Blogs

Iupati Named to All-Rookie Team

All season long, Mike Iupati showed why the 49ers selected him 17th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft.

The rookie left guard started all 16 games, and on Sunday he was named to the NFL’s All-Rookie Team, which is selected by Pro Football Weekly and the Pro Football Writers Association.

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Sporting News Recognizes 1984 Team

The only team to go undefeated in NFL history is the only team that stands in the way of the 1984 San Francisco 49ers as the greatest team in league history.

That’s the opinion of Sporting News which unveiled their list of the top-10 teams in NFL history as part of their series of greatest sports debates. The 1972 Miami Dolphins rank atop the list due to their unmatched 17-0 record, but are followed by a 49ers team that went 18-1 in 1984.

The ’84 team isn’t solidified as the No. 2 team of all-time however.

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Westbrook Up for Prestigious Award

Contrary to the photo at the top of this post, Brian Westbrook is quite a generous man.

When he’s not stiff-arming his way to touchdowns on the football field, he’s giving back to his community in a number of ways.

And his work has not gone unnoticed.

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Teddy Football Offseason Q&A #1

The season may be over, but that doesn’t mean our “Teddy Football” segments have ended!  49ers play-by-play broadcaster Ted Robinson will be stopping by 49ers headquarters from time to time this offseason to answer some of your questions.

Ted will be stopping by on Thursday, so make sure to leave your questions in the comments section of this blog or by sending them to us on Twitter.  I’ll select a few that Ted will answer on TV49.

Here’s a list of all our Teddy Football interviews from the 2010 season.

Jim Harbaugh to Coach 49ers

All the rampant speculation can come to an end. After the 49ers hired a general manager on Tuesday, they’ve hired a head coach three days later.

Trent Baalke acted swiftly in making his first move as GM. Since being promoted from vice president of player personnel, Baalke met with several qualified coaching candidates and has now delivered the franchise its new head coach.

Former Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh has signed a multiyear contract to be the 18th head coach in San Francisco 49ers history.

Harbaugh will be introduced to the media in a Friday press conference to be held at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco. The press conference will be streamed live on 49ers.com at 3:30 p.m. PT.

Here’s the official release from the 49ers public relations staff:

Jim Harbaugh has been named head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Widely regarded as one of the finest up-and-coming coaches in football, Harbaugh becomes the 18^th head coach in 49ers history.

A 15-year NFL veteran quarterback, Harbaugh brings 17 years of coaching experience to San Francisco, which includes spending the last seven years as a head coach (58-27) in the collegiate ranks. He joins the 49ers after an impressive four-year stint as the head coach at Stanford University, where he guided the Cardinal football program to the biggest turnaround in school history over a four-year span.

Among Harbaugh’s many accomplishments while at Stanford were orchestrating two of the highest scoring teams in school history, three of the top four rushing teams in program history and back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time since 1995 and ’96. He also coached back-to-back Heisman Trophy finalists in running back Toby Gerhart and quarterback Andrew Luck.

As Stanford’s head coach, Harbaugh led the Cardinal to a 29-21 overall record, including a 20-6 record over the past two seasons. It was in stark contrast to the program he inherited in 2007, which had compiled a 16-40 record in the previous five seasons, including a 1-11 mark in 2006. After leading the Cardinal to records of 4-8 and 5-7 in his first two seasons, Harbaugh guided Stanford to an 8-5 overall mark and an appearance in the Sun Bowl in 2009, followed by a historic 12-1 season and an Orange Bowl win, in 2010.

Harbaugh fielded one of the greatest teams in Stanford football history in 2010, as the Cardinal posted a school record of 12 wins on the season, suffering its only setback to the Pac-10 champion Oregon Ducks. The Cardinal proceeded to win its final eight games of the season, which was capitalized by a 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the first Bowl Championship Series bowl appearance in school history.

The Cardinal offense set a school record with 524 points on the season, having scored 30-or-more points in all but one game, to finish the season ranked 9^th nationally in points scored (40.3) and 14^th nationally in total yards per game (472.5). Harbaugh played an instrumental role in developing Luck, who completed 70% of his passes for 3,338 yards and 32 touchdowns. Stanford’s ground game also proved productive as the team ranked 17^th in the nation in rushing yards per game (213.8).

The team’s defensive unit was just as impressive, ranking 10^th nationally in scoring defense (17.4). The Cardinal posted three shutouts on the year and finished ranked in the top-25 nationally in five defensive categories.

In 2009, Harbaugh was able to effectively transform the Cardinal into one of the most productive offensive units in the nation, as the team finished the season ranked 19^th in total offense (427.6 yards per game), while setting single season records for total yards (5,559) and rushing yards (2,837). The year culminated in a trip to the Sun Bowl, a 31-27 loss to Oklahoma, marking the program’s first bowl appearance since the 2001 season.

Harbaugh came to Stanford from the University of San Diego, where he guided the Toreros to an impressive three-year overall record of 29-6 (.829), including back-to-back 11-1 seasons that netted a pair of Division I-AA Mid Major national titles in 2005 and 2006.

Prior to joining the University of San Diego, Harbaugh spent two seasons (2002-03) as an offensive assistant with the Oakland Raiders. In his first season, the Raiders posted an 11-5 regular season record, won the AFC Western Division title and advanced to Super Bowl XXXVII.

Harbaugh laid the groundwork for his coaching career while he was still competing as a player in the NFL, serving as an NCAA-certified unpaid assistant coach at Western Kentucky, where he worked with his father and Hilltoppers head coach Jack Harbaugh, from 1994-2001.

As a first round draft pick by the Chicago Bears in 1987, Harbaugh played for five teams over 15 seasons, including the Chicago Bears (1987-93), Indianapolis Colts (1994-97), Baltimore Ravens (1998), San Diego Chargers (1999-2000) and Carolina Panthers (2001). He racked up 26,288 passing yards to go along with 129 touchdown passes, while completing 2,305-of-3,918 passes in 177 career games (140 starts). Harbaugh ranks in the NFL’s top-50 in two career passing categories – completions (41st) and pass attempts (45th).

Success is no stranger to Harbaugh. A product of nearby Palo Alto High School, he enjoyed a storied career at the University of Michigan, where he played for legendary coach Bo Schembechler and helped lead the Wolverines to two bowl appearances, garnering Big Ten Player of the Year honors.

Jim and his wife, Sarah, have two daughters, Addison and Katherine. Jim also has three children, Jay, James Jr. and Grace. He is the son of long-time college coach, Jack Harbaugh, the brother of Baltimore Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh, and the brother-in-law of Indiana University Men’s Basketball head coach, Tom Crean.

49ers Season Ends Prematurely

The 49ers set out to win the NFC West at the start of the season. It was an accomplishment that would have stopped the franchise’s streak of seven consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance. But on Monday, one day after the team finished at 6-10 and out of the postseason, players packed up their lockers and did their best to come to grips with a season that got away from them.

For most, the reality of packing up their belongings so early was a concept they never envisioned.

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Live Game Blog: 49ers vs. Cardinals

It’s Fan Appreciation Day at Candlestick Park for the 49ers final contest of the season.  Both the 49ers and Cardinals are 5-10 and the winner will finish third in the NFC West.  It’s been a busy week for the 49ers as Mike Singletary was let go after the team returned from a loss in St. Louis.  Jim Tomsula was named interim head coach and addressed the media on Monday.  Enthusiasm for his job is definitely not an issue for Tomsula, a former head coach in NFL Europa.

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