For the first time during this entire Jim Harbaugh situation, a San Francisco 49ers player has talked publicly about the future of the suddenly embattled head coach.
And it’s not too much of a surprise that the individual speaking up is offensive tackle Anthony Davis, who has been among the most outspoken players in the National Football League over the years.
In case you don’t remember, Davis sent out a not-so-cryptic tweet on Wednesday that seemingly threw shade at current 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
Following up on that and more, Davis opened up about Harbaugh’s future in San Francisco.
I think everybody knows.
Take that for what it’s worth. But it is the first time that a current member of the team has spoken publicly about the fact that Harbaugh will likely parts way with the 49ers following their season finale Sunday afternoon against the Arizona Cardinals.
The more interesting dynamic here is that Davis pretty much indicated that San Francisco’s coaching staff wasted a lot of talent on the roster by utilizing a scheme that didn’t fit to the team’s strengths.
I don’t think it’s that complicated what we need to do. … I know what we don’t need.
49ers beat writer Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group went on to indicate that Davis prefers a power-running game, something that the team utilized during its successful run to the NFC Championship game and beyond in each of the previous three seasons.
Unfortunately for Davis, it’s highly unlikely that San Francisco will employ this strategy with its new head coach. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick seems more comfortable running a spread attack or some variation of it. Depending on who comes in to replace Harbaugh and whether he’s an offensive-minded head coach, we could be looking at a complete overhaul of San Francisco’s offensive scheme. That overhaul could include a power running, west coast offense and a spread attack.
Davis’ message regarding Harbaugh is likely the most we can take out of a Friday that was filled with rumors and innuendo. From reports that Michigan’s brass is in the Bay Area to sell Harbaugh on the job to other suggestions that a back-deal contract has been agreed to, the Harbaugh story is starting to become silly.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport summed up the recent events and what it means for the Harbaugh situation over the next 96 hours or so.
Before Jim Harbaugh meets with Michigan or (the) Raiders, the plan is to handle his #49ers commitments first. But both sides will be ready.
The working knowledge here in the land of reality is that Harbaugh has not met with officials from Michigan, who are down on the ground in Northern California to help sell the program to the successful NFL head coach. He’s also likely going to see what the Raiders have to offer before outright deciding to go to Ann Arbor.
None of this can happen until Monday, which is the earliest that anything will be decided on the Harbaugh front. Until then, everything we read is either speculation or an educated guess based on conjecture.
We do, however, know that Harbaugh’s final game as San Francisco’s head coach will be Sunday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium against the Arizona Cardinals.
Davis pretty much admitted this on Friday.