Why Jim Harbaugh and the LA Rams would be a dream team

Jim Harbaugh to the LA Rams. Oh, what an intriguing sentence fragment I just wrote. What a wild fantasy, that man coaching that team. Talk about Jed York’s worst nightmare. Talking about reaping what you sow. It probably makes Jed sweat through his pillow.

Let’s repeat all the reasons Harbaugh and the Rams are an ideal fit.

For starters, the Rams would get a coach who’s a celebrity in a celebrity-obsessed region of the country. Hiring Harbaugh would be big, dramatic news. A splash. He’d draw hordes of media and the attention of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. And he would fill the Rams’ $2.6-million Inglewood stadium, which opens in 2019, the way he filled Levi’s Stadium every game until the 49ers got rid of him. Harbaugh basically built that hunk of Steel in Santa Clara. Call him a stadium builder and filler.

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This article has 82 Comments

  1. It’s a shame Harbaugh was so quick and vehement in refuting any rumours he was leaving Michigan, or this would have been an interesting storyline for a while. But he’s not going anywhere this year.

    1. Couldn’t have written it better myself, although I tried a couple days ago. Well done, Grant….

  2. Grant ..I.. too … have speculated on
    this rumor … a fun pastime .. to be sure .. and ..
    since we have the dream-wagon all hitched up ..
    lets take it just one step further ….

    You mentioned .. Harbs just loves to develop
    QBs … right ? …

    O)k .. you’re right on Goff … but Harbs won’t let him
    see the field until he’s ready .. right ? ..

    So … what “veteran” .. would be most likely
    available .. next season … and would ..probably
    take a cut in pay.. to play for Harbs again ??…

    Think about it ..

    Yeah… that’s would be called .. “The Perfect Storm” ..
    about to hit Jedster …

    (over his balding head !)

    Kinda puts a more in depth slant .. on
    the phrase … “You will reap what you sow” …
    doesn’t it ?

    1. On second thought …

      The biggest problem ..
      (were that scenario to ever .. come true) .. is

      Seb would be insufferable

      1. By tweeting the, “reap what you sow” tweet, it was apparent to me that he had internalized a vendetta against York/Baalke. It would not surprise me that at his core, there’s a part of him that values taking part in York’s reaping over any loyalties or circumstance . If this “dream” were to become a reality, my fear is this franchise may not fully recover for a long, long time….

          1. I understand fully. I’m Italian and so I see it a little differently. Tomsula was a pawn and easily deceived. So, even though Tomsula has reaped what he sown, Harbaugh may feel York’s harvest is not yet commensurate with his sowing. The Rams would be his harvester….

  3. Ah-HAH!! We’ve identified one of the “enemies” Harbaugh referred to. Nasty lies! Damned lies, LOL! But heck, if true it wouldn’t bother Jed anyway because he’s going to be playing Baccarat in Bermuda after Denise fires him. Remember? It was in all the papers.

    More seriously, didn’t we debunk, or at least leave serious questions hanging about Harbaugh’s prowess as a QB whisperer?
    OK, Alex improved to effective game manager when provided a good running game and defense.
    Colin, his draft choice, his guy, regressed under his tutelage after a showy start.
    Batting .500 is terrific in baseball, but…you know..

  4. This is what I wanted to know regarding Kap’s contract. In case anyone else is interested.

    “He (…Kap…) has an option for 2017 he can pick up, and if Trent Baalke is fired, Kaepernick might be inclined to return to Chip Kelly. However, there is no guaranteed money on the 2017 option year, so if the 49ers want to move on, they could simply choose to release him with only $2,465,753 in dead money.”

    http://www.ninersnation.com/2016/12/14/13957804/greg-cosell-colin-kaepernick-chip-kelly-49ers-quarterback-future

  5. Good article, Grant. Although I wonder how much revenge motive there is for Harbaugh. Jed has already taken severe punishment since Harbaugh’s departure. And I’m not sure that Jed is a big enough figure to shape Harbaugh’s path. He may have found his heart in Ann Arbor.

