49ers' Jim Harbaugh and Alex Smith Are Joined at the Hip

If there were any doubts in your mind about who the starting quarterback would be for the San Francisco 49ers in 2012, they should be vanquished by the latest news.

Alex Smith caddied for Jim Harbaugh today when the two of them teamed up at Pebble Beach for the AT&T Pro-Am tournament. 

Harbaugh and Smith have clearly bonded beyond a simple player/coach relationship. This show of friendship and brotherhood further cements the inevitable truth that Smith isn't going anywhere.

He is going to be the starting quarterback for the 49ers in 2012. 

Harbaugh said as much earlier this week:

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We're all in lockstep as an organization that Alex Smith is our guy. It's well documented. You saw the way he played this year. Tremendous leader on our football team.

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Smith responded with the same enthusiasm when asked about whether or not he'd be returning to the team:

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At this point I love it here, love what's going on with this team, the coaching staff, everything about it. So, no question, (I) would love to stay here.

"

49ers fans were privileged to witness this player/coach relationship develop throughout the 2011 season. I guarantee that every single one of you reading this post gets a kick out of the way Harbaugh smacks Smith around right before the games. I chuckle every single time because I see the way Smith chuckles at his leader. He loves the old guy. 

Every great team has a dynamic head coach/quarterback combination. They get each other. Sean Payton and Drew Brees have it. Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy had it. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have it. Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin have it. Etcetera, etcetera...

The quarterback somehow embodies the spirit and mind of the head coach out on the football field.

Harbaugh knew he had someone with potential when he challenged Smith right after the 2010 season with this: 

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I guess the things that I wanted to know, if you boiled it down to one thing, was, did he want to start? Did he want be in the fire? Or did he want to wear the ball cap backward and backup somewhere.

"

He got the answer he was hoping for. He knew he had found a kindred spirit in a man who would fight 'till the bitter end in the hopes of coming out on top—and they are just getting started. 

I guarantee that the two of them will be spending every single day of the week together from here until the start of training camp. Smith is a sponge and Harbaugh has talent at developing quarterbacks. 

2011 wasn't a fluke, folks. This party is just getting started.

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