Holy Crap: Browns nearly traded with 49ers for Jim Harbaugh

[VivaEfrenHerrera]

If there is a team willing to buyout his contract to get him it's Dallas, Jerry has done it before for players, they are now becoming a league joke as well. Garrett has not been extended, lots of things aligning there for a big splash. They will look there or here, Quinn could still be on their radar or Bevell as well. Romo needs someone that can work to his strength.

Well, Harbaugh does have a lot of experience blowing the chance to win in the waning seconds of the game, so he'd be a good mentor for Romo there.

OW! Damn! :shock:

 

[Marvin49]

I think the festering has been going on and the bubble is going to burst in S.F. PFT artical today states that the 49ers offices are high stress and full of tension with Jimmie there, that he is high maintenance and hard to work with.

Well if that be the case do you trade his rights or keep the stress? he has 2 yrs left on his contract.

They have two issues now.

One if they don't extend him he feels insulted and becomes a bigger problem, may be off camera and behind closed doors but it will be there. You then have a successful team playing for a coach with lame duck status so to speak on him. Not hard to see where that can go.

Two, you extend him, he may want more control, the other front office people will be taking a back seat to a large part to him, based on tensions already that could lead to others leaving and looking to get out. You break what was working for one persons ego.

All this will fester to a blow up of some sort.

Again I see Dallas and Jerry looking at this and saying GOOD GOOOOOODL.

He'll get an extension. That was going to happen regardless. As for power, we'll just have to see.

As for Jerry, minus a kings ransom he's going to have to wait 2 years and that's only if Harbaugh doesn't get extended.

If there is a team willing to buyout his contract to get him it's Dallas, Jerry has done it before for players, they are now becoming a league joke as well. Garrett has not been extended, lots of things aligning there for a big splash. They will look there or here, Quinn could still be on their radar or Bevell as well. Romo needs someone that can work to his strength.

Maybe, but if he has issues with Baalke controlling personnel, I don't see him being cool with Jerry Jones.

 

[chris98251]

Jerry was willing to defer to Parcells for a time, it didn't last long but he has done it.

 

[Popeyejones]

He knows that the niners are beginning to decline and wants an "up-and-comer" with high draft selections where he would have more say.

This. Obviously he is only interested in taking over a team with all the talent in place necessary to win (Hardouche says "thanks Singletary"). Looks to me like he doesn't have much confidence in his ability to build a team. He sees that the Brownies already have the defense in place. Pussy. Probably good for the Hawks though cuz he will continue to oversee the erosion of the Whiners.

You guys are funny sometimes!

It cracks me up how so many people her view the 49ers as "in decline" and portray Harbaugh as being in desparate need to jump off the sinking ship to go to...wait for it...Cleveland.

Come on. That's a bit of a stretch. 12-4. NFCCG three years in a row. 26 year old dynamic QB. One of if not THE best pass rusher in the game who is 24. New stadium with tons of new revenue about to stream in. 13 mil in cap space BEFORE they let Rogers walk and save another 5 or so. One of the best defenses in the NFL who will likely have ONE starter in his 30s next year. 6 picks in the first 3 rounds AND they get the redshirted Marcus Lattimore and Tank Carradine this year. Yup. Really sound like the ship is sinking there. Frank and Justin are getting older, but it's not like they haven't been signing and drafting their replacement for a few years now and will continue to do so with their likely 12 picks this year.

Compare that to the Browns who were 4-12, have a good young defense but WOULD NOT have high draft picks because they would belong to SF in a trade for Harbaugh. Plus, you have to live in Cleveland.

I get why peeps want this to be true. On some level I don't doubt that there were conversation. Banner and Lombardi needed to swing for the fences to save their jobs. It didn't happen though. If the 49ers wanted him gone, he'd be gone. If the Brown were willing to give up the farm, he'd be in Cleveland. The fact of the matter though is that the trade didn't happen.

Is there friction in front office? Probably. Does Harbaugh rub some people the wrong way, absolutely. Is he a long term 20 year coach in SF? Most likely not.

Painting this though as Harbaugh sees his team declining and want to move to another up and comer is beyond ludicrous.

Marvin, you know I love you, but you and I both know that if we're going to post here that responding to those types of posts is a total waste of time, man. I make the same mistake and fail to catch myself sometimes too, but it just ain't worth bothering.

 

[chris98251]

Marvin, you know I love you, but you and I both know that if we're going to post here that responding to those types of posts is a total waste of time, man. I make the same mistake and fail to catch myself sometimes too, but it just ain't worth bothering.

Well look around and understand that history of these events and controversy has a way of exploding at a bad time.

49ers in decline, no, they have a lot of picks and a stash squad for back up players just as the Seahawks do. The difference is how the machine gets oiled, Harbaugh's and the front offices tension and working relationship vs what we have is very different. You can only cater to that high maintenance relationship so long before it explodes.

