Jed York: “Harbaugh is now free to consider his next coaching opportunity without any constraints.”

The 49ers just sent out the following press release:

SANTA CLARA, Calif.  – The San Francisco 49ers and Jim Harbaugh have mutually agreed to part ways. The 49ers organization has begun its search for the team’s next head coach, while Harbaugh is now free to consider his next coaching opportunity without any constraints.

49ers CEO Jed York and General Manager Trent Baalke will hold a press conference in the Levi’s® Stadium auditorium at1:00 p.m. PST on Monday, December 29, to address the announcement and the organization’s subsequent coaching search.

“Jim and I have come to the conclusion that it is in our mutual best interest to move in different directions,” said York. “We thank Jim for bringing a tremendous competitive nature and a great passion for the game to the 49ers. He and his staff restored a winning culture that has been the standard for our franchise throughout its history. Their commitment and hard work resulted in a period of success that should be looked back on proudly by our organization and our fans. We wish Jim and his family all the best.”

“For the last four seasons I have had the great privilege to coach one of the storied franchises in the history of football,” said Harbaugh. “We accomplished many great things together as a team during this period, which is a tribute to the incredible efforts of some of the most dedicated players and coaches in the NFL. I will miss competing alongside this group of players and coaches, I have the utmost respect and admiration for their hard work and support. It has been my honor to share the sideline with these mighty men. I will always appreciate and remember fondly, the passion and support of our Faithful fans, and want to express my particular thanks to them.”

York added: “We are now squarely focused on finding the next head coach of the 49ers and I am very confident in Trent’s ability to lead that process. With the great leaders and talented players we have in our locker room, we are ready to move into the next chapter of our team’s history.”

Harbaugh, who just concluded his fourth season with the franchise, led the 49ers to an 8-8 record in 2014 and a 49-22-1 overall record (5-3 in the postseason). During his tenure, the 49ers won two NFC West titles, reached the NFC Championship game in three consecutive seasons and advanced to Super Bowl XLVII. Harbaugh is the only coach in the history of the NFL to lead his team to the conference championship game in each of his first three seasons, and his 44 regular season coaching victories rank second in the NFL during his four-year tenure with the 49ers.

This article has 132 Comments

    1. Jed and Baalke are the real world ‘dumb and dumber’. Good luck finding Harbaugh’s replacement. I don’t expect many self respecting, successful coaches would want to work for these bozos.

    2. Jed “The Weasel” York has boundless faith in one, Trent Baalke, this the guy who wanted to bring back Bill Parcells from the dead before Harbaugh. Right.

  1. It was only a couple of years ago I was sitting in the Georgia Dome, 15 rows from the field, and celebrating our Super Bowl birth with other faithfuls. Now I wonder who will duplicate what Jim Harbaugh has done. I think Jed York and Trent Baalke just f’d up

    1. KY,
      Listening to 49ers players being interviewed after the game, each player seems sincerely thankful for coach Harbaugh’ influence and impact during the last 4 seasons.

      Sadly, many here may come to appreciate Harbaugh much more 3-5 years from now if this team falls off the football map and back into mediocrity.
      If this happens, good luck Jed and Trent on trying to sell a poor product to your fanbase.

      You two will always be looked upon as letting your personal indifferences with Harbaugh cloud your judgment for the good of the team and your fanbase.
      Btw, if team becomes a perennial loser you will be held accountable.

    2. I was there also. Several rows back of the 49ers sideline. This is a shame. Since 1998 the average 49ers coach last less then three years. This is definitely a setback.

    3. Jed York says “I am very confident in Trent’s ability to lead that process [find the next coach]”.

      Sure Jed. You have been brain washed by the fraud GM. Trent, now that you have ‘won’ the battle and forced Harbaugh out, the pressure is on. You better deliver, not only in replacing one of the best coaches in NFL history, but also in drafting skill positions. You are a fraud and this year you will get exposed.

  2. I sure they hope they know what they are doing. At this point I am not liking it, but I certainly will be onboard with new staff.

