Bill Walsh came to the San Francisco 49ers with a profound
comprehension of passing offense, an impeccable eye for fine
quarterbacking and an aching desire to prove his promotion to NFL
head coach should have come sooner. What Walsh did not have upon
arrival in San Francisco was a quarterback with the goods to win a
Super Bowl.
OAKLAND
Bill Walsh came to the San Francisco 49ers with a profound comprehension of passing offense, an impeccable eye for fine quarterbacking and an aching desire to prove his promotion to NFL head coach should have come sooner.
What Walsh did not have upon arrival in San Francisco was a quarterback with the goods to win a Super Bowl.
So it is with Jim Harbaugh, who comes to the 49ers 32 years after Walsh.
Insofar as the 49ers are a blank slate at the most important position, Harbaugh is in position to identify and cultivate a quarterback. It’s imperative to his legacy.
Walsh didn’t become The Genius until he bought into and developed Joe Montana.
Harbaugh can’t become The Savior until he finds and develops his own Joe.
That’s Priority One, if not Job One. As Harbaugh fills out his staff and evaluates his current roster, he has to think about getting a quarterback. As he introduces himself about the DeBartolo Centre and grows accustomed to the smell of his office, the new coach has to be — and should be — preoccupied with finding a quarterback.
Developing quarterbacks is largely how Harbaugh made his rep as a coach. It’s what got him from the University of San Diego to Stanford and then to the 49ers.
He took a shy but skilled freshman named Andrew Luck and in two years at Stanford made him a Heisman Trophy candidate worthy of being the top pick in the NFL draft.
During Harbaugh’s three years as head coach at USD, he transformed a raw, talented athlete from Oakland Tech into a pro quarterback. Josh Johnson as a senior was so splendid — 40 touchdown passes, one interception — that he became the first player from the Division I-AA school to be drafted into the NFL.
That makes Harbaugh 2-for-2 with young quarterbacks; he tutored both into becoming among the best at their level. It’s a small sample size, but it calculates to 100 percent success.
So please understand if Alex Smith, having thrown his last pass for the 49ers five days before Harbaugh signed on, has a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. After six seasons under head coaches who were clueless about quarterback play, his old employers finally summon a guru.
That’s enough for the 49ers to place the QB portion of the roster in Harbaugh’s hands.
If he wants to empty the QB room, so be it. If he wants to dump Troy Smith and David Carr and Nate Davis, let ’em walk. If the quarterback whisperer sees enough upside in any of ’em — Davis, who turns 24 in May, could be particularly intriguing — that man gets to stick around.
If the coach wants to bring in a proven veteran such as, say, a discarded Donovan McNabb, it has to be considered. McNabb, who turns 35 in November but should have two or three years left, would be nothing more than a potential short-term solution.
If Harbaugh believes he can reach Vince Young, who has marvelous physical tools but is maturing at a snail’s pace, give him a chance. Young, who turns 28 in May, will be available and could play eight years.
If there is someone in the 2011 draft — Washington’s Jake Locker, Florida State’s Christian Ponder, Auburn’s Cam Newton to name three — whom Harbaugh likes, general manager Trent Baalke ought to fall all over himself to let the new coach make the call.
Harbaugh spent 15 years as an NFL quarterback. He has spent nine years coaching them. He has earned faith.
This is not to imply Harbaugh comes with a guarantee. He’s now at the highest level, where the stakes are higher and the degree of difficulty is multiplied. Aren’t we still waiting for Jon Gruden, who drafted Johnson out of USD, to develop a quarterback? Mike Shanahan, who inherited Hall of Famers Steve Young and John Elway, has yet to identify and cultivate a star QB.
But Harbaugh’s track record is persuasive — just as Walsh’s was when he came to San Francisco.
As a Cincinnati Bengals assistant, Walsh tutored a rookie named Greg Cook — his all-time favorite QB. When Cook’s career was cut short by injury, Walsh went to Division III Augustana College and found Ken Anderson, whom some say should be in Canton.
Walsh followed that at Stanford by molding Steve Dils into a Sammy Baugh Award winner — after which he joined the 49ers, where he found and coached Montana and Young and, later, provided the lone authoritative voice insisting Jeff Garcia belonged in the NFL.
The 49ers once trusted Walsh to know what his offense needed. History says he did.
The Niners now must trust Harbaugh to know what he needs. They have no choice.
— Column by Monte Poole, The Oakland Tribune
