In case nobody else mentions this, San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh has compiled the seventh-fastest start by a head coach in NFL history.
And also the second-fastest in 49er history, so he can’t stand on his coffee table and say, “I’m the king of the world.” If that’s what he did for fun, which we don’t know he has. Or does.
He is currently 26-8-1 with his second NFC Championship pending. That’s a percentage of .757, if you count a tie as half a win and half a loss. If you throw it out entirely, it’s .764.
This puts him in rare, and sometimes obscure, company. Proof follows:
COACH/TEAM YEARS RECORD PERCENTAGE(S)
Paul Brown, Cleveland 1946-7 26-3-1 .883/.896
George Halas, Chicago 1933-4 24-3-1 .875/.889
George Seifert, S.F. 1989-90 32-5 .864
George Halas, Chicago 1920-1 19-2-3 .854/.904
Leroy Andrews, Giants 1929-30 25-5-1 .822/.833
In addition, Luke Johnson and Hunk Anderson split the duty with the Bears in 1942 and ’43, and went 15-2-1 (.861/.882).
What this means going into the NFC Title Game is, well, minimal. But it should be catalogued, in case he does want to bring it up the next time he gives the coffee table a workout. Harbaugh is still third best on this franchise, and is two Super Bowl rings short of pulling even with Seifert or approaching Bill Walsh, but it is now official – he’s got Steve Mariucci beat.
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