Another Sunday brought a fresh wave of Jim Harbaugh-related drama. Jay Glazer said on Fox's pregame show that Harbaugh will not be with the 49ers next season, even if San Francisco manages to win the Super Bowl.
That report was not a surprise if you have been reading our website or watching NFL Network over the last few weeks. The players have been grumbling about Harbaugh and the talk of discord between Harbaugh and the front office is well documented. Speaking on the inaugural episode of the Rich Eisen Show Monday, 49ers CEO/owner Jed York denies that Harbaugh's fate has been sealed.
"It's categorically not true," York said. "I mean, Jim's our coach. I said it clearly yesterday."
York says that the relationship between Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke is "very professional" and the results speak for themselves. And York doesn't believe Harbaugh wants to leave.
"In terms of that sustainability, every coach will move on at some point, and I don't think Jim is at that point. We've had a great relationship here, we've had three pretty successful seasons so far, and by 49ers standards, unless you're holding the Lombardi Trophy up, it's not truly a successful season, and I think we all know that and understand that.
"I've tried to explain this to people, the rawness of getting close but not getting there, not actually obtaining the ring. It's hard to start from zero every season after you have a long, long road going to the playoffs, having a gut-wrenching loss last year in Seattle, it's hard to hit reset. I think you start to see our players hitting their stride, and I think you saw that a little bit yesterday."
The 49ers are coming off their best overall performance of the season, a well-earned win over Kansas City in which all three phases made big plays to win. But York didn't deny that Harbaugh may need a certain bit of "angst" and "tension" to be at his best.
"I think that's pretty fair to say. That's how Jim is. Jim competes at anything and everything he does. That sometimes rubs people the wrong way, but he has an amazing way to be able to pull people together, and find a way to go win tough football games, put himself in a position to have his team have the most success," York said.
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