Boone criticizes ex- coach’s style
Harbaugh ‘ might be insane,’ guard says to HBO
Alex Boone, on the sideline with Jim Harbaugh in 2013, told HBO that Harbaugh “kind of wore out his welcome.”
SANTA CLARA — Jim Harbaugh’s most outspoken supporter last year has turned into the first 49ers player to publicly criticize the team’s ex- coach.
Guard Alex Boone critiqued Harbaugh’s style and questioned his sanity during an HBO “Real Sports” feature that airs Tuesday.
“He does a great job of giving you that spark, that initial boom,” Boone told HBO’s Andrea Kremer. “But after a while, you just want to kick his ass.
“I think he just pushed guys too far. He wanted too much, demanded too much, expected too much. You know, ‘ We gotta go out and do this. We gotta go out and do this. We gotta go out and do this.’ And you’d be like, ‘ This guy might be clinically insane. He’s crazy.’”
Boone had been a visible ally of Harbaugh since the coach’s tenure began in 2011. Boone was the player with whom Harbaugh did a celebratory chest- bump before his famous handshake with Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz that season.
Once reports surfaced early last season that Harbaugh was on the outs, Boone insisted otherwise, saying Sept. 29 on his weekly radio show: “Last I checked I was in the locker room and it was all smiles, and everybody was happy. Nobody was saying we want him out. I know for a fact everybody loves Harbaugh.”
The HBO piece revolves mostly around Harbaugh’s upbringing and connection with the University of Michigan. Eventually, his 49ers tenure is broached, and Boone weighs in.
“He just keeps pushing you, and you’re like, ‘ Dude, we got over the mountain. Stop. Let go.’ He kind of wore out his welcome.”
Harbaugh admits as much, telling Kremer: “I wear out my welcome. … They just don’t want to be around you after a while.”
Harbaugh still has at least one ally. Former 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver, now with Washington, came to Harbaugh’s defense Monday via social media. After citing Harbaugh’s accomplishments as 49ers coach, he capped his posts this way: # HEISAGOOD COACH # RESPECTHIM.