If awkward media interviews actually helped a football team, then the San Francisco 49ers would be on their way to another Super Bowl and Jim Harbaugh would be competing with Colin Kaepernick over team MVP honors.
KNBR-AM, a sports radio station in San Francisco, conducted an interview with Harbaugh, the 49ers coach, on Tuesday to discuss the 24-13 loss to the Oakland Raiders. That topic would seem to be tough enough to get through for a 49ers team that had gone to three straight NFC championship games losing to a 1-11 Raiders team, but Harbaugh managed to complete it.
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The interview turned sour and soon ended, however, when the topic changed to Kaepernick, the 49ers' mercurial quarterback who has taken a lot of criticism both on and off the field the last two weeks as his team has lost two in a row, fallen to 7-6 on the season and appear to be on the verge of missing out on the playoffs.
The question posed by the co-host seemed harmless enough, especially when the tone of the message is heard.
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"You gave a spirited defense of (Kaepernick) on Friday. I found it very interesting, your words, you were very eloquent with your words in defending Kaepernick's behavior with the media. And I'm wondering now that it happened again on Sunday, and it reminded me of a teenage kid at the dinner table not wanting to talk about his day at school ... man, Jim I go back so far, I was a beat writer in '96 when you were the Colts quarterback playing the 49ers, and we had you a conference call and you told a great story about your dog getting sick and then healing back up and all that.
"And you charmed us man, we were feeding from your palm. And I'm just wondering why you can't nudge Colin Kaepernick to do a little more of that?"
"I kind of feel like you're trying to provoke," Harbaugh responded.
"No, no. People want to know what's going on," the host replied.
It's kind of insulting when you call him a teenage kid or compare him to a kid," Harbaugh said. "I think very highly of him. Think the world of him. True competitor and I'm gonna disagree with you."
The host then took another dig at Kaepernick, saying 49ers fans are insulted by Kaepernick's postgame comments because of his short and curt answers.
"I see the point of view of he wasn't chatty," Harbaugh said. "That was last Friday. And I really don't want to have the conversation. I'm going to move on with my day."
"All right, we'll let you go," the host said. "We'll put you out of your misery. We won't torture you any longer. How's that? Have a great Sunday in Seattle and thanks for coming on."
"OK, you, too," Harbaugh said.
Win or lose Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers' postgame promises to be at least as entertaining as the game.
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