In response to mounting reports and rumors that the Raiders have pursued Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, his agent claims that the Raiders and Harbaugh “did not meet recently.”
The report appears on National Football Post, a web site that agent Jack Bechta partially owns.
“There is no truth to the rumors that Jim Harbaugh or I have met with the Raiders,” Bechta said. “Further, Jim has not interviewed with nor been offered the head coaching job of the Oakland Raiders. Jim and Al [Davis] have a very special relationship full of mutual respect. However, the rumors circulating are absolutely false.”
In fairness, the report is essentially a press release, given Bechta’s partial ownership of NFP.
And, in reality, it’s critical for Harbaugh, via Bechta, to shoot down any reports regarding a possible departure from Stanford, given that recruiting season is reaching its final stages. Otherwise, other schools vying for the kids Harbaugh hopes to sign to letters of intent in early February will use the lingering uncertainty against Harbaugh.
So, as a practical matter, the denial is roughly as valuable as a declaration that Harbaugh isn’t going to be the Alabama coach.