Report: 49ers told Jim Harbaugh he wouldn't return after Week 15 loss
The San Francisco 49ers told former coach Jim Harbaugh he wouldn't return in 2015 following a Week 15 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 14, reports Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News.
As widely expected, the 49ers and Harbaugh parted ways following San Francisco's final game of the season, a 20-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 28. The 49ers finished 8-8, but missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons under Harbaugh, who went 44-19-1 in that span with three NFC Championship Game appearances and one Super Bowl berth.
• What is the state of Michigan's 2015 recruiting under Jim Harbaugh?
Harbaugh was later introduced as the head coach at his alma mater, Michigan, on Dec. 30.
The Week 15 loss to the Seahawks dropped the 49ers to 7-7 and was their third in a string of four straight losses before the Week 17 win. The 49ers also lost to the Seahawks in Week 13, 19-3.
• MMQB: The key to Super Bowl XLIX? It all rests on Gronk
San Francisco hired defensive line coach Jim Tomsula to replace Harbaugh as head coach on Jan. 14. Tomsula spent the last eight seasons as the 49ers' defensive line coach, and was also the team's interim head coach for the final game of the 2010 season after Mike Singletary was fired.
- Mike Fiammetta
