Jim Harbaugh Ready To Deal With The Pressures As The San Francisco 49ers Head Coach

If Jim Harbaugh was a pot full of water and he was sitting atop a burning hot stove, steam will never come whistling out.

Sitting coolly in front of the press with bright lights shining upon him, the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers looked as if he were still playing quarterback in the NFL. The former 13-year quarterback looked out at the media sitting in front of him as they fired question after question in his direction like linebackers coming at him in an all out blitz. His expressions and tone remained calm and unfazed as he would stiff arm the inquisitions away with vague answers while shedding no light on what will happen going forward with his new team.

It looks as if the 49ers finally found the right man for the job.

Since Steve Mariucci’s last year as the team’s head coach, others have come into the inner circle of the franchise and lavished on how they were the right choice for the position. They were entrusted with the keys to drive the organization in the winning direction, only to see them return it back with the team in a fiery blaze filled with losing seasons.

Each had imbalanced resumes as coaches during their tenure in San Francisco. Dennis Erickson was regarded as an offensive guru, but looked like a deer in the headlights when it came to making proper decisions. Mike Nolan joined after, but defensive-minded coach could not inspire his players and maintain the locker room. Singletary was the anointed as the right choice with his ability to lead and motivate, but became lamented as a coach who was simply out smarted almost every time he put the headset on.

Harbaugh is none of them and all of them at the same time; a coach that has all the strengths of those past coaches, but none of their weaknesses.

Coming from a background where football is synonymous within the family (his father was a former head coach and his brother John is currently the Baltimore Ravens head coach), the former Stanford coach understands what it takes to lead a football team. He has a brilliant offensive mind that allows for inventiveness and deception that can translate well at the pro level.

His understanding of the game also comes from his history as a player. Being a former pro quarterback, he understands how to get players in the right position and map out a blueprint that they all can easily adapt to. He also has the intangibles to relate to everyone and get across what he wants to accomplish.

Now that one of the hottest coach candidates is officially the head coach of the 49ers, Harbaugh will go to work quickly on how he will reform the look and personnel of the team. The franchise got exposed numerous times last season on both sides of the field and a quick turnaround may not be in the cards for a team that was the 2010 preseason favorite in the NFC West. While the improvement may not be instantaneous, the former Michigan quarterback will have choices upcoming that can rotate the direction of the team back on a winning path.

- Who Will Be Calling The Plays For Harbaugh’s Team In 2011?

It’s difficult to figure out who Harbaugh will go with behind center for his new 49er dynasty, but he’s got to like the options he has available.

The assumption going into the off-season is that he’ll look at his current stable of quarterbacks and evaluate how they fit. Troy Smith and David Carr may be a part of the 2011 team as backup options, but most likely one (or maybe both) of them will be gone. Smith played decently when called upon in the 2011 season, but didn’t perform to the ability needed to be the franchise quarterback. Carr did little to nothing during the season, but wasn’t given much of an opportunity to shine either.

Of course, there’s the curious case of Alex Smith. After five seasons of playing under numerous offensive coordinators and the evolving into the target of the fan’s frustration for the team’s inability to win, it’s hard to imagine Harbaugh entrusting his brand new team to the former University of Utah Quarterback. If he wants to get on the good side of the fans and instill hope in the organization, the new coach may want to abandon Smith and let him move on with his career elsewhere.

With pretty much none of the options being a perfect fit for Harbaugh, can he find the perfect quarterback for his system?

Lucky for him, he’ll have numerous options to choose from. Whenever the new Collective Barganing Agreement is approved, a bevy of big name quarterbacks will be available to either sign or trade for. Michael Vick is available, but it’s hard to see him leaving Philadelphia. It appears that the Redskins will probably let go or trade Donovan McNabb, who could then come run Harbaugh’s West Coast offense. Vince Young, Carson Palmer, and Kevin Kolb will all probably be available for the right price and depending upon how bad the 49ers want them.

