Evaluating Jim Harbaugh’s trade value from the San Francisco 49ers is like a five tiered cake filled with candy, yet covered by steel. Coaches are rarely dealt and men like Harbaugh are never available. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate the NFL and sports.
DAN:
You know my feelings on coaches getting traded. I find the whole concept infinitely fascinating, and when it comes to Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers, I’m pulling up a seat front and center for what is about to go down.
All cards on the table, I’ve loved Jim Harbaugh since his days under center for the Indianapolis Colts. His coaching resume is quite impressive, most recently winning coach of the year in 2011 and taking the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2012. The team has fallen back to the pack this season, but I predicted a similar fall at the beginning of the year on this very column. Please shed some light on this inevitable trade situation. The 49ers are not a bad team. Harbaugh is a great coach, at worst good. What the hell man?
As a fan of a team that will be shopping for a coach this offseason, I want Jim Harbaugh. I want the New York Jets to trade for him and I don’t think ANY team will have to give up much to get him.
How does one evaluate a coach’s trade value? I’ve asked before, but now more than ever, we have a coach whose value is extremely hard to quantify. The man is 43-7-1 as head coach of the 49ers. He is 5-3 in the playoffs. San Francisco will most likely finish this season with a winning record once again. It’s not quite to the same extreme, but we have a Marty Schottenheimer situation on our hands.
I believe Jim Harbaugh is worth at least a second round pick, probably a late first rounder. That pick would be for the 2016 draft, with a 4th or 5th round pick coming in the upcoming 2015 NFL Draft. He knows quarterbacks and knows how to win. He’s won consistently in currently the most competitive division in football. What am I missing here?
Why are some NFL experts claiming Harbaugh is barely worth a 3rd round pick? That he isn’t worth trading for. I understand the apprehension towards trading for a coach, but second to quarterbacks, it’s the head coach that wins in the NFL.
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TODD:
There’s a lot going on here. First, Jim Harbaugh’s trade value is not going to be equal to Jim Harbaugh’s coaching acumen because everyone around the league knows he wants out of there and the CEO can’t stand him. The unpleasant relationship between he and Jed York is no secret to the public, let alone anyone within the league. Harbaugh apparently never backs down from an argument or a decision, even to his own boss.
Second, and along that same thread, Harbaugh is a known hard ass who has sullied his reputation in every stop he’s been in, including during his playing days. People just dislike the guy.
With those parameters in place though, I still think he’s worth multiple picks with one being at least a second-rounder. I’m with you on that.
Coaches are undervalued in the market because they are dealt so rarely. A legit, good coach can add multiple wins to an organization even if no other roster moves are made. We’ve seen it time and time again. When a big coaching upgrade is made during an offseason, analysts point to the removal of the bad coach and the addition of the good one as reasons a specific team will be better with little description of how exactly the players factor into it.
The interesting wrinkle here is how disappointing San Francisco has been this season and how truly bad Colin Kaepernick has played. Can any of Kaepernick’s failed maturation be pinned on Harbaugh? If so, perhaps he’s not the QB whisperer we all think.
This is just one more point that could lower his trade value, even if it’s not completely true.
In normal instances, “all it takes is one” to overvalue and overrate a piece. In this case, there will need to be two fighting over the coach’s services to drive up the price.
If, for example, both Oakland and the Jets feel they need Harbaugh to turn their respective franchise around and groom/teach a young quarterback, there is no telling how many draft picks one would have to give up.
If, however, just one team is contacting San Francisco about its head coach, they may be able to lean on the 49ers’ heavy desire to part ways with the man, and we could see a cheap addition indeed.