    1. P.S. If Harbaugh ends up at Oakland it may rekindle my 30+ year hiatus of the Raiders. I sure hope we don’t go back to the same crap we had five + years ago.

      1. Jim Harbaugh will be formally announced as the Michigan football headcoach at their basketball home game Tuesday night.

  3. Either Harbaugh guaranteed them he was going to Michigan or York has far more class dealing with this (and a lot less brains) than I’d given him.

    1. Jed’s removing Harbaugh is a perfect example of why you check under your saddle for burrs before your horse bucks your ass off….

  4. I think this is a huge mistake and it will set this organization back for years. In a case like this I think the owners and management should have asked themselves one simple question. Is there anyone out there that is better than Harbaugh? I don’t think there is. So why not put Jed’s little ego aside and finish the last year of what has been an incredible coaching run? Big mistake

    1. David take it easy on the old man he has become a pretty big fan of Harbaughs lately. I think age and experience give Lowell a lot more prespective than Grant but I would love to be a fly on the wall in the Cohn household when the subject of JH comes up.

      1. When Old Cone realized that Harbaugh was going to be let go he suddenly became a Harbaugh fan. It look contrived to me.

  5. A terrible mistake……I hope it works in the Niners favour, but in sure don’t feel that way now. Sometimes you just want to be proved wrong.

    Whoever comes in, I Hope they don’t give Crabtree a big pay………

  6. Every one needs to relax. We’re not the raiders, brass will find the right guy for the job.

    1. Yorks are the worst owners in pro sports. You’ll see that next year and many years afterward…

      1. Worse than the owners of the …. Raiders, Jaguars, Titans, Jets, Browns, Bobcats(Hornets), 76ers, Timberwolves, Bucks, Knicks, Nets, Kings, Marlins, Rays, Mets, Cubs, Wild, Avalanche, Hurricanes, Panthers, Lightning, Senators….And im sure there are plenty of other teams who are having some recent success with the same horrible ownership they had for years upon years (like the clippers before this season, or the A’s).

        So no, they are not the worst owners in all of pro sports…

      2. Hey, you could live in Arizona like me. The Bidwell’s have been rebuilding the Cardinals since 1947 (the year I was born)! Bad ownership – that family is unsurpassed.

    2. It’s a tragedy and a travesty that the little silver spoon fed putz Jed York couldn’t put his enormous ego aside to do what’s best for the 49er organization rather than what’s best for him and his foolish pride. So Harbaugh was hard to get along with and grated on people around him, so effing what? Get over it! Harbaugh brought this team back up out of the dark times of the previous decade and restored the 49ers to greatness.
      I fear the dark times are upon us again. Good luck Jim, thanks for the good times.

      1. I wouldnt go that far, the niners went 7-9 three times and 8-8 once, and were in playoff/nfc west division title contention 4 times during those 8 years, whereas the raiders only one ever got past 5 wins, in 2010, and have still yet to post a winning record in 12 seasons, now thats remarkable.

  7. This is same ownership that picked harbaugh do you all think that was some kind of accident? Have some faith faithful. I’m expecting them to surprise us yet again with another brilliant hiring.

    1. Harbaugh was the top dog that offseason and his family already lived in the Bay Area They couldn’t get out of not hiring him. The discouraged Niner season ticket holders woud have lynched those morons if they let him go. And don’t forget, Baalke’s first choice was some past his prime geriatric named Bill Parcells tthat hadn’t done crap in 10 years. Just shows the lack of brains Baalke has.

    2. Thank you for your sanity. While Jed has a long way to go before he even sniffs his uncle’s shorts, but he has also shown himself to be a far cry from his father. Beyond that, it seems as if a good number of people who actually have credibility and experience in the league seem to think pretty highly of Baalke. This decision will rightly be scrutinized for a long time, but I would be willing to bet there was a lot more to all this than any of us are currently aware of. Perhaps folks should keep their panties on and see what happens.

