Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh: The Search for a Quarterback

The San Francisco 49ers went after Jim Harbaugh to be their head coach because they were looking for someone with an offensive background. After having two defensive-minded head coaches and a failure at finding a franchise quarterback it was very much welcomed by fans.

Harbaugh has proven he has an innate ability to develop successful quarterbacks after having successes with Josh Johnson at University of San Diego and turning Andrew Luck into a first overall pick in the NFL draft, whenever he decides to leave Stanford. 

Jim Harbaugh also has a history of evaluating quarterbacks and being "spot-on" as to their future NFL success.  Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area reports that when Harbaugh was with the Raiders back in 2002 and 2003 he was evaluating the quarterbacks in the NFL draft and giving them pre-draft grades.  "Harbaugh placed a second-round grade on Tony Romo, who went undrafted. He had a higher grade on Jaguars fourth-round draft pick David Garrard, who has been a solid NFL starter the past four seasons. Harbaugh did not have a good grade on Joey Harrington, the third overall pick of the Lions in 2002" according to Maiocco.


The 49ers have a lot of room on their roster for quarterbacks with only one quarterback under contract for the 2011 season, whenever it comes. Currently David Carr is under contract through the 2011 season but it is unlikely that he will be viewed as anything other than a backup quarterback.

Nate Davis, a fan favorite, will also not be in the discussion after signing a future contract last week with the Seattle Seahawks. Davis is next in line of former 49ers to join the Seahawks where Scot McCloughan, former 49ers GM, has a front office position.

Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh will first look in the NFL draft for their starting quarterback and with the #7 selection they will have some choices. Whether they use that pick on a quarterback is up to Baalke, who now has full control of the 53-man roster. Baalke and Harbaugh will also likely look at free agency and the trade market for a starting quarterback but unlike previous years that period will likely be after the NFL draft, which might work out for the 49ers.

With no new CBA signed, teams cannot trade players or sign free agents until a new CBA is agreed upon. If the CBA is not signed before the NFL draft then free agency will start after the draft. The advantage for teams like the 49ers is they will be able to trade their draft picks for upcoming years without a team trying to capture this year’s draft pick. Say for example, the 49ers trade their first-rounder next year for a quarterback like Kevin Kolb. It is likely that Kolb will lead them to a better season than they had this year and therefore the Eagles would get a pick that was not as good as this year.

***

49ers’ tight end Vernon Davis will be on the T.Ocho Show tonight on Versus. The show is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. (PST) and Davis will discuss the quarterback situation with former-49er Terrell Owens.