Jim Harbaugh comfortable in chaos

BySETH WICKERSHAM
October 7, 2014, 11:25 AM

— -- I just knew Jim Harbaugh would end up where he is now, 10 yards downfield from me on a fall Thursday afternoon, playing catch. No way could he resist.

He's wearing his usual outfit -- black  49ers sweatshirt over a black 49ers T-shirt, black 49ers hat and cheap khakis with a can of dip protruding from the back pocket -- and not showing signs of the tension I'm here to explore: why, exactly, his methods seem to have a shelf life.

His talent at turning losers into winners is matched only by his propensity to piss off people in the process. He's in his fourth year with the 49ers, a team that before he arrived was in a decade-long morass. But after three NFC Championship Game appearances and a close loss in Super Bowl XLVII, the team seems to have all but concluded that unless this season ends with a championship, Harbaugh's way of winning is probably unsustainable.

Many successful coaches can be jerks, of course. But in San Francisco, it's gotten strangely personal.

I had happened upon a video of Harbaugh instructing high school quarterbacks, and when he picked up a ball, he seemed to come alive, energized by the power and possibilities at his command. It made me want to throw with him. You can learn a lot about someone playing catch, including why they grate on people. There's a late-night bar story told in NFL circles about Peyton Manning's free-agent visit with the 49ers in 2012. Harbaugh and Manning were throwing the ball, so it goes, when the coach couldn't help but remark that his passes had more mustard on them than the still-rehabbing future Hall of Famer's did. You can guess how that went over.

Harbaugh tried to steer me toward profiling one of his assistant coaches or players. But it was catch and he is, at heart, a quarterback. "I'll throw with you," he said. "But I'm not sure I'll answer questions."