HBO’s Harbaugh profile an exercise in sensationalism

This is my Tuesday column on HBO’s feature about Jim Harbaugh. I know you want to hear more about Alex Boone calling Jim Harbaugh “clinically insane.” Everybody knows that stuff already. I’ll get back to that in a minute. Tuesday night, HBO is airing a snap shot of Jim Harbaugh’s return to the University of Michigan. What do we learn from the show? That’s what we’ll get into first. Then,…

April 20, 2015
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49ers turf war suffocates progress

This is my Saturday column. Even Trent Baalke’s daughter wants Jim Harbaugh to fire Greg Roman. Cassie Baalke has seen enough. The college student reached her breaking point Thursday night after the Niners’ offense scored just three points at home against the Seahawks. “Greg Roman can take a hike,” she tweeted, “the 49ers don’t want you no more.” She quickly deleted the tweet from her account, and she’s probably on…

November 28, 2014
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What’s a Harbaugh worth?

Here is my Wednesday column on Jim Harbaugh. Under no circumstances should the 49ers give Jim Harbaugh a contract extension this offseason. Let him play out the final two years of his deal. Or let him win a Super Bowl before giving him a raise. Apparently, Harbaugh wants to be the highest-paid head coach in the NFL. Hey, so do I, but I don’t deserve to be. Harbaugh doesn’t deserve…

February 26, 2014
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Harbaugh: “It was good to be in the fray. Got stepped on. Got cleated in the foot. And that felt good too.”

Jim Harbaugh spoke on KNBR from London on Tuesday. Here is a transcript. Q: Where are you guys? HARBAUGH: It’s a hotel. We’ve got a real nice football facility set up, field, weight room, locker rooms. We turned conference rooms into offices and meeting rooms. It’s very good. I would compare it to our setup in Youngstown or when were in New Orleans for the Super Bowl. Q: How have…

October 22, 2013
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Boldin says he wants to be a 49er for more than just one season

SANTA CLARA – Anquan Boldin spoke with Bay Area reporters Wednesday afternoon in the 49ers’ locker room for the first time as a 49er. Here’s what he said. Q: What was your reaction when you found out you got traded to the 49ers? BOLDIN: Kind of shocked initially. I really didn’t expect to be traded, especially from the conversations I had with the Ravens before I left to Africa. So…

March 20, 2013
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Jim Harbaugh cost the 49ers seven percent of a Super Bowl victory

According to Advanced NFL Statistics, Jim Harbaugh made three decisions which cost the 49ers seven percent of a win in the Super Bowl. Those decisions were: 1. Punting on fourth-and-four from the 49ers’ 12 yard line with 2:07 left in the second quarter, down 14-3. The offense should have attempted to pick up the first down. This misjudgment cost the 49ers two percent of a win. 2. Kicking a field…

March 4, 2013
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The top five, I mean four, head coaches in the NFL right now

I’m sitting here at my dinner table wondering who are the top-five head coaches in the NFL right now? I can think of only four. John Harbaugh. The current title holder. When he took over the Ravens in 2008, that franchise hadn’t won a playoff game since 2001. Since 2008, the Ravens are 9-4 in the postseason. John Harbaugh is the most consistently good head coach in the NFL right…

February 13, 2013
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Matt Williamson on Jim Harbaugh: “He is a buffoon on the sideline. It’s an embarrassment.”

Here’s what Ross Tucker and Matt Williamson said about the penalties in the Super Bowl and Jim Harbaugh’s sideline behavior on Monday’s ESPN Football Today podcast. Q: What do you think of the way Crabtree handled questions about the controversial no-call on the last 49ers’ last play? (He said, “If somebody’s grabbing you, you always expect a call, but you can’t whine to the refs. It is what it is….

