Football Trade Rumors

by Mike Morbeck

Though the initial furore may have faded away – the big question as to whether Jim Harbaugh is staying at the 49ers or going to the Cleveland Browns just hasn’t gone away.

News about Jim’s difficult relationship with general manager Trent Baalke made national headlines last week – so it’s understandable that 49ersfans want to see a line drawn under things.

Now of course – the whole Jim Harbaugh situation will be a difficult backdrop of 49ers’ free agency, beginning on March 11^th as well as the May draft – and most assuredly the first season in the Levi’s Stadium.

But let’s put things into perspective; nothing real has actually changed here. Jim Harbaugh remains the 49ers’ coach and Baalke is still the general manager. The 49ers are still a top team and such tensions are really nothing new.

This time next week – it may simply be old news and have been put firmly to bed. Then again…

The problem here is that news of the tensions are now public and anything is possible in such a scenario as too much dirty laundry gets a good airing. Once one side starts sniping, the other has to respond and the whole media circus escalates everything.

Of course – a couple of losses on the grid are all that are needed for this to become a full-blown crisis then we have to see change.

On the other hand – if you think it’s going to blow over then the 49ers may be a good punt for future value? They’ve already slipped out to around 7/1 best price with 32 Red for next year’s Super Bowl and though it’s a long way off – the time to strike is while the bad news is in the mix.

The good thing about 32 Red is the site also has a casino with big free bonus offers, as well as the sports book, so you should be able to get a free bet if you haven’t registered with the site before. Whether or not you decide to invest that in the 49ers is quite another deal. And much may depend on how much substance there really is in these persistent Jim Harbaugh rumors.

So the pressure on the 49ers’ CEO Jed York to bring about a resolution here is enormous. The fans want to know; do they need a new coach? And how, exactly, is all this going to play out? One option is to stay with Jim Harbaugh for another year on an “all-or-nothing” type basis to see if he can win the Super Bowl in February. If so, this gives the Coach huge power. Another is to come to an agreement for a good few more years. This depends on Harbaugh’s willingness to accept less than absolute top dollar; a rate 49ers don’t want to pay until he lands a Super Bowl.

All in all – no-one knows exactly what’s going to happen but one thing we can all agree on is that the 49ers must draw a line under this situation ASAP for their own good.