The relationship between 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback Alex Smith is still strong depite Harbaugh's brief flirtation with Peyton Manning. Many thought it would be awkward for Smith to re-sign with the Niners. "No awkwardness," Smith said Wednesday according to Cam Inman of Bayareanewsgroup. "Anyone who's been around Coach Harbaugh realizes the great thing about him is he tells you what he's thinking, good or bad. "He's going to give you his honest opinion. You appreciate that, as someone who's been a long time and played around coaches. You appreciate a guy telling you the truth." Harbaugh always has stated he kept Smith abreast of the 49ers' spring fling with Manning. Smith has not publicly disputed that and even said he would have "relished" the chance to compete for his job against Manning. Just to be clear on the 49ers' interest level in Manning, Harbaugh brought it up again May 30: "There's a perception out there, and it's an erroneous perception, that we were flirting with Peyton Manning," Harbaugh said. "I keep hearing it over and over. It's silly and it's untrue. It's phony. Even the perception that we were pursuing. We were evaluating." Harbaugh then reiterated his endorsement that Smith is "our quarterback" and that the 49ers always intended to re-sign their 2005 top overall draft pick. Source: The Redzone
More BS for the media to digest. I am sure years down the road we'll get the facts on some NFL Films interview or something.
