By Jerry McDonald
Oakland Tribune

INDIANAPOLIS — The last time Hue Jackson and Jim Harbaugh were linked was Jan. 5 and 6, when they were interviewed on back-to-back days as head coaching candidates for the 49ers.

Thursday on Day 1 of the NFL scouting combine, they took the podium in that order at Lucas Oil Field as rookie head coaches — Jackson with the Raiders, Harbaugh with the 49ers.

Both men find their new surroundings daunting and challenging.

Jackson espoused Oakland tradition and the honor of working for managing general partner Al Davis. Harbaugh talked about the legacy of Bill Walsh and walking into the facility every day and looking directly at five Lombardi Trophies in a glass case.

On-field workouts have yet to begin, so both coaches have been involved in lining up a succession of 15-minute interviews in an attempt to glean some kind of vibe, positive or negative, that will aid the eventual process of player selection.

Jackson made it clear he wants guys who run fast. Harbaugh is hopeful he will have some inside information from his experience as a college recruiter.

The last time Harbaugh came to the combine was as a Raiders assistant under Bill Callahan in 2003.

“I was a quality control coach doing a lot of quality control jobs, inputting numbers,” Harbaugh said. “I evaluated quarterbacks and things like that.

“Here, I’ll be here for six days evaluating all positions and getting to ask questions and actually be around these

youngsters, getting knee-to-knee and eyeball-to-eyeball with them, letting them get to know me and me getting to know them.”

If Jackson is stressed about labor uncertainty and being a head coach for the first time, he hid it well as he enthusiastically put forth his agenda in three interviews plus a Sirius radio session with former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon.

“Everything is going to take care of itself,” Jackson said. “If we don’t have an offseason (workout) program, it means there’s 31 other teams that don’t have an offseason program. We won’t be in a hole different than anyone else.”

Specifics are kept to a minimum when discussing draft strategies and philosophies, but Jackson unabashedly clings to the Raider way of speed above all else.

“You look at it because that’s what’s important in this game,” Jackson said. “You’ve got to have guys that run fast or you can’t score touchdowns and you can’t catch people.”

According to a recent story in the National Football Post, there have been nine players at the combine since 1999 who have timed under 4.3 seconds for the 40-yard dash. Four of them — cornerbacks Fabian Washington (4.25) and Stanford Routt (4.28) and wide receivers Darrius Heyward-Bey (4.25) and Jacoby Ford (4.28) — were drafted by the Raiders. No other team picked more than one sub-4.3 player during that span.

Ford, who as a rookie scored seven touchdowns last season including three on kickoff returns, wasn’t selected merely on the basis of his blazing time in the 40, Jackson said.

“There’s still more information to gather,” Jackson said. “This is an ongoing process. You go watch more tape, then see them individually and work them out, and then the next thing you know you draft them and then start the next process.”

If Harbaugh has an advantage, it lies in his knowledge gained as a recruiter at Stanford, insight 49ers general manager Trent Baalke believes can be advantageous.

It’s the same thing Davis said in 2007 when hiring Lane Kiffin, who was formerly a recruiting coordinator at USC. It never was clear how much influence Kiffin had, but it isn’t likely to approach what Harbaugh wields with the 49ers.

“I don’t know if it’s an advantage at all, or how much of an advantage it is,” Harbaugh said. “But coming from college, I have a fresh understanding of what they’ve been through the last three, four, five years. Where they were three, four or five years before that. The things they’ve accomplished and things they’ve overcome. Some of the tricks they play and some of the wool they try to pull over your eyes.

“Everybody that’s here is good. Now you try to find better and best as you go through the process.”

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (AP) — Jim Harbaugh said Thursday that he had no regrets about leaving college coaching for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.

The former University of Michigan quarterback talked to his alma mater about its coaching vacancy, and remaining Stanford’s coach looked like a good option when quarterback Andrew Luck decided to return to school.

The challenge of chasing Super Bowls won him over.

“I have no second thoughts about the decision,” he said at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. “I’m extremely enthusiastic.”

Michigan fans hoped the school would hire Harbaugh after it fired Rich Rodriguez. Both sides said Michigan never offered Harbaugh the job, and Harbaugh said Michigan is in good hands with athletic director Dave Brandon and new coach Brady Hoke.