  6. JH does not need to go to the Rams, he can see from afar how pathetic and humiliating this has devolved into, and he is very pleased.

    JH also promised his wife that he would settle down in a permanent residence to raise their children in a stable setting.

    Even though it would make great theater, I knew JH was ensconced in Michigan.

    1. Well, that’s depressing. I kinda had that feeling, but wondered if I suffered from Fan Hype, fan simplistic exaggeration. Surely egotistical Jed actually would care about winning just for personal pride like his idol Eddie.
      Nope.
      A one quarter share of two billion dollars is absolutely overwhelmingly corrupting.

    1. Hawki

      Plain and simple….WE DON’T ! Unless the league tosses them out for being non-competitive, they’re going to be there forever….Would you walk away from such a sweet deal….’didn’t think so….

      1. This is what you do. Track his movements and document his tendencies. Fish out any fleshly weaknesses or perceived bad habits. Then based on that, you set him up to be caught in whatever compromising situation that would force him to sell the team….

    1. It is absolutely sad when former 49ers understand the sickening state of the 49ers under the Yorks.

  7. I know the Harbaugh to Rams scenario is hypothetical. But I would add this piece to the scenario.
    If the Rams hire Harbaugh, we pull every string and hire Pete Carroll as 49ers head coach.

    Harbaugh may give the Rams instant stability and relevance, but let’s face it; Petey is Harbaugh’ kryptonyte. Carroll devised the perfect formula in Seattle to beat the 49ers and send them on their downward spiral:
    Speed
    Physicality
    And he found a QB that was capable of running circles on our once great defense.
    The Harbaugh to Rams dream would be crushed by a Carroll to 49ers hire.

    1. I wouldn’t call him Jim’s Cryptonite.
      Its not like Jim never beat him… they are 6-6 against each other… and it doesn’t hurt that Pete Carrol has Wilson manning the helm for him.

  8. I am surprised Harbaugh’s initial response was to push back aggressively at the notion. Like you I believe the Rams would be an ideal fit. Harbs is making making $5 plus million a year at Michigan. Why wouldn’t he consider a $10 million ten year deal. He would be set for life..

  9. Harbaugh to the Rams would be scary with that defense and young talent on offense. Thankfully it won’t happen but can you imagine… Harbaugh vs Jed York. Boy idiot wouldn’t stand a chance and would probably have 20 years shaved off his life just from the stress of being publicly humiliated over and over again….

  10. Year/Avg ppg given up by def/Avg ppg scored by off/Diff/Team record

    ’12 //17.1// 24.8// 7.7// 11-4-1
    ’13 // 17 // 25.4 // 8.3 // 12-4
    ’14 // 21.2 // 19.1 // -2.1 // 8-8
    ’15 // 24.2 // 14.9 // -9.3 // 5-11
    ’16 // 30.2 // 19.3 // -10.9 // 1-12

    The offense scores as many points as the 8-8 2014 team did but gives up nearly 9 more points per game. If Tomsula was coaching this team he’d have the same the record. If Harbaugh was coaching this team he’d still have less then 6 wins. Pretty hard to win games when your defense is giving up 11 more points a game then your offense is scoring.

    1. I seem to be agreeing with you lately. The defense is the main culprit of 1-12 and soon to be 1-13 record. I am also with you – am tired of the losing and I want wins regardless what it does to the draft slot.

      1. Yes the defense sucks, but so does the offense. They can’t stay on the field. Especially in the 2nd half of games.

        1. but so does the offense. They can’t stay on the field. Especially in the 2nd half of games.
          ————————
          They’re not able to stay on the field in the second half but the only reason they’re scoring more points is because of the garbage time at the end of the game.

          Which one is it?

          1. It is both Coffee. The offense either starts hot and then completely disappears, or it does nothing up until the opposing defense softens its coverage because the outcome of the game is clear, which causes the 49ers offense to essentially start scoring in garbage time. A team cannot with a scattershot offense like that, and the defensive side of the ball suffers regardless of the talent on that side of the ball.

