The Baalke Grading thread and a newspaper article today inspired me to create this thread. On the sports cover was the 4 teams primed to be NFC contenders: Cardinals, Packers, Panthers, Seahawks.
At that moment I wondered if the 49ers would still be a top 4 NFC team had Harbaugh stayed.
First you have to figure out what happens in 2015.....what major changes if any occurred to personnel, coaching staff, etc.
Fangio and that D staff remain. Don't know about O staff.....Roman stays or goes?
I'll be a bit more bullish and say that Willis doesn't retire, but Justin does.....and Borland does too. We still have the same OL issues. Gore is gone too. As is Crabtree.
Aldon staying on is a complicated one as it feels he remains on a team that is more stable maybe.
Vernon Davis absolutely contributes nothing just like last year.
Kap is a tricky one. He's definitely on the roster but would he have been in a QB battle last year with Blaine? It didn't happen last year, but that's probably because the O scheme was blamed more for the regression of Kap than anything else....
And I would agree to a good extent that that is true. But without a major shakeup at something, I think Harbaugh and Co do a bit better job LAST year but no better than 8-8 like 2014.
It could be a rebuilding year to something, absolutely.
I'm not looking at this thread as a pro or anti Harbaugh thread but more of what path this team would take under him.
My quick take: without a major change on offensive coaching staff/philosophy, the team would have to rely more and more on talent to win games than ever before, and that was a trajectory that wasn't trending too well for us.
Baalke of course remains. Who is he picking up any differently than prior?
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What if Thread: Harbaugh stayed
Sep 7, 2016 at 12:26 AM
- JTsBiggestFan
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Sep 7, 2016 at 12:37 AM
- pdizo916
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Fangio stays and I think Willis stays. Justin Smith would still retire due to old age but aldon would still be a drunk.
But the bigger issue is who would be the general manager? Harbaugh's hypothetical success would depend on who's running the show.
But the bigger issue is who would be the general manager? Harbaugh's hypothetical success would depend on who's running the show.
Sep 7, 2016 at 12:47 AM
- Young2Rice
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Who knows what would have occurred but that is a problem many have with it. If he kept failing after the extension then letting him go would be justified. Now we just don't know and can only just speculate. The cards on both sides have been thrown down already.
Should have gave him an extension. It was a no brainer and we blew it.
I foresee great pain in this thread in the AM.
Should have gave him an extension. It was a no brainer and we blew it.
I foresee great pain in this thread in the AM.
[ Edited by Young2Rice on Sep 7, 2016 at 12:48 AM ]
Sep 7, 2016 at 4:27 AM
- Blindfury
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We'd have a much better team. Players wanted to play for Harbaugh. We signed guys to team friendly deals partially because of that.
Still laughing at those who thought getting rid of Harbaugh was the right move.
We went 8-8 with the owner trying to sabotage. Then we can him, get a bum of a coach..then the year after get a guy who doesn't have the resume of Harbaugh and the expectations are 8-8 would be a great season.
All those people crying about his outbursts.
Still laughing at those who thought getting rid of Harbaugh was the right move.
We went 8-8 with the owner trying to sabotage. Then we can him, get a bum of a coach..then the year after get a guy who doesn't have the resume of Harbaugh and the expectations are 8-8 would be a great season.
All those people crying about his outbursts.
Sep 7, 2016 at 4:42 AM
- JTsBiggestFan
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Originally posted by Blindfury:
We'd have a much better team. Players wanted to play for Harbaugh. We signed guys to team friendly deals partially because of that.
Still laughing at those who thought getting rid of Harbaugh was the right move.
We went 8-8 with the owner trying to sabotage. Then we can him, get a bum of a coach..then the year after get a guy who doesn't have the resume of Harbaugh and the expectations are 8-8 would be a great season.
All those people crying about his outbursts.
I hear you.
This isn't a thread about firing Harbaugh and definitely not about Tomsula.
But 2015/2016 with Harbaugh? Maybe we attract players and get them to be hungrier or whatever than maybe Chip Kelly....but are we making changes to reverse the regression of 2014?
To be fair, 2013 was a regression from 2012 on offense. It was a big deal at first, blamed primarily on lack of WRs (and rightfully so once Crabs and Manningham came back). But it was still there on some level.
I think this year with Kelly will answer a lot of questions about this Harbaugh thread -- how much of our offensive success was Harbaugh "protecting" his QBs versus outright talent that overpowered opponents.
2015 wouldn't have been a 5-11 year with Harbaugh, and certainly not all those blowouts where our defense was playing like garbage. However, are we winning 8-10 games last year just because of Harbaugh?
Or maybe just maybe we had an 10-11 win team in 2014 that was completely sabotaged by the stupid Harbaugh/FO storyline.
Sorry for the pain guys, but the worst is well behind us.
[ Edited by JTsBiggestFan on Sep 7, 2016 at 4:47 AM ]
Sep 7, 2016 at 5:04 AM
- Matchuu84
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It would be Harbaugh coaching remnants of players while Baalke's draft picks need to rehab 1 year minimum. Still wouldn't be able to beat Seattle away, roman would stay, tons of delay of games at key moments. Certain people may not have retired, but who knows we were 8-8 and not looking hopeful.
