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Jim Harbaugh Speaks For First Time Since Report of Michigan Contract

By: Mike Sullivan
@mikesullivan

Before San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh addressed the media for his weekly Thursday press conference, his offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, was asked if the rumor about Harbaugh getting a contract offer from Michigan is a distraction to the staff.

Roman said, "We don't talk about that stuff at all. We're focused on the Chargers. All that water cooler talk is just that."

Reports from various media outlets claim that the University of Michgan has offered Jim Harbaugh a 6 year contract worth $48 million.

Harbaugh was asked point-blank if this is true. He replied by simply saying "As you know, I'll only talk about the job that I have."

He was then asked if his intention is to finish out his contract with the 49ers. His "Um" was followed by a couple of seconds of silence before he said, "Yeah, I've said that I'm going to finish this til the end. My focus is the same as the players focus, the same as the coaches focus. The focus on the practice field, the focus in meetings by our players, by our coaches and by me. That is our focus, this football game against the San Diego Chargers."

As the press conference was wrapping up, a reporter decided to take one last attempt at getting a good answer from Harbaugh. He asked, "It has been mentioned, obviously you have a history with Michigan, is there a special affinity that you have with that school, that might supersede all other loyalties at this point?"

Harbaugh said, "Again, I really don't talk about any other job than the one I have, or talk about anybody else's process."

Long story short, nothing Michigan related came out of this press conference.

Harbaugh didn't give any indication that he was leaving San Francisco, but he also did not shut the door on Michigan either.

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