CBSsports.com had an interesting article about the top 10 jerks in the NFL. This, you’ll admit, is an important bit of scholarly research. The article listed Jim Harbaugh in a tie for 9/10 place with Lions coach Jim Schwartz. I guess they’re tied because of their public spat last season which you might call a Jerkathon.
I submit Harbaugh should get a better ranking than Schwartz. Since that episode Harbaugh said he never pursued Peyton Manning, brought up this topic all on his own, damaging his credibility for no good reason. That should vault him ahead of Schwartz.
I have a few questions.
1.Do you feel Harbaugh is ranked correctly at 9/10? Should he be more of a middle of the pack guy? I never would say he should go to the front. That’s reserved for Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger for obvious reasons.
2. Is Harbaugh the biggest jerk currently working in Bay Area sports? He has limited competition now that Al Davis has died and Barry Bonds, Don Nelson and Terrell Owens have retired from competition. I see no one in Harbaugh’s class, which is too bad. Competition always is fun. Perhaps in upcoming years he can widen the gap between him and his competition, whoever that is.
One note: I caution you if you are tempted to write, “Harbaugh may be a jerk but he’s a great coach.”
We are not talking about great coaches. We are talking about great jerks. Those are different categories. If you persist in this line of reasoning, please explain why being a great coach or a great anything absolves a person from being a jerk.
As far as Harbaugh being a great coach, that is not yet proven. He is a good coach who had a good year his rookie year. He has a ways to go before he achieves greatness.
To read the CBSsports.com article which motivated me to write on jerkitude, click here.
KauaiRobert
I don’t think he’s a jerk at all.
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He seems pretty cool to me–a pure football guy.
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Then again…I never met the man so…
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*ALOHA*
June 27th, 2012 11:07 am
tkh
you forgot to add “Questioned Lowell Cohn’s ‘New Yorkness’” on your list of reasons why you think he is a jerk.
June 27th, 2012 11:41 am
Michael
Lowell – What Harbaugh did at Stanford doesn’t qualify him as a “great coach”? (You didn’t specify NFL coaches). You have unreasonably high standards for greatness.
June 27th, 2012 12:07 pm
J Canseco
What is this tabloid nonsense?
June 27th, 2012 12:19 pm
RednGold1
Mr. Cohn, you write: “He is a good coach who had a good year his rookie year.”
13 – 3
Rookie year.
What would it take to be a GREAT rookie year?
16 -0?
15 – 1?
Would 14 -2 tip the scale to GREAT?
As for the “jerk” question:
If Jim Harbaugh is a jerk, he’s a good jerk. …wait …
…wait. Let me restate that: If Jim Harbaugh is a jerk, he’s a GREAT jerk.
Personally, I don’t think he’s a jerk at all. In fact, he’s about as far away from being a jerk as you can get. Seems like a great guy. Friendly. Caring. Sense of humor. Hell of a football coach. Immediately, publicly apologized to Jim Schwartz. What more do you want?
“Is Jim Harbaugh a jerk?” is a clown question.
June 27th, 2012 12:23 pm
B-Rad
Fortunately I don’t have to interview athletes or coaches, or my view
might be different.
But these people are there to entertain me. If you take two equally
good coaches, say Harbaugh and Bochy for the sake of argument, then
Harbaugh is certainly more entertaining to me.
And you write more about him because of his controversial manner.
June 27th, 2012 12:33 pm
mike
I think he is the top-ranked most media immature coach because he does not possess, for whatever reason, the ability to conduct an interview without displaying some semblance of a chip on his shoulder or an axe to grind. Sometimes, I think he really works at portraying that type of a personality and displaying an edge. After all, he played for Bo Schembechler and Mike Ditka, so what kind of a model citizen did he have for a mentor when dealing with the media? Also, it is far too early to judge his coaching “greatness” because one season does not determine a coach’s greatness. If only the first year in the NFL was indicative of a coach’s ability, Bill Walsh, at 2-14, would have been terminated and cast aside as a dismal failure. Let the season play out, and with a more difficult schedule, time will be the true test. Greatness is achieved over an extended period of time, and today’s media and society is too quick to qualify a “one-year wonder” as great.
Now, Brian Billick, both as a head coach and as an announcer, has cemented his position as an all-time jerk because he arrogance and condescending approach tops all.
