After a roller coaster week regarding his future, former Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh has decided to take the leap into the NFL and coach the San Francisco 49ers. Harbaugh reportedly signed a five-year contract worth $25 million after a week when it was speculated that he may be offered up to 5 years and $80 million to coach the Dolphins. That clearly was never the case, as it would be tough to imagine any coach turning down that sum of money.
Harbaugh was 29-21 in four seasons at Stanford. He led his team to a 12-1 season this year that was capped off with an impressive 40-12 win over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Harbaugh is responsible for injecting life into a Stanford football program that was 1-11 the season before he took over in 2006.
As the week progressed, it appeared Harbaugh might stay at Stanford for another season. Sophomore quarterback Andrew Luck made a surprising decision to pass up a guaranteed No. 1 pick in the draft and return to school for his junior season, so many believed it was likely his coach would join him for another run. Instead, Harbaugh decided to cash in on the opportunity to coach at the NFL level. He replaces Mike Singletary, who was a disappointing 18-22 in two-plus seasons as the coach of the 49ers.
