Stanford football news, Dec. 30

(12-30) 04:00 PST MIAMI --

After running his Stanford team through a second day of Orange Bowl workouts at Barry University, coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday that the speculation of his accepting an NFL job hasn't been a distraction.

"The only time it gets asked is I'm doing a talkback radio show or talking to the media, but really it's not much of a distraction," he said. "When you're playing Virginia Tech, that gives you plenty to focus on."

He won't talk about the NFL. But he was happy to discuss his relationship with his brother John, the Baltimore Ravens head coach, who has said he'd like to see Jim coach in the NFL.

"We're pretty much each other's best friend," Jim Harbaugh said. "And in my case, John was my hero, the guy I always looked up to and the guy I wanted to be like."

The team practiced two hours in pads. It's not all work and no play for the Cardinal in South Florida. There are dinners to enjoy, like Wednesday night's outing at Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steak house in Miami Beach. But Harbaugh stressed that this is a football trip.

"We're not in the vacation business," he said. "We're not in the travel business or pleasure business. We're into the playing football business, and our guys get a lot of fun from that."

Quarterback Andrew Luck echoed that thought. "We know we'll have fun if we win," he said.

"If we don't win, this trip will be to no avail, so we're taking that approach."

Hospital visit: In the morning, Harbaugh and about a dozen players visited patients at Baptist Children's Hospital. "As usual, we got a lot more out of it than we gave," Harbaugh said. "We had a great morning. They were great kids and the staff at the hospital was great. ... It was a pleasure and an honor to be invited."

This article appeared on page B - 4 of the San Francisco Chronicle