Harbaugh dredges up old Manning remarks

Oh, Coach Harbaugh, how we love thee.

Not just because you led the Red & Gold to playoff sweetness last season. But because you have the ability to drag up old news and give life to outdated story lines like nobody else in the business.

The 49ers head coach gave us another gem of a comment Wednesday after 49er workouts when he — as SFGate notes, “unprompted” — addressed media comments about “flirting” with the idea of signing quarterback Peyton Manning.

That’s right. Peyton Manning, who has been rocking Broncos colors since Denver signed him way back in March.

Almost three months later, Harbaugh decided it was time to address his team’s interest in last off-season’s most sought after free agent. He told Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee:

 “It’s an erroneous perception that we were flirting with Peyton Manning. I keep hearing that over and over again. … It’s silly, and it’s untrue. It’s phony. Even the perception that we were pursuing him … we were evaluating him.“

This might be the most delightfully outdated thing Harbaugh has said since repping Hootie & The Blowfish back in 2010.

The Niners coach informed the media Wednesday that the franchise was “evaluating” Manning, and not “pursuing” or “flirting” with him.

Hmmmmmm, maybe he should’ve brought that point up back in March when QB Alex Smith got offended by the Manning flirtation — excuse me, evaluation — and flew off to Miami to meet with the Dolphins.

Harbaugh punctuated his commentary with:

“Hopefully that sets the record straight. … And you don’t have to keep reporting the silliness and the phoniness.”

Oh Coach, you’re so funny. We haven’t been reporting on this matter for several months now. We sports geeks in the City By The Bay are currently talking about Alex Smith bashing on Cam Newton.

SFGate suggests that Harbaugh could potentially be, yet again, reaffirming his belief in Smith as the franchise’s quarterback. Which isn’t out of character, since Harbaugh has been trying to boost the often-criticized quarterback ever since the coach’s arrival on the team last season.

Perhaps the whole matter has been bothering the coach for months and he never got around to addressing the media about it?

At the end of the day, who actually knows what cranks the wheels in Jim Harbaugh’s skull. But as long as it gets the Niners back to the playoffs, we probably can’t complain too much.