Jim Harbaugh will become the next head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, it is being reported now. He is expected to receive a five-year, $25 million contract on Friday afternoon. Harbaugh was sought after by the Michigan Wolverines, the Miami Dolphins and the Denver Broncos, but ultimately the Niners were the team that won out.
Early on Friday, it looked like a good bet that Harbaugh would stay at Stanford, but the money the Niners appear to have given him may have been enough to sway him.
The Niners fired Mike Singletary after week 16, and the team finished 6-10, third in the NFC West. Singletary became the Niners head coach in 2008 after week 8 when Mike Nolan was fired. He led them to a 5-4 record over the last nine games of the season and then to an 8-8 record in 2009. That was the team's best record since 2002 when they went 10-6 and made the playoffs.
Harbaugh will now be expected to make San Francisco a quick winner, given his success in turning around the Stanford Cardinal.