      1. Baalke was GM of the year in 2011, how quickly people forget that. This was the same dude who FOUND Aldon Smith, no one had him as a top pick, when he was picked every 49ers fan was shocked, and yet the dude has been the best pass rusher for the 49ers in 20 years. People are far too hung up on the 2012 draft, which wasnt a talent pool, and yet forget the drafts in 2011, 2013 and this year (borland a pro bowl alternate!?), as well as the offseason acquisitions of guys like Boldin, Carlos Rogers, Whitner, Akers, Dorsey, and others.

        Give the guy some credit. He was a scout for 3 seasons, and thats who the gm’s go to for draft info, he was Director and VP of Player Personnel, which at that time was the GM position since McCluaghan left in 2010, so he was a big part of the Mike Iupati/Anthony Davis/Navarro Bowman draft, and was the GM since 2011.

  8. The list of preliminary candidates is laughable. R u serious Jed and Trent? Unless Sean Payton becomes available there is no upgrade out there. I feel like puking.

  9. Grant like you I have predicted Frank Gores demise as a RB each of the last 3 years and like you I have been wrong 3 times. After games of 150 and 140 yards do you think the 9ers should or will sign Frank for another year. In other words were you and I wrong again about Mr. Gore?

    1. Frank has become for me one of the greatest 49ers of all time. My respect for Frank equals my respect for Ronnie Lott.
      My respect for Justin Smith equals my respect for Bryant Young. Class acts.

    2. What’s worse is that Gore did his damage in the second half. Once Seattle got 14 points ahead some of the Arizona defensive leaders may have taken a seat. There was no way to tell from the Fox crew.

    3. Old Coach,
      Frank Gore is the heart and soul of the team.
      I’ve said it since Frank Gore walked out of the locker room in tears because many of his team mates were laughing in the locker room after a loss.

      Frank Gore is a true warrior and if he is not back next year (an honor he more than earned), it will hurt the team as much as the Harbaugh loss because of what he means to the locker room and playing field.

    1. All of them. Typically head coaches bring their staff with them, I think only Rathman and Tomsula were carry overs from the last coaching staff.

  10. “Harbaugh is now free to consider his next coaching opportunity without any constraints.”

    There is nothing in that press release that either confirms or denies the title of this item. Jim Harbuagh needs nothing from the 49ers to resign and go to Michigan. If he did it that way the 49ers would control his rights until he fulfilled his contract. (See Kawakami)

    For the above title to be meaningful the 49ers would have had to release Jim from his contract. I don’t see that in Jed’s press release. Maybe 49ers did release Jim tonight. It should be clear tomorrow, but not based on Grant’s reporting tonight. Maybe that information is out there and Grant forgot to put it in the article as foundation for his title.

    Titles seem to cause an inordinate amount of trouble in this blog in recent years.

  11. I’m glad Harbaugh went out with a win. He can say that he didn’t have any losing seasons as the 49ers head coach. The win only cost us one draft spot. We will be drafting 15th.

  12. Another 8-10 years of mediocrity
    My suggestion to the Yorks:
    – Sell the team
    – Fire Baalke
    – Let the new owner hire the next coach and GM

  13. We all know this is the biggest mistake in pro football, I just wished that Eddie d. Should’ve took over a year ago or so, maybe things would’ve been different, go niners

    1. Eddie was great because he out spent everyone else, but the NFL stopped that with the “cap.”

  14. For all those whinning this was a mistake, pack your bags and follow the egomanic J Harbaugh…..The 49ers will be back…we will find our next great coach…

    J Harbaugh didn’t make the 49ers…..It was the 49ers who made J Harbaugh…..

      1. It’s amazing how little intelligence is needed to post babble on the Internet. Maybe that’s really what the Internet is — Babble Land.

    1. No, Harbaugh’s ability to turn programs around turning around and winning EVERYWHERE he’s gone is what made the 49ers. The Yorks are 1-3 hiring coaches. That’s NOTHING to be proud of. And let’s throw Baalke in there too, he’s 1-3 in drafting. It doesn’t take a genius to draft questionable players that no one else wanted beecause of their character issues. He missed completely in 2012, got one unimpressive FS in 2013 that might be out of football soon, and a bunch of guys that were hurt and haven’t had much impact on the field. Harbaugh will win a Super Bowl before the 49er ever will again.