            1. The bottom line is at the end of the 4th quarter the team scores as many points as the offense did under Harbaugh in 2014. If the team was looking to finish 8-8 like Harbaugh did in 2014 it would be seen as an improvement over last years 5-11 and nobody would be complaining about coaches and adjustments.

              1. Interestingly, the offense is on pace to score as many points as the 8-8 2014 team did. The defense, however, is on pace to allow the most points of any defense in the 49ers’ history. To be fair to the defense, though, the inability of the offense to operate in the second half has led to a high percentage of the defensive snaps coming in the second half, which is a factor in the defense’s terribleness. Conversely, Harbaugh’s offensive became heavily ball control when the team was leading, so it reduced the second half defensive snaps rather than increasing them, as we are seeing now.

                So yes, the defense is historically bad, and a better coached and more talented defense might have been the difference in a few games even with this same offense, but the nature of the offense is a significant contributing factor to the team’s defensive ineptitude.

              2. “Conversely, Harbaugh’s offensive became heavily ball control when the team was leading,”

                Kelly just lost the game and took the blame because when he tried to control the ball with this team it gave up the lead. Harbaugh’s defense could survive Harbaugh/Roman becoming ultra conservative in the 2nd half, this defense can’t.

              3. “Harbaugh’s defense could survive Harbaugh/Roman becoming ultra conservative in the 2nd half, this defense can’t.”

                That is true, but Harabugh’s ball control offense was effective whereas Chip’s is not. That puts considerable burden on the defensive late in games, when the league leading defensive snap count begins to add up.

                I do agree with you that this defense is horrible, and that a better defense, say like the 2014 defense, playing under the same circumstance would result in a better record and lessened concern among the fan base.

              4. The defense is on the field for an average of 8 more plays per game then it was in 2014.

              5. “The defense is on the field for an average of 8 more plays per game then it was in 2014.”

                I have not looked to see when the 2014 snaps came as opposed to this year, like I did 2015, but I am guessing that a lower percentage of those are from the second half (although that is just a guess). Harbaugh’s defenses tended to have fairly evenly distributed snap counts over the halves.

                But as I wrote above, I agree the more talented and better coached 2014 defense would make a difference in the record. The 2016 defense is historically horrible, and only a portion of that horribleness is attributable to the offense.

              6. That is true, but Harabugh’s ball control offense was effective whereas Chip’s is not
                ———————
                Because of the plays being called or because of the players trying to execute them? If the lineman doesn’t sustain a block or if the RB doesn’t have the patience to wait for the seam or if the QB can’t find his second read what difference does it make how complex or potentially sound the play is?

                How many times have we seen an offense run the same play, sometimes even repeatedly and it just rolls the defense over each time. I’ve heard coaches say that they’ll just run the same play until the defense stops it. When you have a team that is fundamentally sound and can execute the play properly it sometimes doesn’t even matter if the defense knows it’s coming. If the offensive lineman is better then the man across from him he could walk up and tell him the play each time and still beat him. Execution > scheme and what we have here is a failure to execute.

    2. Godfather Fangio would reduce the 11 points and Harbaugh’s ball control offense would help facilitate that reduction. I think they get a 7-9 record on the season with the same team. One things for sure, this team would not be nearly as soft or as undisciplined. They’d also have answers for the opponents halftime adjustments….

      1. Halftime Adjustments .. ?

        on 4th down .. Kelly has no choice but to go for it ..and ..
        what’s he do .. ?

        “up the gut with Hyde” …

        That’s Kelly’s … “Adjustment”

        Ok.. everyone … raise yer hand ..

        WHO .. didn’t see that one comin’..?

        1. … and …

          who thought that play even had a smidgen
          of a chance to work … with
          Marcus “The Turnstile” Martin ..
          at center .. ?

  11. As we roll into the final weeks here are the Pick’em results so far:

    JPN 132
    rocket 131
    CFC 128
    D_Rogue 128
    Rick 127
    dlptown 126
    #80 122
    Pot_Kettle 119
    Shoup 111
    ninermd 109
    Steelmatic 105

    Congrats to JPN for finally finding a legitimate source to take his picks from. Glad the pressure is off me to be the one to try and keep Rocket from winning again.

