With the 2011 NFL regular season in the books and the playoffs beginning, the talk of postseason awards has also begun. Some awards are hotly debated with multiple deserving candidates. The MVP award for example could easily go to Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, or Tom Brady. One award, however, has an obvious choice. The NFL coach of the year for 2011-2012 is San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.
Let’s start with the numbers. The 2010 49ers finished 6-10 under coach Mike Singletary. Under Jim Harbaugh this season the 49ers went 13-3 and earned the #2 seed and a first round bye in the NFC playoffs. They won 7 more games this season with Harbaugh as their coach and made the playoffs for the first time since 2002. I told you Harbaugh was a lock for coach of the year.
The amazing thing about the improvement made by the 49ers this season is that they did it with mostly the same players. The 49ers won this season with Alex Smith at quarterback. The same Alex Smith that had already been written off as a draft bust by the fans and media. Smith entered the season with 51 career touchdowns and 53 interceptions. Under Harbaugh, Smith flourished with 17 touchdowns and 5 interceptions this season.
The odds were stacked against Harbaugh coming into this season. He was taking over a team with a tradition of winning that had grown more accustomed to losing recently. However, The most difficult challenge facing Harbaugh may have been the NFL lockout. The lockout cut into minicamps and training time that a new coach needs more than anyone. Harbaugh had less time to learn about his team and players, yet he transformed them into winners.
When the 2011-2012 NFL Coach of the Year is announced it should be Jim Harbaugh without a doubt. The turnaround of the San Francisco 49ers in the amount of time it was accomplished is a testament to Harbaugh as a coach. Fortunately for 49er fans, you can bet that Harbaugh is more focused on bringing a Super Bowl to San Francisco than any personal awards and accomplishments.
Source
espn.go.com/nfl/