  15. I can’t imagine any coach coming in and making this team immediately better. Lucy, you got some ‘splainin to do!

  16. i learned a long time ago there is two sides to every story. I also learned if you’re not wanted or appreciated leave. Watching this soap opera develop led me to believe Harbaugh took the high road and the front office did not. Today did not change that. The York family works hard at screwing up and they clearly do not have the FANs best interest in mind.

  17. It wouldn’t surprise me to see many assistant coaches resigning in the wake of the Harbaugh/FO debacle. There is now a sense of instability that has to make things at 4949 Centennial Way very uneasy for everyone.

    The 49er Org lost a great deal of respect and credibility today (although it’s been a season long issue leading up to today) not only among their fanbase but perhaps their players and coaches as well.

  18. Jed & Trent don’t know what the hell there doing? I hope this blows up in Both of there faces!!!! How can you let go of a coach that all he do is win!!! Stop being cheap and get players that will get you over the top!!! Oh wait!!!! how can we if don’t even have a coach right now!!!! Great job Jed & Trent

    1. Sounds like everyone here assumes that Jed and Balke decided to let Harbaugh go. I haven’t seen that written anywhere… What if Harbaugh decided he just didn’t want to be here anymore? The one thing I know for sure about Harbaugh is that he’s damn near impossible to read. Maybe, just maybe Jed’s ego isn’t so big, and maybe Balke isn’t so dumb after all. Just wondering…

      1. Are you waiting for York and Baalke to write it out for you? The two writers who aren’t trying to protect their team access have written about it several times. That would be Lowell Cohn and Tim Kawakami.

        The short version is that Jed York started undermining Harbaugh last February with his trade talk with Cleveland, and kept at it through the Thanksgiving tweet. It sounds like a leak — drip, drip, drip.

  19. It turns out that the 49ers won 49 games during Harbaugh’s tenure. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

          1. I’ll still be a Huskers fan first , but the Wolverines will have a place in my heart now.

  20. I have not been on here in awhile, but it seems like all the people that were in the fire harbaugh/ hes not worth pete carrol money band wagon have flipped. Not only did this man put this team on the map again but because he didn’t kiss balkees azz, he was let go. Bullcrap. Balkee turned this team into an air it out my way or your fired team. Harbaugh did exactly what he was told to do. Spread teams out with a run 1st offensive line, make kap sit in the pocket, get him killed, kill his confidence and make coach say, screw off. Im glad hes gone, not because he was not good enough but because he was to good of a coach to let a mediocregm not let him have enough say over his roster and philosophy! !!! Im a fan till the day i stop breathing, and god willing he let me bring some memorabilia into the pearly gates. But if we stink the next couple of years, blame the sissy gm and coward owner. Heres hoping to a splash new head coach, because our old head coach will thrive wherever he goes. This team is stacked with talent, in my opinion enough to represent the nfc in the super bowl next year in Santa Clara. With all our studs coming back, the next man will have no excuses. Good luck coach, much love and respect from an adoring niner fan, thanks for the best years since mariucci. Good lucK front offoffice, go get us another great coch (McDaniel, Gase,pep,shaw,Holmgren) Hell anybody that can produce with oyr talent. And to beat an old cliche “Just wait til next year”

  21. I am going to remember all the names on this board- just like all the names of people crying/whining about the warriors firing Mark Jackson. Jackson got the team to the playoffs- who could ever replace him.

    Harbaugh LOST A NINER SUPERBOWL. He lost a superbowl with the best players on the field. He lost to a giant team that was objectively worse than the niners. And though some may disagree- the niners were better than the seahawks when they lost to them as well.

    The niners won because they had probably the best niner defense in history. I have watched the niners for 30 some years and that 2011-2013 defense was scary good. To fail in not winning a superbowl is insane.

