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The end of the Jim Harbaugh era has brought plenty of comments from players on the team. The most notable comments probably belong to Colin Kaepernick, because he was essentially the first "Jim Harbaugh guy". Alex Smith was the starting quarterback Harbaugh's first year, and Aldon Smith was the 49ers first round pick in 2011, but Kap was Harbaugh's pick. While Trent Baalke and his football operations staff have been in charge of personnel, Harbaugh got to find his quarterback.
Kaepernick spoke with the media after the game, but first he spoke with Laura Okmin on Saturday:
Fox's @LauraOkmin said @Kaepernick7 gushed over Jim Harbaugh last nite: "He's been behind me from the start. he drafted me, made the...
— Mark Conley (@MarkConley) December 28, 2014
decision to start me and when i was falsely accused of sexual assault, he was the only one to publicly stand up for me."...
— Mark Conley (@MarkConley) December 28, 2014
"He's a great coach but even a greater man. He's meant so much to my career and to my life."
— Mark Conley (@MarkConley) December 28, 2014
Kap spoke to the media after the game, and reiterated the support he received from Jim Harbaugh through the first four seasons of his career. It is clear he values what Harbaugh did for him, although he would not go so far as to say he would root for Michigan. He said he is "a big fan of Coach Harbaugh, not too sure about Michigan." He's a Nevada guy, but remember he was born in Wisconsin, so maybe if he had to choose a Big Ten school, it would be the Badgers.
Whatever the case, he seems prepared to move on and see what the next head coach has to bring. The big question with the next coach is how the offensive game plan will look. This is a team that started under Harbaugh as a power offense, but this season seemed to try and become more spread out. The $10,000 question (or I suppose millions of dollars) is what will happen next with the offense. If Jim Tomsula is the next head coach, the offensive coordinator becomes an even bigger deal. If an offensive-minded coach gets the job, it is not quite the same issue.
There will be plenty of questions like this to be answered in the coming days, weeks and months.