Originally posted by 9er2k:
Where was that number 1 defense the year before he got here?Who made Alex Smith a legit NFL qb?Name me a coach who is going to have Harbaughs win loss record in his first three years here that's going to walk in here.You send Harbaugh to Miami and I guarantee he will make Tannehill legit and with Moreno,Lamar Miller,Hartline and Mike Wallace you'd be kicking yourself watching them thrash teams.While you bring in some johnny off the street and hope he pans out.There's a reason only Harbaugh and Chip Kelly succeed straight from college.They are good coaches at any level.What happened to Saban ,Spurrier and Petino?I mean it only took Pete Carroll three tries in the NFL to be a success
The defense was very good before Harbaugh got here. It was the putrid Jimmy Raye offense that kept the defense on the field far too much of the time that made the defense look weak.
It is also important to remember that after Singletary was forced to fire Raye and elevate Mike Johnson to OC, not only did the offense improve, Alex Smith QB rating jumped into the 90s for those final games.
Which brings me to my final point, which is; Alex Smith turned the corner BEFORE Harbaugh arrived. Give Harbaugh credit for recognizing that Smith was his best option at QB that first season, however, it is not accurate to say, as some have, that Harbaugh "turned Alex Smith around." He gave him a vote of confidence to play on with a good team but Smith was already very capable as has been shown by his continued success in KC. (Smith proved that once again yesterday by leading the Chiefs to a big win despite having multiple starters out with injuries.)