Ex-San Francisco 49ers receiver Jerry Rice doesn't believe coach Jim Harbaugh will be back next season. Rice's remarks follow the steadily growing number of reports indicating a riff between Harbaugh and the team.
Harbaugh reportedly came close to being traded last season to the Cleveland Browns for a pair of late-round draft picks. Although the trade didn't happen, a number of reports - ones indicating a rift between Harbaugh and the front office, along with some of the veteran players losing their trust in him - have emerged since then.
Where there's smoke there's fire, and Rice weighed in on the situation with Pro Football Now.
"I think he's gone," Rice said, according to Sports Illustrated. "... With Jim Harbaugh, there's a lot of questions out there right now. We don't really know if he wants to come back and be the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers ... Maybe that's starting to wear and tear on the team and it's taking its toll."
Rice also spoke about how the purported friction between Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke might be affecting the locker room.
"The team, they try to say, 'Well, we're not affected by it.' But you are, because (the coach and the GM) have to make very crucial decisions that are really going to benefit the team," said Rice. "There's a lot going on with that organization right now and I think it's starting to hurt the players down there in the locker room."
With the 49ers seemingly asking a low price for Harbaugh, it's possible they try moving him again in the offseason. While a report from Pro Football Talk said Harbaugh would "love" to stay in the Bay Area and coach the Oakland Raiders, it's possible the Atlanta Falcons could pursue him and give him an offer too good to pass up.
