Tim Kawakami: 49ers may have set themselves up for failure in Harbaugh chase

When you chase Jim Harbaugh, as the 49ers, Dolphins and many others are learning too well, the target is elusive and the days are harrowing.

When you go after such a suddenly prized commodity, you are setting yourself up either for humiliation or the strong inkling that you are paying too high a price in this auction.

And you will do a lot of waiting. For Harbaugh to call back. For Harbaugh to listen. For Harbaugh to, if it's possible, finally agree to terms.

But that's what Jed York's 49ers have gotten themselves into, and there is no getting out of it now.

They have committed to the Harbaugh Chase. They've admitted he is by far their No. 1 choice. They've set themselves up to succeed only if he agrees to terms.

And yes, the 49ers probably had the first true shot at getting him to sign. But they bid lower than expected and could not close the deal.

So York and general manager Trent Baalke are stuck, like the other bidders. The 49ers will either get Harbaugh or they will be in some bad bit of trouble.

And now it might be down to two: The 49ers or Stanford.

The Dolphins had their crack at Harbaugh on Thursday, and owner Stephen Ross left the Bay Area without a deal in hand. Ross never fired Tony Sparano and, according to multiple media sources, has decided to stick with the current Dolphins coach.

The 49ers had their face-to-face with Harbaugh on Wednesday, couldn't get Harbaugh to sign, and
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now wait and see what happens next.

Will the 49ers increase their last informal offer of about $5 million a year? Can they get another meeting with Harbaugh?

If they don't get Harbaugh, can York and Baalke find an alternative candidate without looking like they've lost it all?

As of Thursday night, Harbaugh was still the Stanford coach, and multiple reports indicated that he had no made no firm decision about anything.

And yes, there were signals that Harbaugh is seriously considering Stanford's latest rich proposal to keep him in Palo Alto alongside quarterback Andrew Luck for one more season.

That would be a Richter Scale shocker, given the huge numbers reportedly contemplated by NFL teams.

But with Harbaugh, anything seems possible.

What does this all mean for the 49ers' pursuit and for their future?

It now looks clear that they entered the Harbaugh derby as his No. 1 option, but kicked it off as a disappointingly low bidder.

The 49ers originally offered about $4.5 million a year, according to a source. That's a lot of money, but still strikingly less than $6-million-plus annual deal landed by Harbaugh's rival, Pete Carroll, when Carroll went from USC to Seattle last year.

The moment Carroll got that contract, anybody who knew Harbaugh knew that, when he decided to go to the NFL, he would want at least as much as Carroll got and probably more.

And it was York who, on the day he fired Mike Singletary, said "money is no object" in the search for a new GM and coach.

To be clear, I was the one who prompted that answer, and I used the words "is money an object" in the query. So it's not like York was determined to make a declaration about money. He just gave a quick answer.

But that was more evidence of public unpreparedness. If you say money is no object, you are going to be criticized if you under-bid on your No. 1 candidate.

And that was followed by York's declaration that he would hire a GM first and foremost, which was followed by the clear conclusion that York actually wanted to hire Harbaugh, and was pushing Baalke ahead because York thought Baalke could help haul in Harbaugh.

And that was followed by a less-than-muscular money offer to Harbaugh, which probably opened the door for Miami or a return to Stanford.

Now it's down to the 49ers or Stanford, which is not a tussle the 49ers can afford to lose without public embarrassment.

At some point, Harbaugh will make a decision. He might fall flat on his face where he lands, and if he does, he will be an incredibly expensive failure.

But the 49ers have to realize two things: They are the ones who committed themselves to this chase, and they are the ones who will deserve to be judged almost entirely on their success or failure at the end of it.