Jim Harbaugh - Three impressions

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Three impressions on the 49ers hiring of Jim Harbaugh:

IMPRESSION 1: In the slew of interviews Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke conducted, the most revealing was on KNBR with Tom Tolbert and Ralph Barbieri. When Tolbert has new football coaches on, he asks them what they do if they were faced with this situation: You're on defense, there's a minute left, the score is tied, you have no time-outs, and the opposition is deep in your red zone. When Tolbert outlined this situation to Harbaugh, he immediately said, "let them score." In fact, Harbaugh even has a defensive call for that circumstance, which he called "highway." The thought is to allow the opposition to score so you can get the ball back.

Tolbert said when he puts this scenario to coaches, they either have never thought of it, or they say allowing a team to score under any circumstance is against their philosophy. Harbaugh has not only thought of this situation, he has a defense designed for it, and he's not foolishly wedded to a stop-the-offense-at-all-times theology.

IMPRESSION 2: Harbaugh has precious little control, with Baalke having final say on trades, the final roster and the draft. But many believe Harbaugh will wrest control of those areas rather quickly, but I don't think so. People shouldn't underestimate Baalke. While he may not be as savvy with the media as Harbaugh, he's equally ambitious and he's a grinder. He's not going to give up his authority easily.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | Jan 09 at 11:53 AM

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