A few months ago, I had wjackalope come up with a new graphic featuring 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh and pending free agent QB Alex Smith. The graphic was part of a post detailing what appeared to be a developing man-crush Jim Harbaugh had on Alex Smith. It came following an interview in which Coach Harbaugh said:
I'm not gonna hide my feelings. I like Alex Smith. I like him as a football player, as a person, and he'll make the best decision for him. Some people say Alex Smith needs a fresh start, needs a new place to be or whatever. I say, 'Let that place be here."
I certainly won't deny the man his feelings, but that was really just the start of a budding fascination between Coach Harbaugh and Alex Smith. And now, Alex Smith has apparently gone out of his way to confirm the feeling might be somewhat mutual (thanks to Andrew9erfan for the FanShot linking this article). The SJ Mercury News article linked above mentioned public comments Alex Smith made to the Sacramento Bee and CSN Bay Area. Smith didn't want to be quoted, I'm assuming because of the lockout, free agency and any tampering concerns. Nonetheless, the Merc said this:
Smith, 26, did not want to be quoted directly but told reporters from the Sacramento Bee and Comcast Sports Net Bay Area they could summarize the gist of his comments. In short, the feeling is mutual between Smith and coach Jim Harbaugh, who has spoken optimistically all offseason about the quarterback's potential return.
This is starting to sound like study-hall or in-class passing of notes. Given how this situation is developing, and how the lockout is dragging along, do many people still think Smith won't be around when football picks back up at some point in the indeterminate future? Would anybody still be surprised to see him return?