“I have great love for Michigan,” he said. “I went to Michigan, that was my university. Stanford was my university too. Both of those universities, I consider my university. Both would have been great options, but ultimately, it was on the level of competing on the highest level.”

Harbaugh said he likes coaching a franchise with great history and high expectations. He doesn’t mind following in the footsteps of coaches Bill Walsh and George Seifert.

“I walk through the doors of the San Francisco facility every single day, and if you ever walk through those doors, you walk through, and you’re staring at five Lombardi trophies,” he said.

“The bar is set high, and where else would you want it set?”

Now, Harbaugh is getting used to talking to players at the combine instead of preparing them for it.

“It’s an opportunity to get knee-to-knee and eyeball-to-eyeball with these guys,” he said. “In some instances, it may only be 15 minutes. In other instances, it may only be five minutes. But that’s valuable time.”

Harbaugh said he’ll be fine adjusting to the pro game.

“To me, football is football,” he said. “We’re going to do the things that we believe in. There will be adjustments. We’ll figure them out.”

(© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—Jim Harbaugh says he has no regrets about leaving college coaching for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.

The former Michigan quarterback and Stanford coach attended the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday, preparing for his first season as an NFL head coach.

Many Michigan fans wanted the school to hire Harbaugh after it fired Rich Rodriguez and Harbaugh led Stanford to an Orange Bowl win. Michigan said it spoke to Harbaugh but never offered him the job.

Harbaugh said Stanford and Michigan would have been great options, but the challenge of the NFL won him over. He said he likes coaching a franchise with five Super Bowl wins and high expectations.

Harbaugh said Michigan is in good hands with athletic director Dave Brandon and new coach Brady Hoke.

It would be a cruel joke on San Francisco 49ers fans if NFL owners locked out players just as the 49ers appear to be getting their house in order.

Newly appointed general manager Trent Baalke seems to be organizing the front office well.

Baalke and his assistants can proceed much as they would in any year because their chief job now is preparing for the April draft, which involves college players who are not yet part of the NFL Players Association.

I’m guessing the 49ers will go for defensive help with their pick at No. 7 in the first round. They could use a big cornerback who is both good in coverage and with run support. There are two possibilities: LSU’s Patrick Peterson, who was in the Niners’ spot in Mel Kiper’s mock draft, and Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara. Texas A&M outside linebacker Von Miller is intriguing, but he probably won’t last that long, especially if he looks good at the NFL Combine workouts.

Many 49ers fans would like to see their team draft a quarterback, but that’s always a risky pick and seems to be especially so this year. Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, who played in a spread offense in college, worked out for NFL scouts and was impressive. But one veteran observer pointed out that the best quarterback workout he had ever seen was by JaMarcus Russell. Enough said.

New coach Jim Harbaugh knows quarterbacks from his own NFL experience. Assuming the 49ers don’t draft a quarterback, I’m confident he can improve Alex Smith — if he returns — or holdover David Carr. Or, the Niners may trade for a quarterback. Everything is on hold during the NFL’s negotiations.

Harbaugh understands that a head coach is only as good as his assistants. At Stanford, Harbaugh put together a great staff, headed up by defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and offensive coordinator Greg Roman, and now he’s brought them with him to the Niners. Both Fangio and Roman have extensive NFL experience, which will also be a big help for Harbaugh in making the transition to the NFL.

Though head coaches get the attention, most of the coaching in the NFL is done by assistants, and Harbaugh has brought in a good staff overall.

The question now: When will they be able to do any actual coaching?

In a normal year, the 49ers would have mini-camps (one more than other teams because a new coaching staff is coming in) and organized team activities. But this year, there will be none of those without a new collective bargaining agreement.

Both the offensive and defensive systems will be different this season — if it happens.

Fangio believes in a 3-4 defense, with outside linebackers as primary pass rushers and frequent blitzes. He has apparently not been impressed by the play of Manny Lawson, now a free agent, so it’s unlikely the 49ers will try to persuade Lawson to return.
Offensively, the new system will come under the catch-all “West Coast offense” label. For certain, it will be much more complex than the offense the departed Mike Singletary demanded.

It will be fun to watch, if NFL owners and the NFLPA ever get their act together.

Glenn Dickey has been covering Bay Area sports since 1963 and also writes on www.GlennDickey.com. E-mail him at glenndickey@hotmail.com.

