is solely to win football games, not to act like that for his team. People ridicule E Manning and Flacco for always having a nonchalant apparance then ridicule coach for being over the top? I would be pissed if my coach didnt seem to care
I’ve been a fan of Jim Harbaugh since 2007 when he took over the Stanford program. This issue of sideline behavior is bogus. Nevertheless, Harbaugh and his coaches got out-coached last Sunday.
First and foremost, the coaches did not get the team ready to play in the last two play-off games. I’ve not seen such team-wide confusion on the field since Singletary’s days. After half-time adjustments were made, it was the sheer talent of the team that got the team back into contention in each of the second halves.
Second, the coaches were not able to put together an effective and consistent red zone offense in the entire season, and into the post-season. It came back to bite them in the Super Bowl.
Third, there are some fundamental/systemic communication problem here when so many delay of game penalties are incurred.
Finally, there was a big strategic risk in the defensive philosophy that hurt their defense once key starters were injured. These two components of the philosophy are: 1) Play with their starters more than most other teams, thus wearing out the starters. That also hid inadequate D line depth until Smith was injured. 2) They try to physically overwhelm their opponent, depending less on schemes. When they wore down they didn’t have scheme to help cover the holes. I think that their defensive philosophy has to change in next season if the pass rush does not improve.
Maybe if Harbaugh was not screaming and yelling and erupting like Mount Saint Helens but acting like the CEO on the field he is supposed to be, he would have thought of something better than that horrible two-point play and those miserable 4 plays from the Ravens 7-yard line with 2:39 left to play and trailing by 5 points and a world champtionship on the line. The Ravens playe dzero coverage with blitz pressure and bump and run corners for the two-point play. Why would you think they would do anything differently for the last play of the game after they were successful defending the two-point play when it was 31-29???? A calm mind just might have figured that out and today be holding the Lombardi Trophy as opposed to attempting to explain why there is nothing wrong with his sideline behavior. I wonder if Warren Buffet handles his CEO role the same way as JH?
Exactly.
Lessons learned. They will be back next year.
Mental preparation is key in pressure situation, and seems like all the coaches who are calling the plays should practice that for those game situations. Colin certainly needs to practice more game management to not burn unnecessary timeouts. Next year!
Grace under pressure does not come to mind when speaking of Jim Harbaugh. Montana had it and is in the HOF. When all heck was breaking loose in the SB and Harris Barton was freaking out, Montana spotted John Candy and calmed everyone down in the huddle.
Walsh and Seifert got angry but I don’t recall weekly tantrums with play cards flying.
Harbaugh doesn’t have it in him to utilize grace and move on quickly to the next decision. He needs to be seen, to be heard, to have spit flying out of his mouth whilst his neck veins bulge. He needs to throw a tantrum to be able to move on. By that time, it’s too late to make the best decision under pressure.
How about taking a shot at Titus Young? He can flat out fly, and Harbaugh should be able to get his head straight.
Rams claimed him off waivers. Personally, I wouldn’t want him on our team though.
Hester needs a new home. Ginn Jr. out, Hester in.
As a retired coach I always appreciated the advice to be yourself. You cannot assume the persona of another coach. Jim is not Bill Walsh. More of a John Gruden. Leave it alone. Ranting may lessen his chance for an ulcer or stroke.
After suffering the Erickson -Nolan-Singletary era ..
I go to bed each night, and thank my lucky stars
for Jim Harbaugh !
… and all his warts …
That’s how I felt before the Super Bowl loss. Now the pain distorts my thoughts and torments my dreams of a 6th Super Bowl. They may not make it back if they do not improve at the key positions. They need another madman on special teams like Castanzo. They need to target starters in the draft and be aggressive in trading up for them. F/A is another area where they can help the team. A guy like Hester for instance would be an improvement over Ginn Jr.
He was a little scary at the presson..like drifting in and out of it. Traumatized.
good post Mr Automatic.
Harbaugh took a 6-10 team with some real flaws and took it to the NFC Championship game. Then when he finally had a full offseason to work with, he takes us to the SB – and makes a very difficult, controversial, but correct decision to switch Qbs in mid-stride. Lets not forget that at this point, based on his achievements, he’s putting Bill Walsh to shame (Walsh of course won in his 3rd year – and no knock on Walsh, the man is in football’s Valhalla).
I’ll take some sideline histrionics. Would I rather he be more composed? Sure. But Mike Nolan was composed. Even Mike Singletary was more composed. Hell, my friend has a cat that is pretty damn composed. I’m looking for a coach who can whip a bunch of athletes into a well oiled machine and win a SB. He didn’t quite do it this year, but the trend is pretty damn good. He’s earned a few more years of “In Harbaugh I Trust” from yours truly.
Bill was 3-0 in Super Bowls.
Jim 0-1
What a painful, heart wrenching loss. Depressing.
The truth is, if the NFL commissioner kept with the rules of the game and selected the best official crew to enforce the rules, there would be no problems. As it turns out, the commissioner has problems, he stated that he selected a crew that would let both teams play no matter at what cost. I believe the commissioner down graded the game and put many football players safety at risk, he should step down as commissioner for the good of the NFL and the players.