He could also choose a young quarterback to develop either behind a new veteran quarterback or just throw the cub into the lion’s den right after they draft him. The 49ers will surely have their choice from the top rated passers entering the 2011 NFL Draft and Harbaugh can scout which player fits more perfectly in his system. Maybe it’s the big bodied and armed quarterback Ryan Mallet out of Arkansas. Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton could bring his exciting play to San Francisco. There’s also would-have-been 2010 number one pick Jake Locker whose value dropped after he held out for another year at Washington.

Any option at quarterback is available for the new head coach, who necessarily doesn’t need to find the face of the franchise this season. The reason: if the 49ers somehow decline next season and get the number one pick, Harbaugh could be reunited with Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

- The Secondary Another Primary On Harbaugh’s Radar

While the biggest question to deal with regarding personnel is at the quarterback position, Harbaugh will need to apply just as much focus on another area.

With the secondary in shambles, he’ll have to figure out what changes will be necessary to fix one of the largest problems the team dealt with during the 2010 season. A shutdown corner is a desperate need the team has coming into this off-season, but there are possibilities to fill that position.

If he happens to drop down to them in the draft, the best option would be to snag LSU’s Patrick Peterson. The stud cornerback is a unique talent that could eliminate one side of the field, an ability the 49ers are desperate to have. If not Peterson, Harbaugh may settle for Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara. He might not be as surefire as the LSU prospect is, but the 2010 All-American cornerback is an elite corner with the same upside as Peterson.

Perhaps if not through the draft, the free agent pool will be the way that Harbaugh decides to turn. Nnamdi Asomugha will probably command the money he got at Oakland, but he will fetch a big price tag for the job he can do at the corner position. Champ Bailey is a little older than Asomugha and has been hampered with injuries as of late, but he has the same knack of stopping the best wide receiver on the other team just like Asomugha can. Brent Grimes from Atlanta and Ike Taylor from Pittsburg will also garner his attention as he upgrades this atrocious 49ers secondary.

All of 49ers nation will be on edge to see how Harbaugh navigates his first months as the new San Francisco 49ers head coach. The hope is that he can recreate the magic his former mentor Bill Walsh once performed when he took over a 2-14 team in 1978 and guided them to three Super Bowl titles. Since those prominent years, the fan base has been steaming for someone to return the organization to greatness.

Luckily for the 49er supporters, Jim Harbaugh can handle the heat.

San Francisco 49ers Mine For Gold And Come Up Empty…Again

Isn’t it funny how a team named after mid nineteenth century, California gold rush miners gets no luck at coming up big? Seriously, even when they traveled out west nearly 200 years ago with nothing but clothes, picks and a little bit of food, they were still able to find gold.

Slowly, and sorry to say sadly, the days of striking gold with division championships, consistent playoff appearances, and super bowl trophies are slowly fading as distant, historical memories of a once dominant San Francisco 49ers team. With no world titles since 1995 and no playoff appearances or a winning record since 2003; the idea of winning is a term that is preached consistently, but not concurrent with the organization.

After losing to the Rams 25-17 in week sixteen of the 2010 NFL season, the 49ers fired coach Mike Singletary and appeared focus on rebuilding for the fourth time since that last playoff hurrah in 2002. A familiar sound fills the sports news cycles after team President Jed York explains where the team is going and what they will be looking for in a new coach and general manager in the off season.

“Obviously we had expectations of being a playoff-caliber team this year. When that was not realized, I wanted to make sure we were setting ourselves up for the remainder of the season but more importantly for next season,” York explains in a follow-up to the Singletary firing, according to a Yahoo! Sports article. “I think it’s important to get somebody that’s the right fit for the 49ers.”

Can someone take the needle off the spinning, broken record please?

Although the words are different from before, the meaning is still the same in regards to what direction the 49ers are going. Each choice for head coach made since firing Steve Mariucci had the York “stamp of approval” as the new great mind to lead the team back into the promise land. Yet, Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan, and now Mike Singletary are all just fake messiahs that would only digress the team farther away from where they began.

So what is Niner nation supposed to believe now? York is saying he is going to find the general manager first and give that person supreme authority over the choice of head coach. The 29-year-old president is also going seek help from his uncle, and former 49ers President, Eddie DeBartalo Jr. and New England Patriots President Jonathan Kraft in whom to choose for the position. Ultimately, his assumption is that all this will help rotate the direction of the team going upward.

