Chicago Bears fans seem very irritated about the Jim Harbaugh situation
Jim Harbaugh would have looked great in Chicago Bears gear once again
Why should the Chicago Bears have interviewed Jim Harbaugh? The answer is simple. Harbaugh is a proven winner wherever he goes — yes, even at Michigan. He turned Stanford into a respectable program and left in 2010 to take over for the San Francisco 49ers. While at Stanford he built a program that went from 4-8 in his first season to 12-1 in his fourth and final season. They also won the Orange Bowl that year.
In the NFL, he assembled an amazing staff and led the 49ers to three consecutive NFC Championship games. They only won one of those to go onto the Super Bowl, but I would take that in Chicago in a heartbeat. I think most Bears fans would and that is why many fans were screaming for the Chicago Bears to hire Jim Harbaugh this year. That narrative seems to have quickly changed on social media though and reminds me of when a person is rejected by someone they ask out on a date to then immediately tear them down to try and save face.
I have seen comments like, “well he took over a stacked team in San Francisco.” Well, no that is not the case. The 49ers went 6-10 the year before Jim Harbaugh took over. In fact, you have to go back to 2002, nine years before Harbaugh took over if you want to see the 49ers with a winning record. However, in Harbaugh’s first year as head coach, the team went 13-3 and won a playoff game.
Then, his second year is when he lost to his brother and the Ravens by three points in the Super Bowl. That was not enough to see him falter though as the 49ers went back to the NFC Championship game and finished the regular season with a 12-4 record. It was not until 2014, Jim Harbaugh’s fourth season, that the team went 8-8 and he was fired. Tough crowd, I know.
Jed York decided to side with Trent Baalke over Jim Harbaugh and this led to Harbaugh being fired and moving on to coach the Michigan Wolverines. This was clearly the wrong choice by York as Baalke didn’t last and it took the 49ers another four years to see another winning season. This is of course during the Kyle Shanahan era and also the year (2019) the team lost in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Needless to say, Jim Harbaugh knows how to win. He knows how to be that CEO type of coach and put together a solid staff. I’d imagine he is likely going to pair with Vic Fangio again. We will have to see who he’d bring in as an OC but there are a few solid connections for him to tap into. The Chicago Bears made a mistake not sitting down with Harbaugh, even if the rumors are true that they reached out informally. George McCaskey wouldn’t even confirm that in his latest press conference. However, it is time to start moving on. Bring on the Matt Eberflus era.