    The niners offensive scheme was waaaaaaay too cute. It was ALWAYS waaaaaaaay too cute. All the extra shifting, all the “kill, kill, kill’s” resulted in wasted timeouts and unnecesarily illegal shift penalties. The offense allowed the opposing defense to dictate EVERY play they took. How clever! The niners used the offense where the defense was at a disadvantage…. supposedly- but it doesnt take a genius to understand that the opposing coaches could just figure out what the niners werent good at and just go with the defense that makes the niner follow a bad game plan. Therefore- defenses stayed in formations that challenged the niners into throwing deep- and the niners would go ahead and waste the down.

    The niners need an offense that dictates the terms. The niners need to be a team that says- we are going to call this run play and we dont care what defense you are going to be in, because we are going to run right over you.

    Trent Balke understands this. He made an ok job hiring his first coach. He should improve with this hire. The niners are still loaded with talent and the job should attract the best coaching talent around- out of all the jobs in the NFL- the niners are the prime spot. I think the niners can hit a “steve kerr” type home run. And let’s remember all the sad members on this board today- so we know who to laugh at and mock next year!!!

      1. Except the warriors, under Jackson, never reached three consecutive Western Conference Championships and advanced to the NBA finals for one of them.

        Details.

        1. Mike
          So what ur saying is that the 9ers were a better team than the warriors were. Meaning that the starting point for a new coach is better than that of Steve Kerr. We are not some jack a$$ franchise like the jaguars, we have a history and as recently as 5 weeks ago were legitimate super bowl contenders. So yeah the “Details” look pretty sweet. If some coach is looking for a ready made contender that he can just tweek instead of rebuilding we are it.

          Aside from maybe the bears and saints who can name me a better NFL job this ofseason than the 49ers?

    1. The two-play kill/roll option is something most teams in the NFL use in one form or another. Elaborate on this critique.

      The defense had basically the same personnell as when they went 6-10 before Harbaugh arrived. His first year? 13-3. Explain how that happened.

      “The niners need an offense that dictates the terms. The niners need to be a team that says- we are going to call this run play and we dont care what defense you are going to be in, because we are going to run right over you.”

      Hmm … this sounds really familiar. Is this like “imposing will” (see 6-10 coach replaced by Harbaugh)?

      [Drops pants and points at rear end]

      1. @Mike McC

        Vic Fangio is why that happened…We’d all hoped that Harbaugh could(would) do the same with the Offense, but he was too busy keeping his name and pictures on the front page…ahead of the team. Avery arrogant man whom I will not miss….

    2. Sign me up, hope I’m wrong but I don’t see a new coach winning a Super Bowl within the next 4yrs. That’s all he has.

  22. Now that Harbaugh is out, it will be interesting to see if the 49ers clear house, from both a coaching and player personnel perspective.

      1. I’ve no idea how it will pan out regarding the assistant coaches, ricardo. A lot of it will depend on who they make HC.

        1. Thanks, scooter. I hope they find a good replacement for Jim and if not, Jed will be in a lot of heat.

          1. You don’t seem to understand the job description of people with the title “NFL Owner”. Nothing effects them, except in Jed’s case his mom might fire him. Now take a big breath and hold it.

  23. After a full 17 weeks to hone their offense,
    the Niners trail a team with a third-string QB
    from SDSU under center (13 to 17 at the half).

    By the way, Brother John and the Ravens
    made the playoffs. Offer your congratulations, willya…
    (this was accomplished by scoring 17 pts in the 4th qtr.)

    So the 49ers are ahead by a whopping 3 points (20 – 17)
    and they hand the ball to the opponents: 80 yards to go
    and over four minutes in which to retake the lead & win it.

    Please advise Coach Harbaw and Kapurnicus that this was
    most certainly an ugly win. In fact, it was not primarily a win,
    but rather a choke by a rookie quarterback. Lindley lost it,
    Colin did not “win” the game, okay? Going out with a whimper.

    ” mighty men” indeed…!!! What is Harbaw smoking..???!!!