I can see Paul Allen extending Pete, I can see it easily being around what Clayton says or about 8.5 million for another 4 or 5 years. How is Harbaugh going to react to that? The Yorks are not exactly the ATM of the NFL when it comes to paying out large sums of money. If Harbaugh expects to be the highest paid coach and has yet to win a Super Bowl and his division much disliked rival gets a big contract and is wearing a ring how does the 49er front office pacify Jimmie.

 

[GeekHawk]

He knows that the niners are beginning to decline and wants an "up-and-comer" with high draft selections where he would have more say.

This. Obviously he is only interested in taking over a team with all the talent in place necessary to win (Hardouche says "thanks Singletary"). Looks to me like he doesn't have much confidence in his ability to build a team. He sees that the Brownies already have the defense in place. Pussy. Probably good for the Hawks though cuz he will continue to oversee the erosion of the Whiners.

You guys are funny sometimes!

It cracks me up how so many people her view the 49ers as "in decline" and portray Harbaugh as being in desparate need to jump off the sinking ship to go to...wait for it...Cleveland.

Come on. That's a bit of a stretch. 12-4. NFCCG three years in a row. 26 year old dynamic QB. One of if not THE best pass rusher in the game who is 24. New stadium with tons of new revenue about to stream in. 13 mil in cap space BEFORE they let Rogers walk and save another 5 or so. One of the best defenses in the NFL who will likely have ONE starter in his 30s next year. 6 picks in the first 3 rounds AND they get the redshirted Marcus Lattimore and Tank Carradine this year. Yup. Really sound like the ship is sinking there. Frank and Justin are getting older, but it's not like they haven't been signing and drafting their replacement for a few years now and will continue to do so with their likely 12 picks this year.

Compare that to the Browns who were 4-12, have a good young defense but WOULD NOT have high draft picks because they would belong to SF in a trade for Harbaugh. Plus, you have to live in Cleveland.

I get why peeps want this to be true. On some level I don't doubt that there were conversation. Banner and Lombardi needed to swing for the fences to save their jobs. It didn't happen though. If the 49ers wanted him gone, he'd be gone. If the Brown were willing to give up the farm, he'd be in Cleveland. The fact of the matter though is that the trade didn't happen.

Is there friction in front office? Probably. Does Harbaugh rub some people the wrong way, absolutely. Is he a long term 20 year coach in SF? Most likely not.

Painting this though as Harbaugh sees his team declining and want to move to another up and comer is beyond ludicrous.

Marvin, you know I love you, but you and I both know that if we're going to post here that responding to those types of posts is a total waste of time, man. I make the same mistake and fail to catch myself sometimes too, but it just ain't worth bothering.

Well, we're not the ones who were talking to Cleveland about trading your coach.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

I don't want Harbaugh to leave. I think he's a great coach, but I think that is offset by the turmoil he brings to the FO in San Francisco. Also, Kaepernick is Harbaugh's guy and the starter as long as Harbaugh is there, and as good as Kaepernick is with his legs, I doubt his ability to win a truly big game or to show up in big moments and make good decisions.

Is there friction in the front office? "Probably?" No, definitely, because there's too much smoke for there not to be fire. IIRC, Harbaugh left Stanford somewhat awkwardly. Is it a shock that he'll likely do it with the 49ers? Harbaugh pleading for Baalke to re-sign Phil Dawson in the media is a sign, too. I notice that the SF beat writers that the resident 49er fans say are not to be listened to are the ones reporting fairly major friction. Now, that could just be a correlative happenstance, or it could be that those 49er fans have their fingers in their ears. More than likely, it's a bit of both - muckraking beat writers that have scoured the muck and uncovered an actual, factual (for once) rift in the SF front office that Marvin or Popeye would prefer didn't exist. Whatever, we all do it as fans.

 

[Popeyejones]

Chris, agreed on all counts. Said this before but IMO the hold up with Harbaugh's extension (if it does come; he was signed the same time and for the same length as PC and PC has yet to sign an extension, so even "hold up" is probably an overstatement) is that although Jed runs the team John York still controls the family wealth and John York is a very well known cheapskate. If an extension for Harbaugh does come it will be coming out of the stadium revenue (projected at over 100 million in additional revenue per year) during or after next season.

Geehawk, I'm not sure how you think your post is related to my post. Sorry.

 

[chris98251]

Jim had a history as a player of being volatile and difficult to play with as well as coach, yeah he played his ass off and got the Captain comeback name, but the price was very high for the rest of the team and staff as well as front office in dealing with him.

It's who he is and he is successful, but the collateral damage in his wake can only be paid so long is his problem. I'm sure this story will be a focus all off season and into next if not resolved right away. That will be a distraction as well.

