Jim Harbaugh Viewed As A “Combustible Commodity” By The 49ers

Update:

According to Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, the 49ers HC Jim Harbaugh is seem as a “combustible commodity” within the organization.

“I know some 49ers fans–or mostly Harbaugh fans–don’t want to hear this, but the reality is that Harbaugh is a combustible commodity who has 49ers HQ very unsettled most days and now he’s coming up on a contract extension that he really thought he deserved last year, so things are a little pent-up between coach and management,” writes Kawakami.

Kawakami adds that Harbaugh has never been viewed as a “soothing, pleasant personality” to be around, which probably isn’t all that shocking to hear.

Harbaugh still deserves a ton of credit for the 49ers turn around and would be highly sought as a free agent head coach if the two sides are unable to reach an agreement on a long-term deal during the offseason.

You would have to think they will ultimately get a long-term deal worked out in the coming months.

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Following the recent report from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the San Francisco 49ers “nearly” traded HC Jim Harbaugh to the Cleveland Browns for draft compensation, it’s fair to wonder whether Harbaugh’s contract situation may have impacted the situation to some degree.

Matt Maiocco of CSN BayArea reports that Harbaugh’s future with the 49ers remains “uncertain” as they have yet to come to an agreement regarding an extension.

A source tells Maiocco that “the 49ers will not pay Harbaugh like a Super Bowl-winning coach if he has not won a Super Bowl.”

Maiocco adds that San Francisco is believed to be offering Harbaugh less in guaranteed money in a short-term contract. However, the 49ers are willing to pay him close to “upper echelon of salaries among NFL coaches” based on incentives for winning a Super Bowl.

According to Maiocco, Harbaugh has reportedly made an estimated $1 million above his five-year, $25 million contract.

Should the two sides elect to part ways at some point, league sources have informed Maiocco that defensive line coach Jim Tomsula would likely replace Harbaugh.

This is a rather peculiar situation given that Harbaugh has helped build the 49ers into an annual Super Bowl contender. They were arguably a Jimmy Smith-pass-interference-call away from beating the Ravens two years ago. I just find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t want to pay him among the best in the game when there is no doubt others would.

Maybe their stance speaks to their faith in Tomsula to be just as good of a head coach as Harbaugh.