The San Francisco 49ers could be greatly improved next season against the odds at the bookmaker company now that they have a quality head coach.
The 49ers hired Jim Harbaugh who led Stanford to a school-record 12 wins. San Francisco has been a disappointment in recent seasons vs. the bookie odds but things should change with Harbaugh in charge.
Five-Year Deal
The 49ers signed Harbaugh to a five-year, $25 million dollar contract. It is a great situation for Harbaugh who goes to a San Francisco team that has missed the playoffs for eight straight seasons. Anytime a new coach takes over a team he is always better off if the team has not had much recent success because then the only way to go is up. He took over a Stanford team that went 1-11 and was terrible against the odds at the bookie and he went 4-8 in his first season with them and then followed that up with a 5-7 season then an 8-5 season and then 12-1 this season. Harbaugh went 58-27 overall as a college coach and 29-21 in four seasons at Stanford.
Another Bill Walsh?
The 49ers are hoping that they have hired another Bill Walsh. Harbaugh is a huge fan of Walsh and said that he has a picture of Walsh on his computer screen that he looks at everyday. San Francisco needs someone to turn around their fortunes. They were expected to win the NFC West this season by gamblers at Sbg global but started 0-5 and never recovered. Mike Singletary was not cut out to be a head coach and his cause was not helped by the lack of a quality quarterback. The 49ers finished this season at 6-10 as they disappointed gamblers at the bookmaker. The 49ers have not had a winning season since 2002.
QB the First Priority
The first thing that Harbaugh has to do is find a quarterback. Alex Smith has been a bust since being taken with the first pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. He becomes a free agent and it doesn’t seem likely that San Francisco will want him back. The backup quarterbacks are no better in David Carr and Troy Smith so Harbaugh has his work cut out for him. The 49ers may need to trade for a quality NFL veteran quarterback or for a proven backup who could start. The 49ers will also probably have to draft a quarterback for the future.