  24. Watching Pittsburg’s Martevias Bryant score a TD only makes me wonder what Baalke was thinking in not drafting him.

      1. He was thinking lets draft a pro bowl alternate MLB because my all pro MLB is injured and we already have 4 WR on the roster who would play ahead of bryant

        1. BOS49er,
          I sure hope that Baalke wasn’t thinking along those lines in terms of the 4 WR’s because there’s a good chance that 3 of those will be gone next year.
          Poor foresight on Baalke’ part if he indeed passed on Bryant with that thinking.

          Borland is a different story altogether. Baalke hit it out of the park on that pick. But I still have an uncomfortable feeling when Borland has to cover tall receivers.

    1. He wasn’t apart of the hype machine. Every one was talking about the other receiver on Clemson’s team. We missed on him.

      1. KY,
        I had Bryant on one of my mocks leading up to the draft. I also had Borland on my mocks – at least I hit on one.

  25. We can agree this is going to be a set-back, but it was a heck of a good 4 year run. JH will always have my respect.

  26. My choices for the next head coach of the San Francisco 49ers:

    Darrell Bevell or Josh McDaniels

    Both contingent on Vic Fangio remaining as Defensive Coordinator

  27. Somebody explain to me why is jim harbaugh a great coach? In college he had andrew luck you should win. Came to the 9ers you had a all pro def you should win while the offense struggled.

        1. I’ll snatch that mike from you, say ignore the last loafer and add…gave Gore his best stretch as a RB for the 49ers.

          …drops mike

      1. The def 2011-2013 was all pro and the roster was the best in the nfl dont wanna here 3 nfc championship games was be cause of him the roster was stacked.

      2. Andy reid went to 4 NFCCG in a row and one superbowl and much like JH didnt win one. Is he a “great coach” too?

    1. One small example. Jim Harbaugh beat Carrol’s USC as a 50 point underdog. That was before he had Luck. A second example is that he recruited Luck to Stanford when their reputation as a football school was very weak. There is a third example in the increase Stanford offered Harbaugh before he signed with the 49ers.

      Who was it that won with that defense? Wasn’t that Harbaugh?

      1. Ht
        The 50 point spread dogs means more that Vegas F’ed up but kudos to JH for a good coaching job. Luck was interested in academics as much as football and the only other wihked smaht school he could have went to were Vanderbilt and Notre Dame both cold places. JH is long gone but Stanford keeps winning. He is a good coach no doubt but lets stop the whole “woe is us how will we ever win again talk”

        Lets see how JH does in Michigan. UM is 1-9 vs Ohio State in the last 10 years

  28. Another bit…. What if we took our D and turned it into a 4-3 with aldone and lynch back at their original end spots, cowboy and Dorsey in the middle, Pat in the middle, Bowman and Borland outside… i think our front 7 would be even better with Aldon and lynchs hands on the ground

        1. I haven’t been able to find a source. Cam Inman tweeted “after the game” that the future of Justin along with a number of other players is up in the air.

          1. Also, missed this tweet from Cam, which was 2 hours ago:

            Cam Inman ✔ @CamInman
            #49ers Justin Smith won’t confirm he’s retiring
            17 RETWEETS 18 FAVORITES

    1. Steel
      I was thinking the same thing. putting Aldon and Lynch on the edges and rotating dorsey, tank, dia,l williams, and cowboy (if he returns) would allow us to keep all 3 backers in at once. Willis and Bowman could handle any coverage responsibilities with their superior speed and keep borland in the middle to be his tackling machine self

  29. JH needed to go because he didn’t have the balls to do what his brother John did – which was to fire his OC……

    Bye Bye Jimmy….Don’t let the door hit you on the way out…..

    For all those Jimmy lovers move to Michigan – Jim was never planning to stay here before, that was why he never signed an extension before the season….

  30. A great coach takes a promising quarterback and makes him better. Kaepernick took the league by surprise when he was inserted into the starting role and then went downhill. When a quarterback and the offense keeps making the same mistakes over and over again, please do not tell me that Harbaugh is a great coach.

