49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is down in Florida for the week-long spring owner meetings and he had a chance to chat with the media during the NFC coaches breakfast. Aaron Wilson tweeted out some quotations and Ian Rappaport of the Boston Herald put together a story with a few additional quotations. As Matt Maiocco tweeted, it really was quintessential Coach Harbaugh.
The money quotes were related to the team's signing of wide receiver Randy Moss. We often hear about Moss' reportedly mercurial nature, and naturally the media wanted to hear Coach Harbaugh's thoughts on how he approached the signing of Moss.
My favorite line had to be his response to the mention that Moss is viewed as a complicated guy. In response, Harbaugh said, "Some people would say you're a complicated guy. Some people would say I'm a complicated guy. Really, I was around him one day." Coach Harbaugh went on to explain that he did not talk to Bill Belichick or Dennis Green about Moss, in part because their view of Moss three years ago or ten years ago is not relevant today:
What's going to tell the whole story is from now, the offseason, through training camp, those day to day interactions, how he competes on the field, I mean, that's going to determine the reality. What your perception is right now or what Bill Belichick's perception of him was or a different coach is really irrelevant right now. The reality is, it's going to play out over the next 6 months and into the season...
While it is entirely possible Moss will flame out and be gone by the end of training camp, I don't think it will be because of attitude issues. The media has reported plenty about Moss over the years, but Coach Harbaugh seems quite comfortable in his approach to players. If Moss doesn't work out I would see it more likely happening because he has lost a step. I don't know if that is the case at this point, but the 49ers have done a solid job developing a strong locker room.