Sports Illustrated’s Peter King believes San Francisco, Arizona and Minnesota would be the most logical landing spots for Carson Palmer, assuming Cincinnati deals him. Palmer grew up in Southern California and his wife, Shaelynn, was raised in San Francisco.
To illustrate his strategy today in a conversation with the team’s beat writers in a corridor of Lucas Oil Stadium, Harbaugh, as if playing poker, put an imaginary hand of cards close to his mouth and laughed, “It will be like on the poker channel,” he said. “… Put the shades on. Pull the cap down. Kind of take that approach this year.”
Before stepping to the podium here at the NFL Combine, 49ers general manager Trent Baalke spoke to the Bay Area media contingent that’s here in Indianapolis. The following are the highlights from that 12-minute question-and-answer session.
The 49ers will take center stage today on the first day of media availability at Lucas Oil Stadium. General manager Trent Baalke will take the podium at 8:15 a.m. (PST) and head coach Jim Harbaugh will follow at 9:45 a.m.
Baalke said Harbaugh knows how to maximize a quarterback’s talent because he did it himself as a player. In other words, the first quarterback Harbaugh developed was Jim Harbaugh, who parlayed average physical ability into a 15-year NFL career.
San Francisco hasn’t had a player record more than 8.5 sacks in a season since 2002 when Andre Carter had 12.5. In addition, Parys Haralson is the only San Francisco linebacker to rank higher than 29th in the NFL in sacks in the past eight seasons.
By the time Roger Goodell announces the No. 1 overall pick, we’ll be able to pronounce Prince Amukamara, tick off Von Miller’s time in the three-cone drill and compute the average Wonderlic score of Blaine Gabbert, Cam Newton and Pat Devlin faster than you can say “blue-chipper with a high-end motor and a huge ceiling.”
Given Jim Harbaugh’s reputation as the Quarterback Whisperer and Alex Smith’s reputation for occasional flashes of brilliance, a certain segment of Niners fans are still wondering: Could the Alex Smith Experiment be renewed for a seventh season?
But Baalke pointed to Davis’ late-season performance against a slew of Pro Bowlers – Green Bay’s Clay Matthews, Arizona’s Darnell Dockett and San Diego’s Shaun Phillips – in giving him high overall marks.
During the nearly 20-minute session, reporters wandered in and out of the scrum surrounding the Niners president and CEO. As a result, Jed York kept getting asked the same question: Do you feel vindicated?
One got the impression the ultra-competitive, tobacco-chewing coach would have rather met the media with his suit off and his feet up in his not-yet-decorated office in Santa Clara. After all, that’s where he was headed after the tape recorders and cameras clicked off.
If the reports are accurate, Harbaugh turned down at least $2 million per year to sign a five-year, $25 million deal with San Francisco. The Dolphins reportedly were offering Harbaugh close to $8 million annually.
Niners. Broncos. And – oh my – perceived longshot Stanford, suddenly, had shifted into the driver’s seat by Thursday night in the quest to secure the coach who has launched a thousand reports.
The Dolphins, who still have coach Tony Sparano in place, are reportedly prepared to make Harbaugh the NFL’s highest-paid coach. The Patriots’ Bill Belichick, who earns roughly $7.5 million a year, currently has that distinction.
“I have had the benefit of watching Trent closely in the recent months and have been very impressed with his knowledge and leadership,” York said in a statement released by the team. “I am confident that Trent will find the 49ers an excellent head coach who will lead us to great success in the coming years.”
Now, another report suggests the team is closing in on their top head-coaching candidate, Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. According to the San Jose Mercury News, the 49ers are “likely” to land Harbaugh this week.
Before you could say “Rooney Rule,” reports surfaced this morning that the 49ers have requested permission from two teams to interview minority head-coaching candidates: Raiders offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.
Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh – big surprise – didn’t announce he’s bolting to San Francisco, Denver or Ann Arbor, Mich., after the Cardinal routed Virginia Tech, 40-12, tonight in Miami.
In the aftermath of today’s season-ending 38-7 over Arizona, the embattled Alex Smith addressed his uncertain future for the first time this season. And he didn’t dismiss a possible return to San Francisco.
Vice president of player personnel Trent Baalke appeared at practice today and said he will “visit” with 49ers president and CEO Jed York on Saturday.
