Quote:Alex Smith was considered a bust. In 2010 his passer rating was 82, and that was his career high.
 
Harbaugh went to the NFC championship game and almost the Superbowl with a guy considered a bust.
 
My point simply is that a great coach can win without having a great QB. That the guys fired didn't have QBs just means they weren't lucky enough to have the easy road to success, it doesn't excuse the fact that they were NOT top tier coaches.

No, I don't think so. Recent NFL history shows you don't have to have a great defense, although that certainly helps. But to get very far in the playoffs you better have a QB who can get it done.

Although the narrative on Alex Smith was that he was a bust, Harbaugh didn't listen to the narrative. Much like Carroll didn't listen to the narrative re Russell Wilson. I love when coaches go by what they see as possible rather than going with the conventional wisdom.

And the coaches that were fired were not top tier coaches? How do you know? The top tier coaches are the ones who win, and they are the ones with the best quarterbacks. We had no idea if Chuck Pagano is a good coach or not. Still don't. But he has Andrew Luck and they win a lot of games.

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