Last week, word came out that the 49ers had hired former Washington State head coach Paul Wulff as an offensive assistant. Although the 49ers have never officially announced the hiring, it sounds like Wulff has been working with the team now for a few weeks.
Christian Caple, WSU beat writer for the Spokesman-Review, put together an update today with a few more comments from Coach Wulff. Although Wulff's job is as a general offensive assistant, he is reportedly spending most of his on-field time with the offensive line. He is joining the rest of the new folks in learning the playbook and helping where he can:
"This first week and a half I've just been trying to learn the scheme, the terminology. It's pretty large right now," Wulff said. "Like anybody, I'm learning the whole playbook so I understand. When you're not 100 percent confident, you go a little slower and right now I'm spending a lot of my time on the field learning the script, a lot of formations and plays.
A later quotation said a lot about the 49ers coaching staff and particularly the way Jim Harbaugh works with his assistants:
"And they do a great job here of having everybody involved, and it's not about who gets the credit. Everyone's chipping in everywhere they can. It's a big part of why I wanted to be a part of Jim's staff. Great continuity, nobody with egos. It wasn't about individuals."
At times I've written about how Coach Harbaugh's attitude and manner would attract free agent players. It is easy to overlook the kinds of coaches he can bring to his staff. He put together a strong coaching staff at Stanford, and brought many of them with him to the 49ers. He is also showing a proclivity to bring in former head coaches. Prior to Coach Wulff, Coach Harbaugh initially hired former South Florida coach Jim Leavitt, who works as linebackers coach.
While this isn't quite like the Abraham Lincoln "Team of Rivals", Coach Harbaugh has brought in all sorts of minds to help get the 49ers to the promise land. Whatever his thoughts about his own abilities, at the end of the day, Coach Harbaugh wants to win, and he will bring in the best coaches and players to do that.