He's been around football for decades, but Jack Harbaugh slipped into giddy-father mode this weekend, watching his sons, John and Jim, coach their respective NFL teams to playoff victories.
As John's Ravensknocked off the Texans 20-13, and Jim's 49erswon a 36-32 nail-biter for the ages over the Saints, the parental units found themselves on edge from wire to wire.
"(We were) very, very, very nervous," Jack told Atlanta's WQXI-AM on Monday, according to SportsRadioInterviews.com. "My wife and I, Jackie, were here in Wisconsin watching both games over the weekend, and it was rather exciting around the house. A lot of shouting, a lot of congratulating, a lot of lamenting, but thankfully, in both cases, we were happy and successful."
It's not all fun and games for Jack, however, as uber-intense Jim continues to parcel out weekly assignments to his father (a freelance gig headed for a dirt nap if the 49ers and Ravens were to meet in Super Bowl XLVI). Jack, of course, is up to the task, having made his mark as a former coach at Western Michigan and Western Kentucky.
"I don't know what my assignment will be this week," Jack said. "Last week, I had a special assignment from Jim. He sent me some Green Bay Packers tape, and I spent a couple hours looking at that. Those notes are moot. We just don't have anything to do with them. I haven't gotten my assignment for this week, so we'll see what happens."
While John has come clean about Jim's rather stark childhood quirks (describing his younger brother as the neighborhood personality who "would alienate the other kids, so I was really the only friend he had"), Jack sees two sons with spotless track records.
"They have no weaknesses," Jack said. "They're just like their mother. They're stealth."
Vintage Harbaugh-speak from the man who put these two on the map.