Jim Harbaugh to Coach 49ers

~ The Jim Harbaugh tour has reached it’s destination and the San Francisco 49ers got the man they wanted for the job. Harbaugh leaves a succesful run as head coach at Stanford and accepts a 5 year deal worth $25 million as reported by ESPN (Friday, January 7th) to become the head coach and replace fired coach Mike Singletary. The hiring caps off what was a whirlwind couple of days for Harbaugh, he was actively pursued by the 49ers and Miami Dolphins and rumored to be a canidate for the vacant college head coaching spot at his alma mater Michigan University.

This is pretty much the dream job for Harbaugh. He does not have to relocate his family if he does not want too, and it’s as big a rebuilding job as you can get. A chance to restore some of the luster back to a 49ers team that has not been to the playoffs for 8 straight seasons. It’s a good hire for the 49ers and good PR  too for a team that really needed it after a season like the one they just had.

The time was definitely now for Harbaugh after 4 years at Stanford. He led the Cardinal this season to 12-1 record and a convincing 40-12 win in the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech. It was under Harbaugh where Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck has emerged as a potential No 1. NFL Draft Pick.  This move has all the makings of something good. The NFL would love for the 49ers to be interesting again and Harbaugh brings name credibility. Can he make the adjustment from college to the pros as a coach? Harbaugh coached a Pro-Style offense at Stanford and his NFL career as a quarterback was long and successful with the Bears, Colts, Ravens, Chargers, and Panthers.

“Losing is not an option … ” – Jim Harbaugh

That mentality has to be music to the ears of the 49er fans.

Stanford’s Andrew Luck Decides To Stay In School

 

   

~ Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck has decided to stay in college to get his degree instead of heading to the NFL where he most likely would have been the No 1 pick in the Draft. Luck has two years of eligibility remaining at Stanford, however he is eligible for graduation in spring of 2012 according to Yahoo Sports.com.

“I am committed to earning my degree in architectural design from Stanford University and am on track to accomplish this at the completion of the spring quarter of 2012.” … Andrew Luck’s statement issued through the school.

 Luck finished up this season as runner-up to Cam Newton of Auburn for the Heisman Trophy, he’ll now be one of the favorites for next year’s award. I have not followed Luck until this season as I heard his name begin to come up often in NFL draft talks. The Carolina Panthers have the No.1 pick in April and reports were they were expressing interest in drafting Luck. It’ll be interesting to see now what Carolina does with that pick, they still don’t even have a head coach in place as of yet.

As for Luck, he clearly showed this season why he has all of the hype right now highlighted by his four touchdown passes he threw in Stanford’s Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech. He reportedly consulted with NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning and last year’s No. 1 pick Sam Bradford on his choice, however the final decision was apparently all his to make. Bradford and Manning both were faced with a similar choice to make when they were in school and both made choices to stay and get there degrees. If Luck is as talented as the hype has him right now, he’s going to be just fine in the NFL … in 2012.