Jim Harbaugh has his 49ers team playing well heading into the postseason. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
It seems San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh has an obsession with Judge Judy. On more than one occasion, Harbaugh has managed to inject her names into answers he gives in press conferences.
Last week, Harbaugh was asked about various reports that have connected him with the head coaching opening at the University of Texas.
Harbaugh insisted he has no interest and “absolutely” plans to stay in San Francisco for a long time. He then lectured the media on the use of unnamed sources.
Harbaugh said, “In Judge Judy’s court, hearsay is not admissible evidence. I think we can all agree that an unnamed source is hearsay. I see unnamed sources related to many of these topics. And it’s my point that an unnamed source is hearsay. And in the court of public opinion, why would you give any of that credibility?
Last February at the Scouting Combine, Harbaugh was talking about the importance of players being truthful during their interviews with teams.
He said, “Somebody that’s not truthful, that’s big, to me. I’m a big fan of the Judge Judy show. And when you lie in Judge Judy’s courtroom, it’s over. Your credibility is completely lost. You have no chance of winning that case. So I learned that from her.
“It’s very powerful, and true. Because if somebody does lie to you, how can you ever trust anything they ever say after that? Ronald Reagan, another person of great wisdom and advice, said, ‘Trust but we will verify.'”
Kyle Speaks
There aren’t enough rings for the circus that has been the Washington Redskins in recent weeks, but offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan came out with guns blazing last week when he denied virtually every rumor that has been linked to him amid the chaos.
There was the one about Shanahan coming to the conclusion that he didn’t want to work on his father’s staff anymore and another claiming he doesn’t have a good relationship with quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Of course, the latter one occurred after Kyle Shanahan publicly said he didn’t agree with his father’s decision to bench Griffin. Figure that one out.
Shanahan began his comments by admitting, “I was definitely bothered by it. I never had somebody attack me personally so it definitely bothered me.”
Talking about those who have criticized the team’s play-calling, he said, “Not many people are educated enough to know what we’re doing, but I get that it’s part of the territory. It’s bad play-calling. It’s OK, I can look at it that way, too. When people attack stuff personally and say stuff about people who are good people who have earned their jobs and worked their tail off and people who are, … bitter, … I have zero respect for those people.”
He said the story about not wanting to work with his father was totally wrong. As for Griffin, he said, “It sounds like there’s a report about everything now. It’s pretty boring to talk about our three wins. So there’s a lot of stuff out there. Some things, there are partial truths to, but when it comes to working with Robert, no one works with Robert but myself and the QB coach and we love working with Robert. He’s great to coach.”
Jerry, the GM
The essence of the Dallas Cowboys is owner Jerry Jones being the team’s general manager. All personnel decisions go through him. It is often debated, with a common feeling being that the team’s issues are traced to Jones’ presence as the decision-maker. Of course, talking about it is wasteful because it won’t change in the near future.
In the wake of the Cowboys’ meltdown against the Packers in Week 15, Jones acknowledged there is “inadequacy” in personnel, but dismissed the notion that hiring a general manager would make things better. Why? Quite simply, whoever it is would report to Jones. So, he figures the middle man might as well be eliminated.
On an appearance on 105.3 The Fan, Jones said, “It’s often said, ‘Why don’t I get someone to be the GM? Why don’t I get someone to pick the players?’ Well, who in the world do you think that person, when they walk through the door and say, ‘We want to get this player, and we want to pay this player,’ what in the world do you think I’m going to do?
“I’m going to sit down, and I’m going to go through it, and I’m going to say, ‘Show me the player before I write the check. Show me the player. And let me see everything about the player.’ Well, rather than have that happen, I get involved in it and get to know everything there is to know about the players before they get through the door.”
No Hard Feelings
Despite being lost for the season with a broken jaw, Cincinnati Bengals punter Kevin Huber said he had no problem with the hit leveled on him by the Steelers’ Terence Garvin in a Week 15 game. Garvin was not penalized, but was fined $25,000 for the hit on a defenseless player even though Huber was trying to make a tackle.
An NFL rule provides defenseless player protection to punters and kickers through the play, even when they are looking to tackle the ball carrier.
Huber blamed himself for kicking the ball down the middle of the field, and it was returned by Antonio Brown for a touchdown. He also said he certainly didn’t expect to get an apology from Garvin.
He said, “If some guy would call to apologize for every hit they made, guys would be on the phone all the time. I’m not expecting any calls.”
As for the hit, Huber said, “There’s not really much I can do about it now. Me getting mad and stressed about it is only going to make it harder to get through. It is what it is. It’s part of the game, I know, big hits. Unfortunately I got one of the big hits and I got hurt and I have to deal with it. I’ll be fine. I’ll be back next year. It’s unfortunate and disappointing I can’t be playing right now, going forward in these last couple of games to get into the playoffs. I can get mad all I want, but what’s that going to do?”