June 27th, 2012 12:56 pm
Stan
Where’s my post?
I think Harbaugh building homes for the poor in Peru speaks volumes..just as his signing a rapist does also. He compartmentalizes people..your in or your out. As Einstein would say “It’s relative, man”
June 27th, 2012 1:03 pm
CohnZohn
Stan, There was stuff in the first post that was borderline, so I deleted it.
June 27th, 2012 1:09 pm
Tiburon Dave
He’s a jerk who did a very good job of coaching the team last season…tied for 10th strikes me as about right…
Show me 7 – 10 respectable seasons, 2 championships,and the abiity to win with different casts of characters…
Then he’ll be a jerk who belongs in the discussion with Madden, Siefert, Coughlin, Johnson, & Parcells…
Of course he’d be the only jerk in that group…but he’d earn his way in with his coaching record…
B-Rad & Michael…to me you have to reserve GREAT for Lombardi, Noll, Walsh, Landry, Shula & MAYBE Belichik…
June 27th, 2012 1:09 pm
Streetglide
Guy was innocent Stan, don’t call names. And Harbaugh isn’t a jerk. He’s smarter than everyone else in the room and that can get lonely at times.
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Yeah, the he was a “good” coach etc with a 13-1 record. Good? Wow, I thought he did a fantastic job; you think that is “good?” Semi-colon…
June 27th, 2012 1:18 pm
Tiburon Dave
We’re blessed with a collection of jerks in the Bay Area only New York has more.
I rank them:
1) Bean/Fisher
2) Lacob
3) Sabean
4) Harbaugh
June 27th, 2012 1:23 pm
Stan
Streetglide..he was found not guilty..not innocent. And you explain how it is a woman he claimed to not even know let alone have sex with..aborted a fetus that had HIS DNA?.
And of course Denver didn’t welcome him back did they?
And I disagree Lowell….
June 27th, 2012 1:26 pm
Mark M
Who cares? We’re all jerks at times. I just hope you embrace your own jerkhood with him in this year’s pressers Lowell. There appears to be a lot of media that are completely intimidated by him.
June 27th, 2012 1:28 pm
jason
Since I never have to deal with him on a personal level, whether he is or isn’t a jerk matters not to me. If he wins football games I’ll like him, if he doesn’t then he’s a bum in my eyes.
When Bonds was smacking HR’s and the Giants were winning in the early 2000′s I liked him. When he was smacking HR’s and the Giants were losing in the mid and late 2000′s, I got very tired of him.
June 27th, 2012 1:39 pm
MJ
So he gives the media basic answers, isnt very responsive to your ridiculous graduation crusade, and so he’s now a jerk? Get over it. Wait…he’s down in Central America building houses for the less fortunate….that JERK!
June 27th, 2012 1:57 pm
KauaiRobert
Except for the fact that mentioning this type of subject on a forum like this one seems inappropriate…as it pertains to Perrish Cox…I actually agree with Stan on this one.
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There is a difference between being innocent and being found not guilty.
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Now can we get back to Harbaugh?
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*ALOHA*
June 27th, 2012 2:04 pm
Dave T
Going to deal stricly on how they deal with the media/public here, as that is to me what you are asking. Does he come off as standoffish? Scornful? Looking down upon the media? Yeah, I think so. His take, if I had to guess, is that he has a job to do and he will ultimately be judged based on wins and losses and number of championships won. And at the end of the day, I am okay with that. Let the results speak for themselves.
As far as what would be “Great”, I am in concert with those that put Noll, Landry, Walsh, Shula, Parcells, Lombardi and yes even Belichik as “great”. I would also tend to want to add Shannahan and Gibbs to that list as well. Not far off are Tomlin and Coughlin (they simply get results but need more time).
I won’t debate the other matters at hand here as I do not believe them relevant to the discussion.
June 27th, 2012 2:43 pm
mbabco
Harbaugh is apparently currently in Peru with his (Catholic) church helping to build homes. It’s his 3rd trip in 4 years. There was a story awhile back about Harbaugh’s friendship with Tyler Schilhabel, a high school student who was paralyzed from the waist down (it was in Maiocco’s blog). For an alleged “jerk” he certainly seems to be capable of selfless behavior. I think you we need to be careful with labels.
June 27th, 2012 3:23 pm
mbabco
Sorry. Had another thought. Labels simplify. I think Harbaugh is a somewhat complex individual.
