San Francisco 49ers: Is Jim Harbaugh Really Losing the Locker Room?

Despite the San Francisco 49ers’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, rumors continue to swirl over potential locker room dissent.

NFL.com’s Ian Rappaport reported on the Sept. 28 that 49er players continue to have issues with Harbaugh’s coaching style, with voices “growing louder and louder."  He reported that the players feel that Harbaugh treats them like children, without the privileges and permissions that players normally get in the NFL.

Trent Dilfer, a former 49ers quarterback and current ESPN analyst, blasted the team and said the atmosphere was “almost toxic,” as he watched the body language of the players on the sideline.

Deion Sanders threw his hat into the ring, as well, saying that the team is not “really down” with Harbaugh and that they want him out.  Citing unnamed sources, Sanders said that he’s hearing that the players want Harbaugh gone.  Harbaugh has one more season left on his current contract with the 49ers.

Harbaugh responded in his usual manner:

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Personally, I think that's a bunch of crap… whenever you're talking about unnamed sources - when somebody's got a good story to tell they want to put their name to it.

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He has since, in public, been backed up by members of the team. Michael Crabtree tweeted out a message in support of the team:

Guard Alex Boone also went on local radio and dismissed the rumors:

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Last I checked I was in the locker room and it was all smiles, and everybody was happy… “He’s a great guy, a great coach. How could you not want to win for a guy that wears cleats during a game? Have you not seen that guy’s energy. He’s exciting 24/7. You’ve got to love playing for a guy like that. That’s what’s football is all about.

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As did Antoine Bethea:

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Nah, man we're a family and it's all about the guys in that locker room, and that's all it's about. Everybody in the locker room is trying to go out there and win. We're a family. Outsiders, we'll let them say what they say.

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Now, it’s true that there have been instances of teams essentially rebelling against their coaches and spiraling downward from there—think about the Houston Texans last year falling apart around Gary Kubiak.  However, I don’t think that’s the case here.

While Alex Boone’s statement that everyone loves Harbaugh seems sketchy, these rumors sound too similar to past stories that have amounted to nothing to give them too much credit.

After starting 1-2 last season, the stories mounted about issues in the locker room.  “Harbaugh faces first crisis,” the San Jose Mercury News trumpeted.  “Frank Gore angry at Harbaugh”, said NFL.com.  “Harbaugh short on answers,” said Sports On Earth.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Then, the season started turning around, the team started winning and the stories of locker room dissent went away.  Victory cures all that ails locker room culture, and while Harbaugh isn’t the most player-friendly coach in the world, that can be overlooked if the team continues to compete for Super Bowls.

And, indeed, the victory over Philadelphia has brought 49ers out of the woodwork to support their coach—enough so that Pro Football Talk has begun to compile a running list of statements of support for Harbaugh.

If anything, the comments and reports of dissent seem to be galvanizing the team; giving them something to rally around in the traditional “no one respects or believes in us” fashion.

It actually reminds me a lot of what happened in 2013 to the United States Men’s Soccer Team, to switch footballs on you for a moment.  With the team struggling some in qualifying, anonymous sources began reporting that coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s leadership and tactics were coming under fire, as sourced in Sporting News.

They “played like a team lacking leadership and an appropriate, coherent plan throughout an ugly 2-1 loss to Honduras,"" the News reported.  Does that sound familiar? 

Let’s go back to Trent Dilfer’s comments:

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Offensively it’s frenetic, it’s spitball, it’s ugly, it’s horrible clock management. I mean unexecusable clock management. Lack of energy by offensive players. Series ended and there was no communication, guys slouching their shoulders, just bad body language.

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There’s an undeniable urge when commentating to be able to explain everything, to blow everything up into a full-blown analysis of whatever ails a team.  A player on the sideline with bad body language, after watching the team go down 21-10, isn’t necessarily an unusual circumstance.  It could mean that the player is disgusted with the offense—or just that it’s not fun to be trailing big.

After that article about the USMNT was posted, the the team turned it’s qualification around with a win in a blizzard against Costa Rica and a memorable scoreless draw in Mexico City.  They also embarked on a 12-game winning streak four months later, the longest in national history, which saw them earn Gold Cup honors, to boot.

Does this mean the 49ers are poised to go on a run to match their 18-game winning streak in 1989-90?  Probably not.  But it is a reminder to take unsourced rumors of team dismay with a grain of salt.  If a team starts losing, these rumors can evolve into a full-fledged problem, but nothing quiets such dissent quite like winning.

If San Francisco can turn its upcoming two-game stretch against the two Missouri teams into a pair of victories, we’ll soon forget all about September’s “toxic” locker room atmosphere.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers.  Follow him @BryKno on twitter.