    Why should people feel sorry for Harbaugh when one considers how he treated Alex Smith. If it were not for the muffed punts in the championship game against the New York Giants, the 49ers would have gone to the Super Bowl and may well have won the Super Bowl.

    The following season Smith was having his finest year until his concussion, but when he was ready to return Harbaugh kept Kaepernick in the lineup. If Kaepernick was the next coming of a Joe Montana, Steve Young, or a Tom Brady, then I could understand such a move, but Kaepernick except for his ability to run never demonstrated that he had what it took to be a championship quarterback. For Harbaugh to bench Smith was inexcusible, and Smith should have only been removed if his play began to falter. Let us also not forget the loyalty that Smith showed to Harbaugh and the entire 49er organization when he organized and conducted workouts during the labor dispute.

    Then how can we forget Harbaugh saying if you ever touch a woman you are gone, but when it comes time to live up to one’s words, we see that Harbaugh was wanting. McDonald should have been put on paid suspension following his arrest, and McDonald was very fortunate that the San Jose Police compromised the case and that the 49ers at the start of the season appeared to have had a real chance of having a successful season. Interestingly Harbaugh had no problem with management’s decision to release McDonald after the 49ers were out of the playoffs, even though there was only an accusation and never an arrest or formal charges leveled against McDonald. We can truly see where Harbaugh’s and the 49ers values are when it comes to domestic violence or sexual assault and winning football games.

    Finally if it is true that Harbaugh is going to sign a $48 million contract to coach at a public university, the University of Michigan, what does that say about our value system? There are so many worthy and deserving students who could use the financial assistance that $8 million per year over the next six years would provide, but unfortunately the young people who can and will truly make a difference in the lives of their community, their nation, and the world will be short-changed because of Harbaugh’s greed and because the University of Michigan places greater importance on winning football games than on the education of our students.

    1. The NFL does not pay taxes and is thus on public assistance too.
      Is that Harbaugh fault too Neffdog???

    2. Neffdogg

      Everyone thinks that Michigan is in for the championship every year now that they have Jim Harbaugh as HC….They forget that the Wolverines are in the same conference as Ohio State who has Urban Meyer as coach. Coach Meyer has several Bowl champions to his credit and a couple of undefeated teams as well as a National championship, and still in the hunt for another THIS year. To my knowledge, coach Harbaugh hasn’t won any conference championships in college as yet. Good luck coach; don’t forget your Mukkaluks….

  31. Thank you Jim Harbaugh for restoring a winning franchise. I’ll remember all the great memories. We faithful just have to hope that the search for a new coach is a successful one. I just hope it is swift and decisive, unless it’s a coordinator that is in the playoffs right now. Time will tell.

    I want Bowles, Bevell or McDaniels. I that order.

  32. Nice enough man, glad he’s gone. It’s still unbelievable how Harbaugh handled Alex Smith and completely destroyed all the momentum of this team. It is now in near shambles. People get all bent out of shape because they look at the success of a super talented team. Harbaugh gets too much credit. Fangio deserves more. The defense deserves more. Harbaugh made a huge blunder and brought the first Super Bowl loss. We should be 6-0. We should likely be going back this year. But he just had to go with Colin Kaepernick…

  33. Harbaugh inherited the most talented roster in the league and couldn’t do anything with it. He couldn’t even get the offense lined up in time after 4 seasons. The play clock is and always has been reset at 40 seconds. There is no reason after 4 full seasons you should still be taking multiple delay of game penalties and/or burning crucial time outs early in the second half because you refuse to tell your OC to get his sh*t together.

    If you ONLY look at Harbaugh’s regular season record sure it’s cute. You have to look deeper than the regular season record. Look to the fact that he refuses to make adjustments at any point in time. Teams have us completely figured out, no adjustments made. He refuses to work on the fundamentals of the game. He was out-coached by Tom Coughlin, John Harbaugh and Pete Carroll in 3 of the biggest games in recent 49ers history. He chocked in all 3 of those games, period. He isn’t made for the NFL. He needs to stay in college where motivation is the only tool you need. In the NFL you need to have a smart “Xs and Os” guy and Harbaugh doesn’t have one of those at OC and he blatantly refuses to hire one. Firing JH is the best move Jed York has made so far.