One additional thought, the 49ers went through a lot of issues when Mike Singletary was coach, how will the front office feel and how much energy will they use trying to keep another high profile coach under control after doing it so recently.

Pete is already in the extension process from what I heard for his contract also.

 

[Marvin49]

He knows that the niners are beginning to decline and wants an "up-and-comer" with high draft selections where he would have more say.

This. Obviously he is only interested in taking over a team with all the talent in place necessary to win (Hardouche says "thanks Singletary"). Looks to me like he doesn't have much confidence in his ability to build a team. He sees that the Brownies already have the defense in place. Pussy. Probably good for the Hawks though cuz he will continue to oversee the erosion of the Whiners.

You guys are funny sometimes!

It cracks me up how so many people her view the 49ers as "in decline" and portray Harbaugh as being in desparate need to jump off the sinking ship to go to...wait for it...Cleveland.

Come on. That's a bit of a stretch. 12-4. NFCCG three years in a row. 26 year old dynamic QB. One of if not THE best pass rusher in the game who is 24. New stadium with tons of new revenue about to stream in. 13 mil in cap space BEFORE they let Rogers walk and save another 5 or so. One of the best defenses in the NFL who will likely have ONE starter in his 30s next year. 6 picks in the first 3 rounds AND they get the redshirted Marcus Lattimore and Tank Carradine this year. Yup. Really sound like the ship is sinking there. Frank and Justin are getting older, but it's not like they haven't been signing and drafting their replacement for a few years now and will continue to do so with their likely 12 picks this year.

Compare that to the Browns who were 4-12, have a good young defense but WOULD NOT have high draft picks because they would belong to SF in a trade for Harbaugh. Plus, you have to live in Cleveland.

I get why peeps want this to be true. On some level I don't doubt that there were conversation. Banner and Lombardi needed to swing for the fences to save their jobs. It didn't happen though. If the 49ers wanted him gone, he'd be gone. If the Brown were willing to give up the farm, he'd be in Cleveland. The fact of the matter though is that the trade didn't happen.

Is there friction in front office? Probably. Does Harbaugh rub some people the wrong way, absolutely. Is he a long term 20 year coach in SF? Most likely not.

Painting this though as Harbaugh sees his team declining and want to move to another up and comer is beyond ludicrous.

Marvin, you know I love you, but you and I both know that if we're going to post here that responding to those types of posts is a total waste of time, man. I make the same mistake and fail to catch myself sometimes too, but it just ain't worth bothering.

Lol. I know. I was at a birthday party for a friend of my 7 year old and had time to kill while my son was in the Jungle gym. :-D

 

[Marvin49]

Jim had a history as a player of being volatile and difficult to play with as well as coach, yeah he played his ass off and got the Captain comeback name, but the price was very high for the rest of the team and staff as well as front office in dealing with him.

It's who he is and he is successful, but the collateral damage in his wake can only be paid so long is his problem. I'm sure this story will be a focus all off season and into next if not resolved right away. That will be a distraction as well.

One additional thought, the 49ers went through a lot of issues when Mike Singletary was coach, how will the front office feel and how much energy will they use trying to keep another high profile coach under control after doing it so recently.

Pete is already in the extension process from what I heard for his contract also.

The 49ers have been talking extension with Harbaugh since last season. This incident doesn't start those talks. He was going to get extended this offseason anyway.

I honestly think that the Texas talk and the Browns talk has much more to do with leverage than anything else. If Harbaugh did initiate talks (which I highly doubt) the 49ers may have just called his bluff and said "go ahead" and he backed down.

That's just speculation. The 49ers may very well tire oh the constant rumors eventually, but my guess is he'll get a big extension soon.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

The 49ers have been talking extension with Harbaugh since last season. This incident doesn't start those talks. He was going to get extended this offseason anyway.

I honestly think that the Texas talk and the Browns talk has much more to do with leverage than anything else. If Harbaugh did initiate talks (which I highly doubt) the 49ers may have just called his bluff and said "go ahead" and he backed down.

That's just speculation. The 49ers may very well tire oh the constant rumors eventually, but my guess is he'll get a big extension soon.

 

[Marvin49]

The 49ers have been talking extension with Harbaugh since last season. This incident doesn't start those talks. He was going to get extended this offseason anyway.

I honestly think that the Texas talk and the Browns talk has much more to do with leverage than anything else. If Harbaugh did initiate talks (which I highly doubt) the 49ers may have just called his bluff and said "go ahead" and he backed down.

That's just speculation. The 49ers may very well tire oh the constant rumors eventually, but my guess is he'll get a big extension soon.

How original.

 

[Scottemojo]

Marvin49 right now.

[youtube]rSjK2Oqrgic[/youtube]

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

The 49ers have been talking extension with Harbaugh since last season. This incident doesn't start those talks. He was going to get extended this offseason anyway.

