Is this part of why the Browns surprisingly fired Rob Chudzinski and were willing to let their fairly respected coordinators walk before being the last team to hire a head coach this offseason? Because they thought they were going to land a head coach who'd been to three straight championship games in Jim Harbaugh?
That's the story that came down yesterday from ProFootballTalk, which cited multiple league sources. Harbaugh is under contract to the 49ers through the 2015 season, but it sounds like there's a rift between him and the front office. A report from Maiocco on csnbayarea.com has a source saying the Niners don't want to pay Harbaugh like a Super Bowl-winning coach until he wins a Super Bowl.
Is the report of a trade to Cleveland true? The 49ers, not surprisingly, deny it, as does Harbaugh. But the Browns themselves were vague, spinning their line about an exhaustive search and being happy with Mike Pettine, the former Buffalo defensive coordinator.
It seems safe to say there's some validity to the story; these things don't come out of nowhere. And while it matters little to the Browns -- everyone knows they tried to hire different people before settling on Pettine -- it's a worrying sign for the 49ers. If Harbaugh, GM Trent Baalke and CEO Jed York aren't on the same page, it's bound to be an issue in the next year or two.
--Andy Richardson