That’s a nice blueprint for York to have as he focuses ahead; the only problem is that there are still parts of the plan that need tinkering.

Losing out the last game and missing the playoffs could actually be a blessing in disguise for the niners. Had they gone ahead and won against the Rams and the Cardinals in week seventeen, they would have won the division en route to the post season. Yet, that happiness would only be fulfilling their fan base for the short term, as it would mask the bigger issues of the future. The franchise would benefit in the long run with high draft choices and a sense of changing the look of the team, rather than winning the NFC West and carrying the feeling of accomplishment that comes with winning.

Now that the path of the post-2010 season is going in the direction of rebuilding for the future, York needs to understand that the ability to become a winner and carrying that momentum consistently means improving on all levels. Obviously, the head coaching change reflects that concept, as does getting a new general manager to make the right decisions for the team; but it also means putting the team’s player personnel under the microscope. The biggest red flags will come from two locations, the inefficiency of the quarterback position and the lackluster level of talent in the secondary.

When Singletary was shown the door out of the 49ers organization, it also signifies that changes in player personnel will be in the near future. That most likely means good-bye to a Smith at quarterback, maybe even both Smiths. Alex Smith’s tenure with the team appears to be over and Troy Smith is definitely not the long term answer as the face of the franchise. So the third box on York’s to-do-list will be to get a new face for the franchise after getting the mastermind (general manager) and the leader (head coach).

The next item on the agenda will focus upon the pass defense. By far the Achilles heal of the defense, fans would groan in utter disgust with the ease as to which the opposing quarterbacks would carve up the 49ers secondary like a turkey on thanksgiving night. All of their corners are either shorter than or just at the six foot in height, with no ability to cover. With many of today’s NFL teams focusing their offense on innovation through the air, all football organizations must be able to not only attack vertically, but to defend vertically as well.

Regardless of what happens in the final game of the season and what choices the franchise makes with the roster in the near future, York will be making moves that will ultimately have him thinking like he’s on the last hand at the final table of the World Series Of Poker; he’s going to be all in for this one. With the recent wave of bad decisions and changes he wishes he could turn back time to redo, this upcoming off season will surely overwrite all of the historical, incorrect results he has made. His legacy will be forever etched in 49ers history with what he enters the 2011 NFL season with.

So maybe…just maybe…history can be on his side and the 49ers can strike gold once again.

How The 2010 NFC West Was Won

As it stands right now, the New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the outside looking in on their division leaders. With the Saints record at 8-3 and the rest of the other three at 7-4, there will be an all out fight for the final two wild card spots for the NFL Playoffs.

Two of these franchises will be sitting at home and watching the post-season with a high probability of finishing with an impressive record.

Too bad they aren’t in the West.

Sadly enough, the St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers or Arizona Cardinals continue through the 2010 season with a division title and playoff berth still in the horizon, despite the two teams tied in first place with a 5-6 record. What is even more depressing is that one of these teams will host a first round playoff game with a possible .500 or losing record.

Imagine one of these four teams (all of whom have given up more points than they have scored) hosting a wild card opener against a team who will probably have more wins than them. How deflating would it be to any of the two other teams that get left behind if the NFC West winner comes out with a 7-9 record?

The only word that could define that feeling is equivalent to Manny Pacquiao’s punches when they crush into his opponent’s jaw …

Devastating…

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell must be at church everyday, praying and hoping that one of the NFC West teams ends up with a winning record or at least an 8-8 record.

According to NFL.Com, only two teams have won their division with a .500 record (the 1985 Cleveland Browns and 2008 San Diego Chargers). Yet, there has never been a team who won a division with a losing record, a possibility that could become a reality at the conclusion of this season.

Any one of the four representatives for the NFC West appears inferior in relation to the other teams with playoff aspirations. Here are some terrifying concerns when evaluating the NFC West:

- In comparing road records of the NFC wild card hopefuls with all four NFC West teams; every NFC West team has a losing record when playing away (all combined for 4-17 with the Seahawks at the best with a 2-4 record), while the other teams have at least a .500 record on the road (14-8 total for all four teams with the Saints the best at 4-2).

