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Earlier this month, word broke that Jim Harbaugh had been in talks with former Jets and Browns head coach Eric Mangini to fill a consultant role. Nothing appears to have come of this thus far, but there's plenty of offseason left.
It is worth noting, however, that when this news broke, Matt Maiocco reported Coach Harbaugh had also spoken with retired De La Salle football coach Bob Ladouceur. According to Maiocco, Harbaugh spoke with Ladouceur about "the possibility of helping him with ideas concerning team dynamics." Any thoughts on what that might mean?
Coach Ladouceur spent 34 seasons with De La Salle, which is based on Concord, across the Bay and over the Oakland Hills from San Francisco. De La Salle had never had a winning season before Ladouceur arrived, but he turned them into a national powerhouse. From 1992-2004, the team went undefeated, winning 151 straight games. By the time he retired, Ladouceur teams had compiled a record of 399-25-3, and brought home 17 California state championships and seven various "national" championships. Not too shabby.
If you're looking for some light reading material, you can check out this transcript of a speech he gave (PDF). It appears to be directed at other coaches, but I'm not entirely sure. It's pretty lengthy, but it's a holiday weekend, so you've got some time!
I could see how a high school coach would be a good guy to have around for team dynamics. With the NFL, players are paid and generally hoped to act as professionals. It doesn't always work, but that's the idea. In college, you've got a lot of players on scholarship, and while it's not quite getting "paid", there are some similarities in the dynamic. For high school football, it strikes me as much more independent given that players are doing it "for the love of the game" and that kind of thing. It seems like a high school coach would have much more to deal with in that "team dynamic". Maybe there is some value to be gained from that kind of insight?