Not news, but Harbaugh was really fired.

[WizardHawk]

Jim Harbaugh: 'I was told I wouldn't be coach' of 49ers : Fantasy News

No one should be surprised by this. I guess it's just the first time it has been said publicly.

Harbaugh was told he wouldn't be the coach next year. He was fired in as easy of a way as the front office could do to also save face and prevent drama in the open media.

Still wonder how many head coaches have been fired off of teams with 3 back to back conference championship games and a superbowl appearance with an overall winning record. Team was in disarray before he came and he turned it around in a very short time frame only to be tossed out on his ass.

And now they have a ron jeremy clone with no prior head coaching experience to replace him.

Great plan 9'er front office. You guys are really on the ball.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

49er's FO

 

[WizardHawk]

I mean as a Seahawks fan I can't be upset by their curious moves, but I'd be furious if I was a 9'er fan. You fire the most successful coach you have had in many years for who?

 

[R.J. MacReady]

But you could see Harbaugh being a coach that the owners can lose control over.

You can just see him doing everything his way, blowing off any concerns from the owners.
Undermining the front office if it suits him.

Who knows if that was the case but he does not strike me as a guy who is easy to work with.
Especially with the people above him.

 

[Uhsplit]

I think Harbs was 49-22-1 as SF HC IIRC.
Incredible #'s.
He must have been a massive doushbag to get tossed or spineless ineptitude by the GM/owner. Most likely a combo of both.
I will miss him in a weird way as he was great for our rivalry.

 

[WizardHawk]

But you could see Harbaugh being a coach that the owners can lose control over.

You can just see him doing everything his way, blowing off any concerns from the owners.
Undermining the front office if it suits him.

Who knows if that was the case but he does not strike me as a guy who is easy to work with.
Especially with the people above him.

I guess for me it's more about who they replaced him with than getting rid of him. Both are curious, but if you are going to turn your program around and clean house for whatever reason, why would you go with a little know line coach with no buzz and no prior head coaching experience. Hell, he only had like 2 years of being a coordinator in Europe before getting this gig.

They really needed to show they were going to try to take it to another level with a quality head coach and show they had a plan to move forward. They are one of the top teams in terms of history and have a lot of quality pieces there. They should have been able to land a big name.

They now have the weight of the world, ok maybe just the 9'er world, on their shoulders now as any real missteps by this new HC and the fans will likely be turning fast on that team. Their eggs are all in that basket.

 

[SonnyCID]

But you could see Harbaugh being a coach that the owners can lose control over.

You can just see him doing everything his way, blowing off any concerns from the owners.
Undermining the front office if it suits him.

Who knows if that was the case but he does not strike me as a guy who is easy to work with.
Especially with the people above him.

Completely agree. This is why many saw this coming for years. It was obvious pretty much immediately that although he was very good at winning games, his personality and way of doing things was going to wear on a lot of people.

 

[R.J. MacReady]

I guess for me it's more about who they replaced him with than getting rid of him. Both are curious, but if you are going to turn your program around and clean house for whatever reason, why would you go with a little know line coach with no buzz and no prior head coaching experience. Hell, he only had like 2 years of being a coordinator in Europe before getting this gig.

They really needed to show they were going to try to take it to another level with a quality head coach and show they had a plan to move forward. They are one of the top teams in terms of history and have a lot of quality pieces there. They should have been able to land a big name.

They now have the weight of the world, ok maybe just the 9'er world, on their shoulders now as any real missteps by this new HC and the fans will likely be turning fast on that team. Their eggs are all in that basket.

But making that rookie hire screams one thing to me: "coach fatigue"

It really looks like priority 1 was to regain control of the franchise. And what better why to do that then with a rookie head coach who you can mold and have things run just the way you want.

Now that sure as heck might not be the best thing to win games but most owners hate to lose some of their control. They want it back at all cost.

 

[flyerhawk]

I think Jed York is in way over his head.

 

[HammerDown]

Jim Harbaugh = biggest dewshbag ever?

 

[GNG]

I mean as a Seahawks fan I can't be upset by their curious moves, but I'd be furious if I was a 9'er fan. You fire the most successful coach you have had in many years for who?

Harbaugh evidently ruffled some feathers among ownership.

 

[GNG]

Jim Harbaugh = biggest dewshbag ever?

Harbaugh & Carroll.

 

[RoboticDreams]

 

[HammerDown]

Harbaugh & Carroll.

I hate USC with a passion but never got the hatred for Pete. He'd never do 99% of the gloryhounding Jim Harbaugh does just to get out of bed.

 

[WizardHawk]

RD, what is the feeling of the average fan on your new HC vs Harbaugh? I mean yeah harbs was terrible with the media and it seems a thorn in the owners side, but he won games. What is the outlook from your fans for next year? Does it feel like a rebuilding kind of year?

 

[HammerDown]

What is the outlook from your fans for next year? Does it feel like a rebuilding kind of year?

 

[RoboticDreams]

RD, what is the feeling of the average fan on your new HC vs Harbaugh? I mean yeah harbs was terrible with the media and it seems a thorn in the owners side, but he won games. What is the outlook from your fans for next year? Does it feel like a rebuilding kind of year?

I think bewilderment would be fair. Anytime you hire an ex pronstar as your head coach people get antsy. I honestly don't know what to think. I don't live in the Bay area so I am not as close to this as many other fans. I am in wait-and-see mode.

Maybe they got rid of Harbaugh because he basically mortgaged the future for Kaepernick. From the day we resigned him I knew that would make or break Harbaugh, and it certainly seems that it did. As soon as there was no progress in Kaepernicks game last year I think they were through with Harbs.

 

[HammerDown]

I think bewilderment would be fair. Anytime you hire an ex pronstar as your head coach people get antsy. I honestly don't know what to think. I don't live in the Bay area so I am not as close to this as many other fans. I am in wait-and-see mode.

Maybe they got rid of Harbaugh because he basically mortgaged the future for Kaepernick. From the day we resigned him I knew that would make or break Harbaugh, and it certainly seems that it did. As soon as there was no progress in Kaepernicks game last year I think they were through with Harbs.

I thought his downfall was, in order of importance,

1.) stubborn refusal to roll Greg Roman's head
2.) being a massive dewshbag and creating petty jealousies with guys in suits
3.) the Kaepernick debacle

I think he could have easily survived any two of these, but not all three.

 

[Montalban]

Yes. Harbaugh was fired when the team quit on him in that embarrassing week 15 loss to Seattle.

 

[Montalban]

I think bewilderment would be fair. Anytime you hire an ex pronstar as your head coach people get antsy. I honestly don't know what to think. I don't live in the Bay area so I am not as close to this as many other fans. I am in wait-and-see mode.

Maybe they got rid of Harbaugh because he basically mortgaged the future for Kaepernick. From the day we resigned him I knew that would make or break Harbaugh, and it certainly seems that it did. As soon as there was no progress in Kaepernicks game last year I think they were through with Harbs.

It wasn't just non improvement, he regressd to the point of being one of the worst passers in the league. Some of that was due to Harbaugh but most of it was due to Kaepernick's refusal to admit that he needed to improve. In his mind he was great and no one could convince him differently.