SB XLVII Coach Quotebook

This week will be an onslaught of quotes, tidbits, anecdotes and facts you could live without….here’s some from the Harbaugh brothers you might want to read:

Jim on how much Bo Schembechler as a coach is a role model to him: “Next to my dad, right on the same level as my dad is Bo Schembechler. He is one of the greatest coaches to ever coach the game. I have also studied Woody Hayes quite extensively. I believe those two men, along with my dad, in my mind, young mind and old mind today, the three coaches that I try most to emulate.”

Jim on the impact the loss to the Giants last year had on this year and the success: “Life is full of bitter disappointments, and that was one. We were not defeated. You can kill a man but you can’t defeat him, not as long as he has hope. We started from ground zero to approach a new season.”

John on whether he was confident that making the offensive coordinator change was the right move to make: “The first thing about that to understand is that, I think it was part of a progression to become as good as we could possibly be. Coach Cameron, who is a good friend of mine and all of our coaches and all of our players, continues to have a great relationship with everyone to this day. He is a big part of our success. He is a big part of what we built here. He laid a foundation and had lots of success and obviously won a lot of football games. He laid the foundation for what we’re going through right now. He did a lot of hard work and had a lot of good ideas that helped to build that, because we felt we had to do something to jumpstart us for a lot of different reasons, whatever those reasons are, it was successful. I don’t think that lessens Cam’s contribution to that success.”

John on what coach has inspired him the most other than his father, Jack: “Well looking at you I think of Tom Crean right away. Stand up for the cameras so they can take a look at you, you’re a Tom Crean look alike. You know, you talk about Bo Schembechler. We grew up with Coach Schembechler, and (with) Bo, Woody (Hayes), ‘The Ten Year War’, all those kinds of things, That’s a foundation for all of us. I would say Jim (Harbaugh) probably, and Tom. Those are the guys we talk to almost every single day during the offseason and sometimes during the season just about coaching and issues we have. So we try to keep it in the family.”

Jim on wearing the pen around his neck during the game: “Well I take great offense that you call it a necklace. It’s a whistle. It’s a coaches’ whistle that coaches have long worn around their neck. I believe every coach should have a whistle. It’s hard to imagine going out to practice without a whistle. Then I just put a pen onto the whistle string. It’s not complicated at all. If I need a pen it’s just right there.”