Parents’ values stick with Harbaughs

Inherit Dad’s words, Mom’s big heart

The Harbaugh family is highly competitive, but its members are also known for fierce loyalty. Both traits were on display Thursday during a conference call with Jack and Jackie Harbaugh, the parents of Jim and John, who coach the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens and will face each other in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.

A caller identified as “John from Baltimore” raised their ire by asking, “Is it true that both of you like Jim better than John?”

After several unintelligible noises, Joani Crean, the sister of the Harbaugh brothers, calmed her parents by pointing out that it sounded as if her brother had been pulling a trick on them.

“Mom was ready to come right through this phone!” Jack said, laughing.

“I’m so happy that Joani recognized your voice.”

John replied: “That’s the fighting spirit. That’s all I needed to know. I just needed to hear that.”

The Harbaughs are the first brothers to be National Football League head coaches and are now the first to face off against each other in a Super Bowl.

Although the situation may be unique, they have always measured themselves against each other, having grown up the sons of a man who spent 43 years coaching football.

The competitiveness and the intensity the brothers display come from both of their parents. But Jim’s tendency to break out antiquated sayings is clearly something he shares with his father.

The brothers also picked up their ability to make a tough decision from Jack, who prides himself on having made a number of difficult ones over his career, even if none was as high profile as Jim’s decision to bench Alex Smith in favour of Colin Kaepernick or John’s decision to fire his offensive co-ordinator midseason.

The brothers’ big hearts, however, came from their mother.

“The rock of our family is Jackie, and there’s no question about it,” Jack said. “She did all the heavy lifting.”