- Only the St. Louis Rams has at least a .500 record against teams outside their division (4-4). The rest of the division is a combined 6-16, with only three of those six wins against teams with a winning record currently (only one of the Rams four wins is against a winning team).

- When looking at records within the NFC Conference, all four wild card teams have a winning record (all totaled at 22-9); the Seattle Seahawks are the only team in the NFC West with a winning record within the conference (the division as a whole is 11-24).

- Aside from last place Arizona, all of the other NFC West teams have lost a game against a team who not only have worse record than them, but are also currently in last place. St Louis got stomped on by Detroit (2-9) in Week 5 by a score of 44-6, Seattle was also given a beating by Denver (3-8) in Week 2 (31-14), and the 49ers gave Carolina (1-10) its only win of the season in Week 7 (23-20).

These points represent one big ideology for the 2010 NFL season; the NFC West deserve no representation come playoff time.

Playoff squads don’t have as bad a road record as all of the NFC West franchises currently have. They also can take care of business against other stronger foes outside of their own division when they face off against them, an ability all of the NFC West obviously doesn’t have.

They also prove that they can stand on their own when they face the best in the conference, but the NFC West can’t do that either. Most importantly, playoff teams take care of business when the weakest teams in the league play them. They can’t even accomplish that feat.

Despite that, a winner must emerge from what possibly could be the worst division in NFL history.

Currently, St. Louis and Seattle are tied for first at 5-6, with San Francisco one game behind at 4-7 and Arizona still in the hunt, even with a 3-8 record. Looking ahead at the schedule, it’ll be an interesting to see how the division finishes out.

With five games left, St. Louis, Seattle and San Francisco all have two teams with winning records left on their schedule. St. Louis and San Francisco will also face off against each team in the NFC West once more. Seattle will play San Francisco and St. Louis again, and have one game against Carolina. Arizona has the easiest schedule at the moment (St. Louis, Denver, Carolina, Dallas, San Francisco), but will have the biggest hill to climb to overtake the division.

Aside from the schedule and current standings, the most deserving team of all four is the St. Louis Rams.

Sam Bradford’s rookie season has been nearly as perfect and as great as any rookie quarterback in history (2,466 passing yards, 17 TDs, 9 INTs, 82.0 QB Rating). With an unknown receiving core and a great running back in Steven Jackson, the Rams are the biggest surprise and most improved team in the NFC West.

The rest of the division has been atrocious and under-performing.

Seattle is still in transition, despite appearing improved since last season, but have no stand out players at any position (except rookie safety Earl Thomas, who is having a great year). San Francisco was picked to be division leader at the start of the season, but a five game losing streak in the first five games of the season erased those hopes. Arizona started 3-2 before their bye week, then got burnt for six straight losses.

The thought that there is an outside shot for one of these teams to make it into the playoffs with a losing record is laughable. It isn’t very funny for any one of the two Wild Card teams that will probably finish with double-digit wins, but become a non-participant in the 2010 playoffs.

It’ll be a sad day if the NFC West is actually won…by a loser.

Seats Getting Real Hot In NFL

For a usually frigid time in late November, it sure is getting awfully hot in the NFL.

The only problem is that the scorching heat can be felt on many seats that support the behinds of team’s head honchos. This 2010 season is becoming remembered as a season of unfulfilled ambitions and disappointing leadership with head coaches either given the pink slip during the season or possibly getting their pardon papers in the near future.

The changing of the guard during the season is nothing new in the NFL; certain teams underperform in previous years and have sent head coaches home packing early. The difference is that many of those teams were sliding downhill in previous seasons as well.

This year, many of the teams that played well in 2009 started this year with big goals, but were never even close to reaching them as 2010 progressed. Some franchises have already cut ties with their head coaches, while others are nearly ready to sever those bonds soon enough.

