Jim Harbaugh, Andrew Luck: Package Deal a Pipe Dream for 49ers Fans?

Jim Harbaugh hasn't said a word.

He has said that he believes Andrew Luck might return to Stanford for his senior season.

That could all change quickly.

The way things sound, it's not a certainty that Harbaugh will be back at Stanford next season, and you can bet that if he's not there, Luck won't be either.

There sit the San Francisco 49ers, coachless and franchise quarterback-less as well.

So what kind of stars need to align in the universe for those two to end up in 'Frisco next season?

First, the general manager search has begun, and Jed York has taken a step in the right direction by getting on the phone with Uncle Eddie, as in DeBartolo, for a little good old-fashioned advice from the fellow who did pretty darn good when he owned this 49er team.

"I'm going to try and knock out as many people as we can this week and open it up even further as we go into next week," says Eddie's nephew, Jed.

Some of those GM names could include Randy Mueller and Tim Ruskell.

Now back to the two lads in Palo Alto—Harbaugh and Luck.

Harbaugh may be on a lot of NFL lists where the head coaching position has a "vacant" sign posted—and all the vacancies haven't arrived as of this moment. There could be more. There's bound to be demand, although the harmony for Harbaugh is tuning up in San Francisco.

The 49ers have tried and failed miserably with a defensive coach approach, which would make you think they'd be searching for an offensive mind this go-round. But first things first, there has to be a chicken in place before the egg can be hatched, and whoever the new general manager may be, he will supposedly be making that decision.

Okay, that takes care of Harbaugh.

Now for Luck.

It will be tough for this kid to stay around another year at Stanford, even if it is a pretty nice campus. If there's no collective bargaining agreement in place before this 2011 draft, then the No. 1 pick could get one of those bank-buster deals that are akin to winning the lotto. If that's the case, then Luck would have to make the move to play on Sundays.

Which brings us back to the Niners. If the draft was held this week, Carolina, Buffalo and Cincinnati would all be picking ahead of the Niners, and there could be more teams ahead of them depending on next week's finish.

It would take some doing to get to that top spot because the Panthers are sitting there without a franchise quarterback unless you still think Jimmy Clausen is the second coming of Joe Montana. Not sure anyone would be able to pry the pick from the Panthers if Luck is available and looks decent at the combine.

So how far a reach would a Harbaugh-Luck dynamic duo package be for San Francisco?

Pretty damn far if you really think about it. Too many good things would have to happen, too many, and there'd be a lot of luck involved, forgive the pun. Good things and luck have been in short supply for the San Francisco 49ers this year.

Harbaugh?

Sure, there's a chance if the new GM thinks he's the guy.

Luck?

No such.