:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/44283426/456295386.0.jpg)
San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh met with the media on Friday to wrap up the week before Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders. During the latter portion, Harbaugh brought up the questions about Colin Kaepernick's press conference performance. He mentioned people ragging on him for the low number of words in each answer.
We'll have the transcript for you first thing tomorrow morning, but the general gist of Harbaugh's comments was that getting wordy would have been phony for Kap. Here are a few of the comments he had about the issue:
Harbaugh: People tallying Kap’s responses, it’s sad b/c you don’t know him, he’s a determined person, spiritual person, very hard worker
— Niners Nation (@NinersNation) December 5, 2014
Harbaugh on Kap: If he’s not chatty, he’s not gonna be chatty. He’s single-minded when he’s playing game of football, and preparing for game
— Niners Nation (@NinersNation) December 5, 2014
Harbaugh: He’s his own person, I appreciate the honesty. His jaw is set, he’s team player all the way. That’s what he’s doing, he’s working
— Niners Nation (@NinersNation) December 5, 2014
Harbaugh: Face of franchise QB should be great leader, by example how he works. Team player all the way. What’s in his heart is about team
— Niners Nation (@NinersNation) December 5, 2014
None of these comments are remotely surprising, and I'm pretty sure nobody thought Harbaugh would throw his quarterback under the bus on this. He was going to be behind Kap 100 percent. We've heard plenty of chatter about Harbaugh and the locker room, but publicly, he supports his guys. While he might wear on them behind the scenes, I would imagine his public support is something they value.
I am sure things get ragged from time to time, and there are problems with coaches and players. And yet, I remain skeptical that things have ever been all that bad between Jim Harbaugh and his players. I don't doubt that people have told Rapoport, Glazer, Deion and others that there are problems. I just think there have been exaggerations by somebody. Whether it be players, front office, agents, or who knows, I think the decline in these stories in recent weeks indicates it was not as big an issue as one would imagine. It is instead somebody with an axe to grind in some form or fashion, blowing things out of proportion.