    1. It’s truly amazing the dumb comments people post. Totally thoughtless and really clueless. The majority truly don’t get business and how it works. Im reading most of these ridiculous comments. I can tell 99% of u work for someone else and always will. Lol! The logic in keeping a malcontent is idiotic. If u don’t work well with others u get fired. No Brainer! Please all u clowns that still don’t get this try this Harbaugh crap. Go try this at your own work. My guess is you will get fired immediately or very soon after that. Also heres some great advice for the whiny people. Get smarter, start your own business and then u can make more competent and bigger decesions like hiring and firing a larger than life Ego and power hungry NFL coach like J.Harbaugh. You just keep posting about things you don’t really have a clue on. This totally exposes your business intelligence level. Hey try selling shoes. AL Bundy made it work for him. Lol

      1. Well judging from the illiteracy of your post, you either manage the food court at K-Mart, or your lawn mowing business is picking up. You are clueless who the so-called “bad guy” is in this mess. So, while wishing you the best in your car detailing business, how about a great big spoonful of STFU…

      2. What specifically were Harbaughs offenses? Not in general but what exactly did he do to deserve all those leaks during the season? What company do you know of that operates in that manner when they are going to terminate someone. Every place I’ve been it’s done quietly and quickly.

  34. While is sad to see a winning coach go i think most on here would agree that the current situation was untenable. For whatever reason (im sure some great books will be written 20 yrs down the line with the inside dirt) the relationship soured and JH could not stay on as coach. For all of our problems we are still a good franchise loaded with talent that needs minor changes as opposed to a major rebuild. Would i want JH back? yeah the 11-13 JH not the one who was here this year and went .500 and at times couldn’t get out of his own way.

    IMO, the reason JH is successful and was here is because he is good at changing a loosing culture in to a winning one. The “blue collar workshirts” and the “who’s got it better than us” is great for making people believe they are capable of great things but that message begins to fall on deaf ears the more you hear it. JH did his job, the culture is turned around and we are once again a proud team/fanbase expecting to win. Now the new guy just has to come in and keep it going

  35. “And there was a great lamentation, and a gnashing of teeth.”
    I guess I’ll be needing galoshes or waders for a while when visiting this blog. There are three steps to mourning that folks will have to work through; might as well get on with it. Harbers and HarbHaters. Open fire!
    Baalkies and BaalkHaters. Orale!
    Uh, I don’t think Jed has too many fans just now, so no dichotomy there. He and Paraag and Trent and their PR guy had to know what a hot mess of reaction this all would cause. I expect them to go into siege mentality now at 4949 as the criticism and second guessing mount; very secretive and defensive. Imagine how Lowell and TK and Killion will react to that! #Messy

  36. Jed York’s statement is absolute crap. They made sure Harbaugh was going to Michigan before they released him. Anyone that thinks otherwise is an absolute dunce. A 48 million dollar coach takes weeks or months to negotiated with. It doesn’t happen overnight.

  37. It would be interesting to see what Urban Meyer might want to do if offered the 49ers HC position. People keep saying it’s all about personality conflict, but I think Harbaugh lost his Kaepernick bet and York called him on it. Considering the entire organization failed because of that decision, it is likely Harbaugh deserved to let go most of all. Still, Meyer succeeded with Smith and Tebow at QB, so he might be able to do something with Kaepernick if the 49ers don’t trade him away. I doubt Baalke really wants to scare away HC candidates, and at the very least, Harbaugh’s failure to grab a ring with the most talented team in football could speak volumes.

    1. Well, Baalke loves having loads of draft picks. Maybe he can trade CK7 and his team friendly contract to a team willing to part with their second round picks in 2015 & 2016. Out of courtesy to Kaep, Baalke should wait until free agent Crabtree chooses his new team and then try to work the CK7 deal with that team so that that bromance can continue.

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