I honestly think that the Texas talk and the Browns talk has much more to do with leverage than anything else. If Harbaugh did initiate talks (which I highly doubt) the 49ers may have just called his bluff and said "go ahead" and he backed down.

That's just speculation. The 49ers may very well tire oh the constant rumors eventually, but my guess is he'll get a big extension soon.

How original.

 

[Marvin49]

Marvin49 right now.

[youtube]rSjK2Oqrgic[/youtube]

Oh come on now...be fair. LOL.

This is concerning. No question. I don't think this was ever close to actually happening, but I do think that it could be a sign that Harbaugh isn't here for the lon haul. That really isn't a surprise though. I always thought he'd burn out though and recharge his batteries for a few years.

The stuff I'm disagreeing with most in this thread are the peeps who are saying that Harbaugh sees the team sinking and he's jumping ship. That's comical.

What I really think is going on though and you are free to disagree is that Banner and Lombardi are the peeps who tried to hit a home run before they were fired, failed, and are now the leaks for the story.

Seriously...who has something gain from this? The 49ers certainly don't. The Browns are trying to get behind a new coach. They have nothing to gain. The only people with something to gain from this story leaking are Banner and Lombardi. Lombardi did something similar after the 49ers hired Baalke instead of him. Dude is full of sour grapes and has a history of leaking stuff after something doesn't go his way.

I have no doubt that the Browns initiated talks on a trade. I have no doubt that the 49ers at least on some level considered it. If they really wanted it to happen though they wouldn't have placed the price so high that it couldn't happen. That's just common sense. If they wanted Harbaugh gone, he'd be gone. Simple as that. Is there tension between Harbaugh and Baalke? It wouldn't surprise me in the least.

I just highly doubt that this was ever SERIOUSLY considered by anyone but Banner and Lombardi...before they themselves were canned.

The 49ers were always going to extend Harbaugh this offseason. York said in an interview during the season that they would be working on that in the offseason and that he hoped Harbaugh had all the leverage in the world...IE a SB win.

Look at it this way...doesn't it seem odd to you that this is all happening now...when the 49ers are just about to move into a new building with HIGE new revenue streams? Rumors about Texas and the Browns right when the 49ers are about to be flush with cash?

Think about it. Leverage.

I know its a juicy story and peeps want so badly for it to be true (and I'm not saying 100% that its not), but it all seems a bit too convenient to me for too many of the parties involved (Banner, Lombardi, Harbaugh).

 

[Marvin49]

The 49ers have been talking extension with Harbaugh since last season. This incident doesn't start those talks. He was going to get extended this offseason anyway.

I honestly think that the Texas talk and the Browns talk has much more to do with leverage than anything else. If Harbaugh did initiate talks (which I highly doubt) the 49ers may have just called his bluff and said "go ahead" and he backed down.

That's just speculation. The 49ers may very well tire oh the constant rumors eventually, but my guess is he'll get a big extension soon.

How original.

I like how your posts never have any substance. Makes them so easy to dismiss.

Speaking of that....welcome to my ignore list. I know. Your heartbroken.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Nothing ever goes wrong for the Niners.

Everything is sunshine and gumdrops and rivers of butterscotch.

Thank god Marvin is here for what seems like the one millionth time to remind us of this FACT.

 

[kearly]

Marvin49 right now.

[youtube]rSjK2Oqrgic[/youtube]

No kidding. When was the last time you saw a team nearly trade a coach as part of contract negotiations? (Answer: never.)

 

[Marvin49]

Marvin49 right now.

[youtube]rSjK2Oqrgic[/youtube]

No kidding. When was the last time you saw a team nearly trade a coach as part of contract negotiations? (Answer: never.)

Kinda the point. I don't think they were ever close to trading him. I'm sure that CLEVELAND was serious about it and I'm sure that that's where the genesis of the story originated (Banner and Lombardi in particular), but I don't believe for a second that this was ever close to actually happening.

Hell the story out of Cleveland was that Harbaugh wanted to go to Cleveland so bad that he INITATED the talks. Right. Harbaugh is so unhappy that he wants to dump his talent laden 12-4 team moving into a new stadium so he can jump to a 4-12 team with an owner in legal trouble and an organization that has been the laughing stock of the NFL.

I know you guys hate the Niners, but just step back for a second. Does that seriously make any sense? It only makes sense if you WANT it to make sense.

As I said before. I'm sure there is tension and it makes me nervous, but lets at least try to be realistic.

If Harbaugh signs the extension in the coming months, are you guys gonna admit I was right then? My guess is no.

I have a lot of respect for some of the posters in this thread (Kearly and Scottemojo in particular), so at least try to understand the point I'm making. I'm not just blindly ignoring that there may be trouble in suburbia. The reports just don't make sense to me.