June 27th, 2012 3:25 pm
Dennis
Just because you don’t like him doesn’t mean he is a jerk. I certainly don’ think he is a jerk. I also happen to think he is a proven great coach. He took the same team Singletary had and turned them into winners without benefit of a full season. Not too many coaches can do that. He has also turned perennial losers into winners every place he has been as a head coach. A great coach is not necessarily a legendary coach, which is what I think you are talking about. He will be, but he has a ways to go in the Super Bowls won column.
But he is not a jerk.
June 27th, 2012 3:51 pm
Capts
I would categorize him as “creepy and socially awkward” more so than a jerk.
June 27th, 2012 4:27 pm
Stan
As long as Singletary is in the NFL…can anybody outdo him?
June 27th, 2012 4:43 pm
David
By the way Stan, did Lincecum gain 20 lbs and quit smoking weed or has he corrected his delivery flaws?
June 27th, 2012 4:50 pm
Johnc
I don’t think he is a jerk at all. I think he is a man of character. He works hard and his players respect and respond to him. I think you lump together personality with character. Harbaugh has character. Does he have the best personality in the world? Probably not because he tends to be defensive and paranoid at times. You have to recognize these traits in a person and work with him instead of trying to provoke him like he is Letutenant Commander Phillip Queeq in the “Cain Mutiny.”
Lastly, why do you put Don Nelson on your list of Jerks?
June 27th, 2012 11:03 pm
Brady
The example you list – the Manning comment – has nothing to do with jerkiness. Stupidity? Yes. Jerkiness? No. Schwartz was the one who reacted poorly to Harbaugh. Schwartz is constantly caught on tape swearing at or taunting opposing players. Those are jerky things. Backing your QB irrationally is not a jerk move, just a very odd one.
June 27th, 2012 11:24 pm
Bray
He doesn’t belong on the list at all. He has been anything but a jerk. I’ll go for snarky on occasion when he gets asked stupid\punk questions.
He handled the Manning ‘thing’ perfectly IMO, kicking the tires so to speak and ‘pursuing’ are NOT the same thing.
WIthin the context of the whole conversation it made perfect sense, take a snippet and you can shape it anyway you want to. It’s called sensationalism and Lowell is very good at that.
June 28th, 2012 8:28 am
CohnZohn
Bray, I’ve tried to stay out of this, even when people criticize me. Sure, I asked for it. But I can’t let your response go without a response from me. That stupid/punk remark is silly and inappropriate and just plain wrong. Harbaugh is difficult answering the most innocent questions, the most relevant questions. It may be easy for you, wherever you are, whoever you are, to call my questions stupid and punk (and the questions of others), but I stand behind my questions publicly. Everyone knows who I am. And I take the heat. My questions are not stupid. And I am most certainly not a punk. How about you?
June 28th, 2012 9:19 am
latopia
So Mike Freeman knows of every thought & deed committed by every “jerK” and “good guy” 24/7/365 for the entirety of their lives. I’d no idea Freeman was omniscient.
Funniest moment? When Freeman concedes “This is an arrogant approach for me and others”.
No Mike. If this was arrogance, 9/11 was just a bad hair day. This was monumental stupefaction unparalleled by any “jerk.”
June 28th, 2012 10:39 am
Bray
Lowell- I’m surpised with your vitriol, that shows me what I already thought is true. I obviously struck a nerve.
BTW- The ONLY comment directed at you was the last one. Why would even feel that way? You obviously feel somewhat threatened. I wasn’t calling you out in anyway.
My silly\punk comment was completley fine and it’s not just my opinion, It was also a ‘spin’ on Harper’s ‘clown comment’.
That being said, there is no way you can tell me that you don’t ‘take snippets’ then make controversial statements to encite comments. I am more of a moderate that feels there is ALWAYS more to the story that what gets told.
I didn’t think you were a punk, but your latest comments may make me change my mind. I just think you take things too personally for a ‘public figure’. My comment about being silly\punk was in ‘general’ and it’s not just MY opinion, many feel that the media tries to ‘setup’ people to get a controversial response. It’s called ‘getting what you want’ and I complimented you on your ability to ‘sensationalize’ and get more comments. You got me, this time.
I think your short sightedness gets in your way quite often and be insuating that I may be a punk is un-professional.