Sep 7, 2016 at 6:17 AM
- NorthBay49er
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I can't envision harbaugh being with us longer than he was
Sep 7, 2016 at 6:20 AM
- NCommand
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We would have been a 6-7 win team last year and b/c of the rebuild, he'd be fighting daily with the FO and we'd be in the media daily. Fans would still be b***hing for a real NFL offense and OC and talking about how stubborn Jim is to his Bo Schembechler-philosophy. You thought 8-8 was drama?
"Those who stay will be champions"
― Bo Schembechler
"Those who stay will be champions"
― Bo Schembechler
[ Edited by NCommand on Sep 7, 2016 at 6:50 AM ]
Sep 7, 2016 at 6:22 AM
- Poldarn49
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Hypothetical: Harbaugh stays after getting to some accommodation with Baalke and Jed. Offensive woes are blamed on Geep who is fired, who is joined by Tomsula. Roman stays. We probably get some college OC to be our QB coach. Solari stays.
Retirements: Smith, Borland retires, Willis stays for one more year, with diminished production. A. Davis reports to TC, but eventually retires halfway through the camp. Harbaugh will keep Andy Lee, so we draft a WR in the 5th who will not see the field. We draft Brown in the 6th instead of Silberman. Our OL is Staley, Tiller, Kilgore, Looney, Boone (an improvement on its own), with Brown getting a few reps the last few games. Aldon does Aldon things.
On the field, the team performs a bit better, but it means that the wins against Chicago and Atalanta are not fluke, plus we bring the games against the Giants and the Browns for a 7-9 record. Hyde's mid-season injury does not help. Kap plays the whole season, with slightly better performance due to the lack of Devey and Pears.
After Chip is fired by Roseman, leaks start to emerge regarding the tension between Harbaugh and Jed. We end up with Chip and a lower draft pick (16th). After debates about Kap's performance, he is kept on the roster. Gabbert is let go.
Draft: 1. QB Paxton Lynch, 2.WR Michael Thomas 3. DT Adolphus Washington
Retirements: Smith, Borland retires, Willis stays for one more year, with diminished production. A. Davis reports to TC, but eventually retires halfway through the camp. Harbaugh will keep Andy Lee, so we draft a WR in the 5th who will not see the field. We draft Brown in the 6th instead of Silberman. Our OL is Staley, Tiller, Kilgore, Looney, Boone (an improvement on its own), with Brown getting a few reps the last few games. Aldon does Aldon things.
On the field, the team performs a bit better, but it means that the wins against Chicago and Atalanta are not fluke, plus we bring the games against the Giants and the Browns for a 7-9 record. Hyde's mid-season injury does not help. Kap plays the whole season, with slightly better performance due to the lack of Devey and Pears.
After Chip is fired by Roseman, leaks start to emerge regarding the tension between Harbaugh and Jed. We end up with Chip and a lower draft pick (16th). After debates about Kap's performance, he is kept on the roster. Gabbert is let go.
Draft: 1. QB Paxton Lynch, 2.WR Michael Thomas 3. DT Adolphus Washington
Sep 7, 2016 at 6:22 AM
- SoCold
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Sep 7, 2016 at 6:41 AM
- BobS
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With Harbs still around I have a feeling it is possible someone who can't seem to think for himself as in #7 would not be starving his muscles with a vegan diet, disrespecting the flag, and might be more focused on football. He might have settled in to being a serviceable average starter QB instead of barely beating out Ponder for the back up job.
Sep 7, 2016 at 6:58 AM
- okieniner
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Originally posted by Blindfury:We'd have a much better team. Players wanted to play for Harbaugh. We signed guys to team friendly deals partially because of that.
Still laughing at those who thought getting rid of Harbaugh was the right move.
We went 8-8 with the owner trying to sabotage. Then we can him, get a bum of a coach..then the year after get a guy who doesn't have the resume of Harbaugh and the expectations are 8-8 would be a great season.
All those people crying about his outbursts.
With you on this! 2014 we should have been 11-5 but so many pressured that Harbaugh should try turn Kaepernick into a pocket passer.
Sep 7, 2016 at 7:00 AM
- JTsBiggestFan
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Originally posted by BobS:
With Harbs still around I have a feeling it is possible someone who can't seem to think for himself as in #7 would not be starving his muscles with a vegan diet, disrespecting the flag, and might be more focused on football. He might have settled in to being a serviceable average starter QB instead of barely beating out Ponder for the back up job.
Those are possible upsides to counter Kap actually becoming a human being in press conferences.
Sep 7, 2016 at 7:05 AM
- TheXFactor
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What if: Harbaugh wasn't a douche.....
Sep 7, 2016 at 7:08 AM
- PrisonOfGlass
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Originally posted by TheXFactor:What if: Harbaugh wasn't a douche.....
Won games. Don't care.