"Jim Harbaugh still bows to no man or team, though he is being a little quieter about it now that he has the keys to the 49ers kingdom. Slightly quieter. Or just more subtle about it. "Probably the smarter thing to do is just lay in the weeds here, sharpen our swords," Harbaugh said with a grin during a long interview in his office Thursday. But wait. Isn't this the brash coach who declared, in his first days at Stanford four years ago, that he would "bow to no man" or program? "We won't kiss the ring of anybody about anything," Harbaugh said Thursday with a smile. Then a pause. "I haven't changed, if that's what you're asking. I don't need to make any statement. But I haven't changed a bit." Of course not. The 49ers would not want that to happen; Part of the Harbaugh charm and edge is that his confidence flows to all corners of his team. When Harbaugh is in charge, everybody knows it, and it has usually turned out quite well. In our 30-minute conversation, Harbaugh repeated his opinion that he can clearly envision Alex Smith competing for the 49ers' starting quarterback role and confirmed that offensive coordinator Greg Roman will be the main play-caller. Harbaugh also said he and his staff are planning as if there will be no work stoppage next month -- and then will adjust schedules upon further developments, if need be." Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/tim-kawakami/ci_17418273?nclick_check=1
