Harbaugh: Humility vs. hype

Transcripts show that Jim Harbaugh used the word "humility" three times in his opening news conference Friday as the 49ers' head coach and dropped a "humbled" into the mix as well. It's not a label that someone should apply to himself, unless apologizing for a misdeed, and certainly not one that naturally affixes itself to Harbaugh's professional persona.

He said more about his ego, and the clamps he had placed on it, when he conceded that he would not have final say over the roster, even after training camp. By not gaining more power in his negotiations with the 49ers, and emphatically stating the boundaries of his control in Friday's news conference, Harbaugh made an important concession: He accepts the fact that he has limitations.

Other coaches, with deeper NFL resumes, have routinely overreached for personnel power, to the detriment of their franchises. A similar grab by Harbaugh would have amounted to marking territory rather than trying to improve his chances of succeeding as the head coach.

Instead, he deferred to newly elevated general manager Trent Baalke. Baalke, in turn, said he intended to make the roster decisions cooperatively, even though final say rested with him.

Of course, it's easy for everyone to respect and trust each other on a day like Friday, with the consummation of a deal that presented Harbaugh as a prize and dramatically enhanced Baalke's credentials. It will be another matter if the GM stubbornly drafts a quarterback whom the coach doesn't like or signs a cornerback as a free agent and then the coach falls in love with some undrafted rookie instead.

Because Harbaugh's hiring validated Baalke a lot more than the other way around, the coach holds power that can't be spelled out in a contract clause. But he also, if we can believe all the reports, accepted less money to join the 49ers than one would have expected (read: more than $1 million per year less than Pete Carroll, Harbaugh's erstwhile chew toy in the Pac-10, received from Seattle).

But the coaches who make more also have general-manager responsibilities. (Carroll had NFL head-coaching experience in two other locations, as well, but none of it terribly impressive.) For vanity's sake, Harbaugh could have insisted on making a similar salary, with or without the executive status, especially after Miami came into the picture, prepared to strew cash at his feet.

But his ego, as boundless as it often seems, has a firmer foundation than simple vanity. The way he talked on Friday, listing some of the coaches he wanted to face, conveyed the right priorities. To make Bill Belichick money, he has to beat Belichick.

For a while last week, that didn't appear to be necessary.

"Well, it (is) with a great humility that I tell you that I had some options at the college level and pro teams," Harbaugh said with comical earnestness, when asked about the entreaties from Stanford, the University of Michigan, Denver, Miami and the 49ers.

If he felt the need to clean up the impression that he shamelessly and indecisively dragged out his career choice, he shouldn't have bothered. All told, he went from the last snap of the Orange Bowl with Stanford to the 49ers' news conference in less than 92 hours - not bad for someone with at least five potential employers clamoring to hire or retain him.

He erred in allowing the Dolphins to court him openly when they had a head coach, Tony Sparano, waiting back at headquarters like a betrayed spouse. Encroaching on an incumbent is so verboten in sports that coaches or managers working as broadcasters between jobs sometimes balk at covering a team contemplating a switch, so their comments don't come across as lobbying to become the replacement.

But Harbaugh eschewed a lot of protocol in his time at Stanford, proving that humility isn't his go-to emotion, so this breach shouldn't have been terribly surprising.

The man believes in himself. That has never been in question. But so did Mike Singletary, and when things went wrong, the previous Niners coach completely lost his way. The five-game losing streak at the beginning of this season drove him into a bunker mentality. The streak exposed his shortcomings as a coach, and when Singletary isolated himself, the effect became more pronounced.

Harbaugh has a much stronger grounding in fundamentals to carry him, but inexperienced coaches often change during difficult stretches, allowing paranoia and confusion to undermine them. The more hype ushering a coach into his job, the greater the potential for a Captain Queeg transformation. Understanding that the same thing could happen to him would be the ultimate safeguard for Harbaugh, and the highest form of humility.

E-mail Gwen Knapp at gknapp@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle