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Jim Harbaugh‘s first two seasons went about as smoothly as possible with the San Francisco 49ers. 2013 was supposed to be more of the same, as the 49ers were once again a popular Super Bowl pick this offseason. Things got off to a great start in week one, but ever since then, his team has looked lost. On top of that, Harbaugh is under fire for the way he handled the Aldon Smith situation this past weekend.
After his second arrest for suspicion of DUI in less than two years, Harbaugh didn’t see anything wrong with playing his star OLB on Sunday. Hindsight is always 20/20, but you didn’t need hindsight to see that the head coach made a mistake by playing him. First off, the young man clearly has a substance abuse problem that he needs to address. That’s been made clear by the fact that he’ll enter an in-patient rehab facility immediately. Harbaugh put his will to win, in front of Smith’s well-being. On top of that, he sent a horrible message to his team by letting a someone take the field following a serious arrest.
The 49ers then proceeded to get smoked by the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, which apparently led to a spat between Harbaugh and Frank Gore. As they say, winning cures all, but losing brings out the worst.
Related: Frank Gore, Jim Harbaugh Reportedly Have Spat
So for the first time in his professional coaching career, Harbaugh has some real work to do to get this 49ers team together. They’ll be without their star d-end this Thursday and they’ve got a ton to iron out in the passing game. The Niners will travel east to take on the St. Louis Rams, who have given them fits as of late. The loser will go to 1-3 on the young season and if you think things are starting to spiral a little out of control in the Bay Area right now, just wait and see what happens if the Rams pull out a win.
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