As anticipated as the Orange Bowl was for Stanford and Virginia Tech fans, it’s possible most sports fans were more intrigued by what would happen in the post-game press conference. Stanford Cardinal head coach Jim Harbaugh has been linked to everything from the 49ers and the University of Michigan to the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins. Andrew Luck has not yet announced whether he will enter the 2011 NFL Draft.
I have to believe some facts actually expected some kind of bombshell breaking news in the press conference. Instead, both Harbaugh and Luck did a masterful job heading off the media early on. Harbaugh was asked initially about whether this was his last game as Stanford head coach and he gave a sort of “Are you serious?” answer. There was an amusing an awkward pause as everybody realized he wasn’t going to talk about it.
Andrew Luck was subsequently asked about his future and he gave a short answer that basically said I need to talk it over with my parents and that’s all I’m going to say about it. Harbaugh responded with a similar response (minus the parents mention) after that.
Underclassmen have to declare for the draft by January 15, which means Andrew Luck has 11 days that will be filled with media speculation. Harbaugh has more time, but most people expect an answer by the end of the week. Either way we’ll have plenty of info on their decisions. You can follow our Luck decision stream (no relation to LeBron’s “The Decision”), our Harbaugh decision stream, and our 49ers GM/Coach search stream, all of which will have plenty on both those individuals.