Just when it looked like Stanford Cardinal head coach Jim Harbaugh was headed to the MIchigan Wolverines, Jed York and the San Francisco 49ers might have a deal that could trump that. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk reports that hauling in Michael Lombardi (a Bill Simmons favorite) for general manager would be enticing enough to bring Harbaugh over.
"Lombardi and Harbaugh have a close relationship," the source said, pointing out that they worked together in Oakland. "I think Lombardi is ending up there.
Now Trent Baalke was always supposed to be the favorite for the 49ers general manager spot, but that was probably contingent on Baalke being able to deliver Harbaugh. David White of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the reason Harbaugh and Baalke got together in the first place was that they shared the same agent.
Apparently, Florio is disputing that version of the truth.
So there are two general manager candidates--Baalke and Lombardi--and it's likely that if either of them are hired, both will be judged on their ability to get Harbaugh. Failure to do so and they'll already have a black mark on their record before the season has even started.
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