February 4, 2013
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What the safety may tell us about Jim Harbaugh as a coach

Who in the world, other than the 49ers’ coaching staff, did not think the Ravens were going to take a safety with 11 seconds left in the game? The Ravens’ alternative was to risk a blocked punt or a punt that the Niners could catch around mid-field. They would have clock time remaining to throw a couple of Hail Marys. Bad option for Baltimore. The 49ers punt rush played a…

February 4, 2013
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Boomer Esiason was kidding, we think

What will happen after the game when one of the Harbaugh brothers loses the Super Bowl game? Esiason, the former Cincinnati coach turned NFL analyst, was asked this week about that. Jim and John Harbaugh portrayed themselves as brothers who never got in fights when they were kids. They remained steadfastly loyal and loving to each other during this past Super Bowl week. “I’m actually hoping,” Esiason said, “somebody would throw a…

February 3, 2013
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From the sidelines: John beat Jim at the press conference Friday

More than a few questions were asked of the Ravens’ coach in Friday morning’s press conference in which his brother, the 49ers coach, just sat there and said nothing. John would speak, Jim remained silent. It was bizarre and uncomfortable to watch, the most awkward moment coming was after someone asked Jim to give an example of a risky thing he did as a kid. Jim Harbaugh responded by giving…

February 2, 2013
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Harbaugh on Kaepernick: “He’s a man for all seasons. Tremendous football player, basketball player, baseball player.”

This is the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Monday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers.   “Good to see everybody back. You guys made it back safe.”   You made it back safe? “Yes.”   And what was that trip like? “Happy flight. That was a happy flight.”   Were you able to watch live television during the flight? “Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah, there were TV’s on the plane. Got to…

January 21, 2013
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Top 5 head coaches: Does Jim Harbaugh make the cut?

Let’s rank the top-5 head coaches in the NFL and see why Jim Harbaugh, with all due respect, doesn’t yet make the cut. I base my rankings on productivity and evaluation and utilization of personnel in good times as well as bad.  Who gets the most out of what they have and who can motivate the players to be the best they can be even when times are tough or…

October 24, 2012
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Top-5 head coaches in the NFL

Who are the top-five head coaches in the NFL? Let’s start the discussion by listing coaches who used to be in the top-five but aren’t any more: Jeff Fisher, Mike Shanahan and Sean Payton. Am I leaving anyone out? Fisher’s a defensive guy who hasn’t coached a dominant defense in quite a while. Shanahan’s an offensive guy who hasn’t coached a dominant offense since John Elway was a quarterback. And…

May 18, 2012
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Jim Harbaugh on his offensive line’s breakdowns: “It was circumstances.”

Here’s the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Friday conference call. Q: After watching the film, what was your general impression of the breakdowns and why they occurred and what you can do to get it all fixed? HARBAUGH: First of all as I said last night it was a competitive game. Thought it was very evenly matched. The game turned on every play of the game, but there was also some…

November 25, 2011
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Week 12 grades

Here are my Week 12 grades for the 9-2 Niners. Alex Smith: D. His primary job on this team is to not turn the ball over, and he failed at that assignment tonight. With eighteen seconds left in the first half Smith was supposed to throw a pass to Braylon Edwards’ back shoulder in the end zone, but instead he threw the ball short and towards the middle of the…

November 24, 2011
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Greg Cosell breaks down the Ravens and Alex Smith

Here’s the transcript of NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell’s interview from this morning on KNBR’s The Murph and Mac show. Q: Do the Harbaugh brothers coach in similar ways? Do their teams show similar tendencies? COSELL: There’s a toughness, a physical and mental toughness that is instilled in both teams, and that comes from the brothers. That would be the similarity. I think the difference is John Harbaugh is not…

November 23, 2011
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Vic Fangio breaks down the Ravens offense and defense

SANTA CLARA – Here’s the transcript of Vic Fangio’s Tuesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Vic, what was kind of your role in Baltimore, I know you were sort of a nebulous consultant? “The first few couple years I was there, I was special assistant to the head coach and basically did a lot of work with the coaches, both sides of the ball, and worked with the head…

November 22, 2011
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Prediction: Niners 30, Ravens 3

The Niners are going to blow out the Baltimore Ravens 30-3 on Thursday, and I’ll explain why. First, the football reasons. The Ravens offense revolves around their running back, Ray Rice. The Niners defense will stop him with their front seven. That means the secondary can double team both wide receivers, Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith. Those are the Ravens three main weapons on offense, and the Niners D is…

November 22, 2011
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