Has Jim Harbaugh Worn Out His Welcome In San Francisco?
The Mercury News' Tim Kawakami has been reporting for months on a rift in the Niners front office. There is a clash of personalities between Harbaugh and GM Trent Baalke (the two, it was reported yesterday, are barely on speaking terms), and between Harbaugh and team president Paraag Marathe.
Harbaugh, who has input but not final say in personnel matters, has repeatedly clashed with Baalke on organizational moves, with some of those disputes spilling over into public statements. Kawakami cites quite a few, including Harbaugh saying the Niners would bring in former Stanford fullback Owen Marecic (they didn't) and statements that the team should give new deals to players like Donte Whitner, Phil Dawson, and Dashon Goldson. On the other side, Baalke reportedly believed Aldon Smith would see very little of the field when he returned with a DUI and substance abuse arrest hanging over his head; Harbaugh played him every snap.
This is about power, and it's about money. Harbaugh has two years left on his five-year, $25 million deal. For a coach with three straight deep postseason runs, he is underpaid. The dispute is on just how underpaid he is.
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