Jim Harbaugh: 5 Secrets to Success of 49ers' Head Coach

This is probably not the best time to heap praise on Jim Harbaugh, considering the San Francisco 49ers suffered an ugly Week 14 loss at the hands of their divisional rivals, the Arizona Cardinals.

The offense struggled mightily in the red zone, and the secondary was absolutely atrocious against Larry Fitzgerald and Co. These are concerning issues, but I expect corrections to be made before their heavyweight bout with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.  

Every game matters, especially with the New Orleans Saints nipping at the heels for a chance to secure the second seed in the NFC. 

The fact that I can discuss the possibility of securing a first-round bye, is the type of change Jim Harbaugh has enforced in his short tenure as the 49ers head coach. This is a team—with largely the same core group from last season—with Super Bowl aspirations. 

Mike Singletary can only dream of doing what Jim Harbaugh has done in only 13 games. The Michigan alum is turning out to be the best free-agent hire for a 49ers organization that was starving for some form of direction. 

While we can nitpick at the three losses the 49ers have suffered, it's hard to ignore what Harbaugh has done for the entirety of the 2011-2012 season. 

Why is Jim Harbaugh succeeding where his predecessor failed? Here are five secrets to Jim Harbaugh's success with the San Francisco 49ers. 

Teaching

Despite his "rah-rah" antics, Jim Harbaugh has proven to be an excellent teacher. He tends to focus on the little things, and that helps with the bigger picture. 

The 49ers have returned to the basics—on both ends—and continue to play sound football. They take care of the football, but more importantly, they're disruptive in creating turnovers. They lead the league in turnover differential at plus-21. 

Wholehearted Belief in Alex Smith

Jim Harbaugh truly believes Alex Smith can be a successful quarterback in the NFL. That confidence has fueled Alex Smith to perform above the standards fans have come to expect of the former first-overall selection.

Once considered a bust, Alex Smith is having his best statistical season under the new leadership of Jim Harbaugh. The lack of turnovers has endeared him to 49ers fans, and that is the result of Harbaugh's work with the quarterback and this offense. 

Different Kind of Tough

Both Mike Singletary and Jim Harbaugh ooze toughness but in different ways. Jim Harbaugh has this feistiness in the way he coaches, compared to Singletary's no-nonsense form of coaching. 

The 49ers can feed off Harbaugh's composed but frenetic behavior on the sidelines. His ceremonial pad-hitting with Alex Smith before every game is proof of such behavior.

Harbaugh is somewhat of a hype man, and his team seems to love that particular quality.  

Camaraderie with Players

Andy Lee—the 49ers punter—described a rare quality that he felt separated Harbaugh from most coaches. He said that Harbaugh would sometimes sit down and eat lunch with the special teams group. They would go on to discuss non-football related topics such as family.  

This goes for many of the other players on the 49ers roster. They tend to notice that Jim Harbaugh is quite enamored with what's inside a football player in order to understand what makes them "go" on a football field.  

It's no surprise that his players give him a 110 percent effort in every game. This is the type of cultural change that many analysts and fans speak of. 

Not Afraid to Shake It Up

Jim Harbaugh's creativity on offense is a breath of fresh air for a franchise that seemed far too predictable on that end in recent years.

The West coast scheme caters to the Alex Smith's strengths on offense, but Harbaugh loves to add a few interesting tweaks here and there. 

San Francisco 49ers fans will not soon forget the play of both Joe Staley (offensive tackle) and Isaac Sopoaga (nose tackle) in the victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 8. In case you do not remember, I included a video for your enjoyment.