Harbaugh's Passing Experience Strikes Deep

Is a good coach like a good CEO? We know, thanks to Jim Harbaugh of the 49ers, that a mediocre team, can, without changing much of the personnel, become great with a new leader in charge. One change at the top, and a sad sack turns into a championship contender. But how? Nancy Ross knows how. She's an executive coach. Usually in the employ of Silicon Valley technology companies...

The Giants just better hope that the most dangerous quarterback on the field at old Candlestick Park isn’t a tough old Michigan quarterback named Jim Harbaugh, who in one year as the coach of the 49ers has brought his team to a 14-3 record, back to the NFC Championship Game, back to this kind of moment for the 49ers. In just one year in San Francisco, his first year there, he has...

If the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones can learn anything as bystanders in the NFL playoffs, it's that defense is what matters. It goes beyond seeing two of the NFL's most prolific offenses, the Saints and Packers, bounced in the divisional round. It's about how teams are built and where foundations need to be laid. The Cowboys clearly don't have a foundation on defense...

SANTA CLARA, Calif. When addressing his 49ers this week, Jim Harbaugh can point to the monumental miss in his 15-year NFL career: He came a Hail Mary short of making the Super Bowl. His big brother, John, never played at football's highest level and instead might motivate his Baltimore Ravens with examples of sacrifices by military members in real-life conflicts.

At 6:20 a.m. Thursday, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh emerged from his second-story office to stand on the balcony above his team’s practice fields along Centennial Boulevard. He surveyed the morning sky a shade of red and interpreted the color’s significance for Sunday.

A season of rebirth has come full circle for the 49ers, who are hosting the NFC Championship Game against the New York Giants on Sunday just one year after a six-win season. The Jim Harbaugh era has just begun and nobody knows how it ultimately will play out, but there’s a sense the best is yet to come after a stunning turnaround season that almost defies description. And it’s not done yet.

Jim Harbaugh relishes the challenges at all turns. Since he signed on with San Francisco, the 49ers who went 6-10 last year and missed the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season have morphed into a 14-3 team.

CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTYJim Harbaugh is taking the San Francisco 49ers to the next level in first season as head coach.By Mike Lupica - NY Dailynews 1/19/12

The season began with fans brawling in the stands, and a quarterback who didn't seem worth fighting for. San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) is greeted by head coach Jim Harbaugh after scoring on a 14-yard touchdown reception against the New Orleans Saints during the fourth quarter of an NFL divisional playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in San Francisco...

Also, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh calls Giants a 'cruel' team

When addressing his 49ers players this week, Jim Harbaugh can point to the monumental miss in his 15-year NFL career: He came a Hail Mary short of making the Super Bowl.

The expected aerial show for the NFC championship has given way to what shapes up as a hard-hitting affair between franchises that were rivals from the past. The San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants have met seven times in the postseason, and the winner of the latest edition of this classic rivalry Sunday at Candlestick Park will advance to the Super Bowl. San Francisco and...