The 49ers finally rolled out their new coordinator models this week. To be honest, they were not as ravishing or stunning as the new Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. But the 49ers coaches did have far more interesting things to say about screen plays and zone blitzes.

For some reason, new 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh wanted to keep his coordinators under wraps for a month before allowing them to speak in public. So you will be happy to know that both offensive coordinator Greg Roman and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio were able to talk in complete sentences and use correct English.

Roman and Fangio also appeared to be smart, competent and enthused. So did special-teams coordinator Brad Seely, who didn’t punt away one question.

Most tellingly, though, all three men had the same basic answer when asked how they planned to deal with the almost-certain owners lockout early next month. Some forecast that the work stoppage will last into early autumn, which would give the coaches just a few weeks of practice to implement their new systems before the first game. Tough task, huh?

“We’ll improvise and adjust and do it without whining,” Fangio said Wednesday.

“We will adapt, get excited about the challenge and go from there,” Roman said.

“Whatever they give us, we’ll make it work,” Seely said.

Yup. Sounds as if everybody was in the same meeting and taking careful notes.

More seriously, however, the

hirings of Roman and Fangio in particular could have one excellent lockout benefit. Both worked under Harbaugh at Stanford. In college football, coaches are required to deal with significant annual turnover as seniors depart and freshmen enroll. There are also strict limits on practice hours. This means that college coaches are forced to evaluate personnel and teach a lot of information in a relatively short period of time.

That’s a stark contrast to the NFL, where in a normal year, coaches can evaluate players and install plays over the course of several minicamps and OTAs (Organized Team Activities), plus a summer training camp that seems to last forever.

This NFL season, it seems, will much more resemble a college season in terms of ramp-up time. Theoretically, that should give Roman and Fangio an edge in approaching their tasks. Although Fangio, in one of Wednesday’s more fascinating remarks, said that as a defensive coordinator he found the college game more complex in certain areas.

“Contrary to popular myth, the rules actually favor the offense more in college than they do in pro football,” Fangio said. “It’s harder. It is a lot different.”

How so?

“One, obviously the field’s different with the hash marks,” Fangio said. “Two, there are many formations in college football that you have to defend that are illegal in the NFL. Then you have the option game involved in college football that you really don’t have here. And the screen game is different. “… If you throw a pass behind the line of scrimmage in college football, you can be downfield blocking. You don’t have to wait until the ball’s been caught. That’s not the rule here in the NFL.”

Fangio quickly added that the NFL game is much more physical — and that college defenses are not forced to face Drew Brees or Tom Brady or Peyton Manning week after week. But in truth, Fangio also is prepared for that. He spent 24 seasons in pro football with five NFL teams before joining Harbaugh at Stanford in 2010.

Roman will be the more intriguing coach to watch. He strikes you as a football nerd who has overachieved. And that’s meant as a compliment.

At Stanford, where Roman’s title was “assistant head coach offense,” there was always a question about how much input he had into the play-calling. Harbaugh, as an offensive guru, was presumed to be the real coordinator. But the truth was more complicated.

Harbaugh, when discussing his play-calling process at Stanford, always slipped into James Bond mode. But various sources eventually spilled the beans. Essentially, Harbaugh would assign Roman and David Shaw (now the Cardinal head coach) and one or two other staff members to very specific areas of a game plan — third-down passes, first-down plays, red-zone runs, etc. — and then would call on each man for the proper play at the proper time. Harbaugh would have the opportunity to override.

“That was somewhat the framework at Stanford,” Roman conceded, “but it’s all planned, everything’s planned out. I think part of having a staff is maximizing the abilities of the staff. “… We spend a lot of time during the week talking things out ahead of time and trying to sequence things.”

With the 49ers, the same procedure probably will be in place. Obviously, the trick is to be so organized that plays can be sent in quickly and efficiently. Because as Roman once said at Stanford: “We don’t have time to have a board meeting.”

This summer, of course, the coaches might have way too much time for as many meetings as they want. Wednesday, Fangio and Roman (and Seely) had all the good answers. But if labor peace doesn’t arrive until September or October and they have about five minutes to prepare for the opening kickoff “… well, that’s when we’ll see if they really have game.

Contact Mark Purdy at mpurdy@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5092.