If, as Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle recently reported, coach Jim Harbaugh’s “act has worn pretty thin” in the locker room, especially with some “face of the 49ers” players, receiver Anquan Boldin isn’t one of them.
“He had a big role in me coming back,” Boldin said of Harbaugh in a conference call conducted in connection with his new two-year contract, via audio of a media conference call distributed by the team. “You know, he’s a guy I had a real good relationship with. Me and him were able to talk about anything. And I just like his demeanor, the way he approaches the game. He’s a guy that wants to win. I’m the exact same way. So I think we mesh pretty good. I mean, like I said, he was just good to me the entire year. You know, I think the whole, the entire organization was. LIke I said, I was accepted right away. I think they used me in the right way. So me and coach Harbaugh have a pretty good relationship.”
From Boldin’s perspective, there are no players who feel that way.
“I don’t think anybody in the locker room, you know, has an issue with Coach Harbaugh,” Boldin said. “The way our locker room is built, I mean, we have an open-door policy. If anybody has a concern or wants to voice their opinion, I mean, they’re more than welcome to. There have been times we have voiced our concerns as players, and Coach Harbaugh has listened to us and taken into consideration how we felt as players.
“I don’t think there’s any rift between players and coaches, particularly Coach Harbaugh. Like I said, he has a great rapport with all of the guys that I know of. I heard of no griping in the locker room when it comes to Coach Harbaugh.”
Look for other players eventually to be asked about the situation when the media has an opportunity to do. While it has no relevance to the widespread reports of tension between Harbaugh and the front office, the 2014 season becomes much more manageable if the players aren’t truly griping about their coach.