Report: Harbaugh ‘act has worn thin’ among 49ers

Has Jim Harbaugh's 'act worn thin' in San Francisco's locker room? (USATSI)

If there are rumors about a coach getting traded -- as is the case with Jim Harbaugh -- there are bound to be rumors about said coach's players being unhappy with said coach. And in this case, there are!

Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via PFT) that Harbaugh's "act has worn thin" among several members of the locker room.

"One source with inside knowledge of the team says that Harbaugh's act has worn thin in the locker room, particularly among some key 'face of the 49ers' type players," Killion writes. "While the team is winning, that's not a problem. But a few losses could expose a widening rift."

Should we be surprised by this? No, not really. For starters, when you've got the smoke of the trade rumors with the Browns popping up around the combine, you're going to get the fire that is rumors about 49ers players being unhappy. It comes with the territory.

And secondly, it's hard to imagine that Harbaugh's act doesn't wear thin on some of the players in the locker room.

But you know what doesn't wear thin? Winning. And under Harbaugh the Niners win like crazy. They're 36-11-1 in his three seasons coaching in San Francisco, good for a whopping .766 winning percentage.

The 49ers have been to three-straight NFC Championship Games, they're about to open up a new stadium in Santa Clara and they'll host Super Bowl L after the 2015 season in that very stadium.

There's a lot of reasons why they should want a coach who does nothing but win to stick around regardless of how people in the locker room might reportedly feel.

NFL Hot News

Ravens 'could end up' with WR Hakeem Nicks



Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith said earlier this week that he would like to see the team add a "move-the-chains guy" at receiver. Could Hakeem Nicks fit that bill? Well, for what it's worth, ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley wrote Saturday that Baltimore "could end up" with the soon-to-be free agent.Nicks caught 56 passes -- none of which went for scores -- for 896 yards this season.



Nicks isn't exactly Anquan Boldin or Nate Burleson. He registered 10 plays of 25 yards or more this season, the same total as Calvin Johnson. His yards-per-catch average of 16.0 ranked 11th in the league, between Michael Floyd and Alshon Jeffery. Smith, understandably, finished fifth with a 17.4 average. But Nicks also isn't nearly as dynamic as Smith. He looked slow all year long with the Giants and as bad as their offense was, Nicks clearly underachieved in 2013.I think the Ravens could fill this need in-house. A full season from tight end Dennis Pitta could give them the consistent possession option Smith desires. But I will admit a receiving trio of Smith, Pitta, and Nicks sure looks nice on paper. The Ravens should be interested in Nicks if they can get him to sign a short-term/cheap deal. He has averaged just 3.9 catches and 56.7 yards per game in 28 contests since the start of 2012. Add in the fact that he is injury-prone, and he shouldn't be given big money.