I never knew that??? This article from 2012...Mike Tannenbaum recalls 'dynamic, smart' Jim Harbaugh in 2009 interview for Jets job
NEW ORLEANS -- One of the coaches in Super Bowl XLVII was once a candidate for the Jets' head coaching job.
That would be the 49ers' Jim Harbaugh, who made the jump to the NFL head coaching ranks in 2011. Back in 2009, when the Jets were searching for a head coach and Harbaugh had just completed his second season at Stanford, the club secretly interviewed Harbaugh during a West Coast trip that also included a meeting with Russ Grimm in Arizona.
Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum's impression of Harbaugh in that interview: "Dynamic. Smart. Could light up a room."
The Jets, though, hired Rex Ryan that year, who led the team to AFC Championship Games in his first two seasons but has missed the playoffs the past two years.
Harbaugh has been quickly successful in his first two seasons in the NFL, taking the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game last year and the Super Bowl this year.
When the Jets interviewed Harbaugh, he had a 9-15 record in two seasons at Stanford after three seasons as head coach at the University of San Diego. He had a 15-year NFL playing career as a quarterback but his only coaching experience at the professional level was two years as an offensive assistant for the Raiders. The perception was he may have been still relatively green to come to the NFL.
"It was one of those things where I think everyone kinda felt like – we felt good about Rex, I think he felt good about where he was," Tannenbaum said this week during a round of interviews. "I can’t speak for Jim. That wouldn't be fair to me to say. It was just one of those things where both parties just went their respective ways."
NEW ORLEANS -- One of the coaches in Super Bowl XLVII was once a candidate for the Jets' head coaching job.
That would be the 49ers' Jim Harbaugh, who made the jump to the NFL head coaching ranks in 2011. Back in 2009, when the Jets were searching for a head coach and Harbaugh had just completed his second season at Stanford, the club secretly interviewed Harbaugh during a West Coast trip that also included a meeting with Russ Grimm in Arizona.
Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum's impression of Harbaugh in that interview: "Dynamic. Smart. Could light up a room."
The Jets, though, hired Rex Ryan that year, who led the team to AFC Championship Games in his first two seasons but has missed the playoffs the past two years.
Harbaugh has been quickly successful in his first two seasons in the NFL, taking the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game last year and the Super Bowl this year.
When the Jets interviewed Harbaugh, he had a 9-15 record in two seasons at Stanford after three seasons as head coach at the University of San Diego. He had a 15-year NFL playing career as a quarterback but his only coaching experience at the professional level was two years as an offensive assistant for the Raiders. The perception was he may have been still relatively green to come to the NFL.
"It was one of those things where I think everyone kinda felt like – we felt good about Rex, I think he felt good about where he was," Tannenbaum said this week during a round of interviews. "I can’t speak for Jim. That wouldn't be fair to me to say. It was just one of those things where both parties just went their respective ways."