Dallas Cowboys: Started With Wade Phillips; Now With Jason Garrett

America’s team appeared ready to return to prominence after last season. With an 11-5 record and first place of the NFC East, the Cowboys rumbled into the playoffs with a big win at home over their rival Philadelphia Eagles, but would come up short against the Minnesota Vikings in the second round.

Owner Jerry Jones’s state-of-the-art stadium was selected to host the 2011 NFL Super Bowl and his dream was to have the team become the first team to play a Super Bowl at home.

That dream soon turned into a nightmare.

Dallas would drop their first two games of the season before finally getting their first win just as their bye week came in week four. They would then go on to drop five in a row, prompting Jones to make a switch at head coach from four-year coach Wade Phillips to offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

Since then, Garrett has appeared to adjust the direction of the ship back in the route Jones expected of his team to head prior to the start of the season. He has won two of the three games in which he’s been at the helm and is holding on to any slim chance of making Jones’s dream come true.

Minnesota Vikings: Started With Brad Childress; Now With Leslie Frazier

After losing an overtime heartbreaker in the NFC Championship game in 2009, this season became Super Bowl-or-bust for the Vikings. With virtually the same team returning from a year ago (including the age-less Brett Favre), Minnesota felt it was their year to be greater than last year and never lose in the playoffs.

The only problem is that they had to actually get through the 2010 regular season first.

The season began with the Vikes playing the first game of the season against New Orleans, the team that beat them out in the overtime championship game, and then against the Miami Dolphins. Both would end in losses. They would finally beat out the Detroit Lions for their first win just before they headed into their bye week.

That week produced a trade for WR Randy Moss, a move that looked to be a shot in the arm for a team in need of a boost. The trade instead became a virus of what was wrong with the Vikings as they would go on to lose three of the next four they played and the waiver of the superstar wideout after only acquiring him a month earlier. They would then go on to win only one of the next three outings and owner Zygi Wilf decided it was time for a change.

That change came in the form of canning head coach Brad Childress and promoting Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier as the interim head coach. Although they won their first game with their new leader, it appears that the Vikings took the bust road for the 2010 season with the hope of a title riding farther off into the sunset.

Coming Up Next For Possible Fired Coaches

San Francisco 49ers: Mike Singletary

Since becoming the coach of the 49ers in 2008, Singletary has become the face and voice of the team with his proclamations and domineering antics. He professes that this team, as well as his ability to coach, will continue to improve and progress with 2010 being the year that they would return to the promise land the organization once owned during the 80s and 90s.

Yet, as the 2010 season got underway, it appeared that the 49ers season appeared to reflect a year in their history that was not a part of those glory decades. San Francisco lost their first five games and got off to their worst start since 1979. A complete 180 for a team that not only believed themselves to be a division winner before the season started, but also a squad others picked as preseason NFC West favorites as well.

Now the 49ers are 4-7 and are hanging on to the ledge of the worst division in football with just a few fingers. Although they were shut out at home for the first time since 1977 against Tampa Bay, they have bounced back with a big win on the road at Arizona.

Will they ownership of the 49ers keep their faith in their extremely vocal leader, or will they kick him to the curb with the feeling that he is just all talk and no substance?

Cincinnati Bengals: Marvin Lewis

The hot seat is nothing new for Marvin Lewis. The eight-year head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals has been the in this same discussion topic since after the 2005 playoff run with no returns to the postseason since. He erased all those doubters with a 10-6 record in 2009 and finally getting back to the playoffs.

During the offseason, the Bengals acquired controversial WR Terrell Owens with hopes of capitalizing on last year’s success with a deeper playoff run this season. With another talented, but loud mouthed WR in Owens on one end, wideout Chad Ochocinco labeled the both of them Batman and Robin.

Except the only similarities that both receivers have is being a part of a bomb like the 1997 “Batman And Robin” movie.

After a 2-1 start, they have lost eight in a row including losses to 3-7 Cleveland and 2-8 Buffalo. It doesn’t get any easier for the team many thought would be a contender for the AFC North champions as four of their last five games are against teams with winning records.

Now that he is returning back into the hot seat discussion, Lewis can only hope the real Batman and Robin could come in to save this disastrous season and his job.