I have 3 wonderful kids of which I make dinner for each night, my BW works 5 nights a week, I manange a wine warehouse that ships 4 million cases a year, I run a junior golf program and help take care of my aging parents, I love to talk sports and debate with people who can point\counterpoint.
RELAX. You called me out and it was uncalled for.
June 28th, 2012 10:41 am
Stan
David,if you want to believe that a 2 time Cy Young winner and World Series champ forgot how to pitch at 28 or wasn’t concentrating..go ahead. And go for it if long toss and hamburgers sounds rational.
I will stick with Rhigetti’s ” I know too little when I see it”..and Wiki’s quote of Lincecum saying he gained up to 197 for strength and stamina.
btw Righetti was quoted not more than a couple of days after Sabean barked at Korzimor that “Tim’s weight is fine”..he wouldn’t add another word. And Bochy’s quote of “He has no idea what Tim weighs”..sure. They know he’s not planting his foot at a exact 43degree angle..but his weight? No idea.
Huff wanted people to know what he was going through…Lincecum wants to hide everything..and the Org, is doing that as best they can.
June 28th, 2012 10:56 am
MJ
Asking, and making a big deal, about Jenkins not participating in the graduation ceremony wasn’t a pointless (better than stupid) question? How does that impact his ability to catch a ball, learn the playbook, and be a important part of this team.
If I had questions along those lines, I’d be a little cantankerous.
June 28th, 2012 11:57 am
CohnZohn
Bray, I think you deserved to get called out, but I appreciate your polite and lengthy response.
June 28th, 2012 12:23 pm
Dennis
Lowell, for what it is worth (probably not much) I thought the question you posed at the top of this blog, “Where does Jim Harbaugh in the NFL list of jerks?”, was stupid. I say so primarily because it was and unfair question, akin to, “when did you stop beating your wife?”.
June 28th, 2012 2:16 pm
KauaiRobert
People should consider the fact that Lowell didn’t write the CBSsports.com article–he simply commented on it.
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Some people are getting a bit sensitive lately.
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By the way, I spot a jerk each and every day in my bathroom mirror…big deal.
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*ALOHA*
June 28th, 2012 3:43 pm
George
Lowell, this is pretty low. Your last low was when you called JH a child — I think that was after he refused to answer one of your questions in a press conference — but this may be worse. I’m sorry, but you should be ashamed of yourself. Really.
June 28th, 2012 7:10 pm
scary2larry2
I actually met JH at a function for the Salvation Army, he is a great man. I was so impressed with him as a human being. He was patient and open with everybody around him.
June 30th, 2012 10:30 am
Chris
I think that the work “jerk” in this context is downright sensationalism and provocative. Anyone who thinks calling people who are doing their best to succeed a ‘jerk’ just isn’t very intelligent or grammatically creative. It’s obviously just a social taboo word to catch our attention. It’s like calling someone a “coward” or “garbage” or “stupid”. Words like that draw our eye in subconscious ways and in Lowell’s profession, you become very adept at seeing how this works. I did a knee jerk click on the article headline, myself. Though I didn’t get much out of reading it, I did contribute to the writer’s ego and buisness. Grant has inherited this same “gift” as his strongest asset in the same field. Any son who chooses the same line of work as his father is going to inherit similar tactics even if he has different motivations or angles. If how many “hits” an article has determines it’s quality, than I’m a saint and I practice everything I have ever preached. What happened to the sport being the focus instead of the personalities. Unless an announcer, writer, or commentator is a local historical figure like Radnich, I don’t even care to know who’s bringing me the info I am looking for.
July 6th, 2012 9:56 am
CohnZohn
Chris, the word “jerk” was not mine. I linked to an article that listed the ten biggest jerks in sports. I did use the word, however. If that makes me a sensatioalnist journalist so be it. Grant does not write like me and is not a sensationalist journalist. Or let me say, he rarely is. You obviously have not read him often.
July 6th, 2012 10:10 am
Bill
I also do not think Jim is a jerk. The whole manning thing was over blown by the jerks in the media. To bad they can’t be on this list. As for Schwartz he should be number one. The incident between him and Jim was just Jim being enthusiastic. I was taught when you shake hands or pat someone on the back you do it firm. Schwartz acted like a school boy; looking for a fight. Also look at his Lion team. It’s a team full of jerks; just like their coach.
July 7th, 2012 9:42 pm