The San Francisco 49ers take on the Oakland Raiders on Sunday afternoon in a must-win game for Jim Harbaugh’s squad. And barring some sort of change of direction in San Francisco, this will likely be Harbaugh’s final game as a 49ers coach against their cross-bay rivals.
The storylines are obvious, and some are even inevitable. By almost all accounts, Harbaugh and the 49ers will part ways following the 2014 season.
Rumors are now starting to swirl that the Raiders themselves are seen as favorites to land Harbaugh. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports even went as far to indicate the following.
Harbaugh, whose family has expressed a strong desire to remain in the Bay Area in the past, has Raiders ties, and several sources connected to emerging coaching searches believe Oakland will be his most serious suitor.
He also reported that Raiders owner Mark Davis is willing to pay big bucks to Harbaugh while giving the 49ers draft pick compensation.
This would be a solid fit for a number of reasons. As La Canfora reported, Harbaugh’s wife wants to stay on the west coast. The enigmatic head man also has a history with the Raiders franchise where he was the QB coach in 2002 and 2003.
With Harbaugh now solely focused on the NFL, Oakland does indeed seem to make a lot of sense here.
Photo: SF Examiner