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Harbaugh happy to be back in Valley
BOARDMAN
Last September, the San Francisco 49ers spent a week in the Mahoning Valley before going to Philadelphia and knocking off the Eagles, 24-23.
They were coming off a 13-8 win in Cincinnati.
This year, it’s different.
San Francisco is still spending the week in town, only this time its rebounding from defeat — a 24-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
“We didn’t play our best,” 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said during a news conference at the Holiday Inn in Boardman on Monday. “We’ll look at ways to go and fix that.”
While staying in the Valley is practical (it saves more than eight hours of flight time in a five-day period), Harbaugh enjoys the bonding experience of working in a different location.
“We’re all staying under one roof for every night that we’re here,” he said. “We’re eating meals together, training together, practicing together and meeting together. You learn more about the team and the guys.
“It gives us a unique opportunity to circle the wagons. We always need to circle the wagons. It’s a chance to get the minds right for the next ball game.”
The 11-point loss was the most lopsided defeat of Harbaugh’s 19 games with the 49ers.
The defense surrendered 344 total yards and the offense didn’t fare much better. Running back Frank Gore had just 63 rushing yards and Alex Smith was sacked three times and threw an interception.
“It’s not our mindset,” Harbaugh said when asked if the loss was considered an upset, “but I sense this from people who live in a mythical, magical, fantasy world of just expecting that game would be a win, it just doesn’t work that way. Your enemy has a vote on that and they played a very good football game and we got beat.”
On Monday, 49ers players and coaches got to meet Cleveland Browns legend, Jim Brown, who was in Youngstown for a business meeting. He is a firend of the York ownership family.
“All the running backs made a point to shake hands and take picture and ask questions,” Harbaugh said. “It was an honor. It was enlightening. My family, especially my dad, has always been a big fan of Jim Brown. We covered several topics. Learned more about him, his story, how he saw the game. How he sees the game right now. And he’s someone that wants to see others benefit from what he knows. So, not hoarding that knowledge, but sharing it.”
Harbaugh, a Toledo native, said adjusting to the time zone change isn’t a challenge for him.
“I consider myself a midwesterner and a Californian,” he said.
Harbaugh may even have found a home away from home in the Valley.
“I’ve learned a lot from the people that I’ve met here,” Harbaugh said. “The more time you spend here, the better it gets.”