FanPost

A Closer Look at Jim Harbaugh

It's been an interesting week here at Phinsider, members posting on which coaches should replace current head coach Joe Philbin if he's fired...and seemingly ready to turn in their fan cards if he's not. As the season nears its end, and Miami out of the playoffs (or pretty close to), various names have been thrown out as potential candidates. Among them is current 49ers head coach, Jim Harbaugh, who seems to have somewhat of a following among Dolphins fans, as well as team owner Stephen Ross. As such, I thought I'd do a bit of research to learn a little more about Harbaugh.

The good: Harbaugh has a 43-19-1 NFL regular season record, and an 5-3 record in the playoffs. He also led the 49ers to three consecutive NFC Championship appearances, including a Super Bowl appearance; pretty impressive. In college, he guided Stanford to national prominence (after two sub-par seasons), leading the Cardinal to a 12-1 record & #4 AP ranking in his final year. He went 29-21 at Stanford, and 1-1 in bowl games. Prior to that, he amassed an impressive 29-6 record in three seasons as head coach at the University of San Diego. Harbaugh also displays passion for the game AND his team, something Miami fans claim Philbin sorely lacks.

The bad: Harbaugh - right or wrong - has a reputation for rubbing people the wrong way, and that notion has really taken hold this season with rumors of his clashing with his players and the front office. Some might also look at the team he inherited, loaded with talent, and question why he hasn't won more. Additionally, Harbaugh pushed all his chips to the center of the table in betting on Colin Kaepernick as his QB of the future while trading solid/unspectacular QB Alex Smith. While that move paid initial dividends, the overall assessment of both QBs says Harbaugh made the wrong choice; Smith has a better winning percentage, completion percentage, and TD/INT ratio since the trade. Moreover, the "Pistol" offense Harbaugh wants Kaepernick to run appears to be somewhat of a gimmick - not unlike the Wildcat offense Miami used effectively for a couple of seasons - and the rest of the league appears to have caught on. Finally, Harbaugh doesn't seem like a very stable coach. After several years as an assistant at Western Kentucky University, he jumped to the Oakland Raiders to be the QB coach for two seasons. Then he took the job as USD's head coaching position for three years before jumping to the same position at Stanford. He stayed there for four seasons before taking his current job, of which he's in his fourth year and rumored to be on the way out.

So, what does this mean for Dolphins fans? Well, right now, nothing. Harbaugh is still under contract in San Francisco, and there's no indication whatsoever he'd be interested in the same job in Miami, his dismissal of the same opportunity a few years back notwithstanding. But what IF he were to become available? Stephen Ross seems like he'd love to have Harbaugh. If he does come to Miami, it does not appear he'd be coming in to help build something for the long term. Based on his coaching history, Harbaugh would likely be coming here to make an immediate impact - make a run, if you will - in an attempt to win now before he wears out his welcome and jumps at the next best thing. Is that the sort of coach fans, and more importantly, Ross wants? I don't know. But if Harbaugh does come to Miami, fans need to understand that's the sort of coach they might just be getting.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Phinsider's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of The Phinsider writers or editors.