Earlier this week, 49ers running back Brandon Jacobs took a few minutes to chat with Jim Rome on his show on CBS Sports Network. The interview was a bit slow-starting, but once Jacobs got a bit more comfortable, he opened up with a variety of interesting comments. He touched on his reasons for leaving the Giants, his potential role with the 49ers, Coach Harbaugh, and a few comments about Randy Moss. I've posted video of the interview after the jump, if you want to check it out.
Jacobs provided about as much honesty as you'll ever hear from a professional athlete. Rome asked him why he left the Giants, and he said it was about the money, with a couple hundred thousand dollars being the difference. Normally we hear nonsense about respect, playing time, and so forth, but Jacobs came straight to the point with his reason.
Rome asked Jacobs what kind of role he was expecting in San Francisco, and as we have heard from other free agents and draft picks, he said he does not know specifically. I would imagine he has a bit of an idea following offseason training activities, but even if he isn't 100% sure of his role, we could be looking for quite the wide open competition in training camp.
Rome asked Jacobs what he thought of Jim Harbaugh, and Jacobs comments confirmed what we have seen and heard to date from the rest of the team. He was enthused about him and said he was not a coach, so much as a teammate:
He understands what we're going through as players. He played and he played at a high level. he knows what it's like for us to go through what we go through. He's so easy to communicate with. So far, I love it.
This isn't shocking, but to hear someone describe more as a peer than as a coach is an interesting point. Coach Harbaugh is only 48, so even though he has been out of the league for the entire careers of most of his team (the exceptions are Randy Moss, David Akers and Brian Jennings), he still has the kind of experience to relate to his players. It is a really interesting dynamic that we don't seem to see with a lot of teams.
Jacobs wrapped up the interview talking about Randy Moss. He echoed the comments we've heard from just about everybody else this offseason. He described him as motivated and ready to go, including some interesting comments from Moss, "His motivation level is high. he's got a chip on his shoulder. He starts off everything with 'Just wait. Just wait til....'" I remain incredibly anxious for the start of the preseason to see what Randy Moss still has in the tank when hitting starts.
Brandon Jacobs with Jim Rome