    1. Hey, those are my own picks! The improvement over prior seasons is from reading the Art of War and not running into the teeth of the defense, metaphorically speaking. I have shot myself in the foot a couple of times by not entering picks for Thursday games, but I am trying to keep from doing that now. Unfortunately, I have not figured out how to roll out when making my picks, but once I do, I am sure I will be able to declare victory (whether I actually prevail or not)!

      1. You’re so good that Vegas reads your posts so they can try and get an edge on the weekend.

  12. Harbaugh had his own issues. Constant delay of the game penalties, red flag issues, inappropriate time outs, had problems developing young players, red zone issues, benching AS due to injury. Harbaugh can win games but he can’t seem to win the big ones. Harbaugh lost the only SB the Niners played in.

  13. Very good article Grant, but didn’t you mean to say “Rams’ $2.6 BILLION Inglewood stadium…”?

    1. The only problem I have with that is something I said in response to a similar quote from one of Fisher’s players. If they like you you’re probably not being hard enough on them. I think the best coach’s and managers of people in general are ones that are respected more then they’re liked.

      1. Perhaps he has gone too far toward being player friendly in the wake of the criticism in Philadelphia.

  14. One thing you didn’t mention on why Harbaugh would want to stay in Ann Arbor is the cost of living difference compared to Los Angeles. Depending on which cost of living calculator you use it can cost as much as 165% more to live in LA over Ann Arbor. Not sure that would matter to a most guys making $5M per year but something tells me Harbaugh cares about that stuff. Why would he leave an area where he can pay $2M for a 10k sq ft home with an indoor swimming pool and acreage for an area where $2M will get him a 3,100 sq ft home with a tiny yard in the middle of a busy neighborhood. I think the premium Harbaugh would expect to move to LA would be astronomical. He may ask in excess of $10M per season to move to LA.

  15. Jim Harbaugh this Jim Harbaugh that. It doesn’t really matter. Jim Harbaugh is the only coach that lost the Super Bowl for the 49ers. I understand the apathy and the love for the guy because we have sucked for so long before that, but remember this guy never closed the deal in college or the pros. I look at him basically like when the Giants lost Dusty Baker. People were worried until this guy named Bruce Bochy came around. Let’s take care of and clean our own house. I’m a little bit more concerned about Pete Carroll and Seattle’s front office then I am about Jim Harbaugh.

    1. JH made the Niners relevant again. While I decried his 3 yards and a cloud of dust mentality, it was effective.

      Yes, he did have game management problems, and I advised the Niners to consider time outs to be precious and saved for the last 2 minutes even way back then, but he did go to 3 NFCC games which is one heck of a lot better than this putrescence.

    2. Bandit

      Well said….my sentiments exactly

      Two more games to end the Harbaugh ‘prevenge’ That was you wasn’t it Rocket ?

  16. Not that it matters all that much, but Jim’s wife is not from San Diego, she’s from Belton, MO. I lived in Kansas City from 2011 to 2013 and her sister came to appraise my house in Feb of 13.. She saw all my 49ers memorabilia and we began talking about it. She is in real estate and was telling me about how Sarah was flying in that afternoon with Elizabeth Smith so that they could help her look for houses after Alex was traded to the Chiefs. Not sure how you gleamed that she was from Southern CA but I’m not surprised, considering your usual penchant for misinformation.

      1. Left Missouri for SoCal, eh? A lot of that going around.

        Dre Kirpatrick was quoted as saying that when he was with the Rams the players were instructed to never speak to Kronke when he came around.
        I wonder if they were allowed to look at him. In some old monarchies it meant death to gaze upon the devinely annoited. Kronke might like the sound of that.

  17. SouthWest should underwrite part of his payroll the hiring.

    San Jose to LA and visa versa would be a really busy flight twice per year for fans.

  18. Got it, thx.
    (I was afraid I might be in trouble again.)
    ; -)

    By the way, happy holidays to all-y’all Cohns. I see where Hanukkah aligns closely with Christmas this year.

    I keep the old em address to keep the avatar.

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