Justin Smith: 49ers players loved Jim Harbaugh, Jim Tomsula 'not a meathead'

Ron Clements

Justin Smith: 49ers players loved Jim Harbaugh, Jim Tomsula 'not a meathead' image

Recently retired 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith spoke with a San Francisco radio station about the 49ers coaches a day after his retirement from the NFL after 14 years.

Smith told 95.7 The Game on Tuesday that, despite contrary reports, the players actually liked former Niners coach Jim Harbaugh, who parted ways with the team to take over at his alma mater of Michigan.

STEELE: Meet the 49ers' defensive replacements | 49ers tried to reload in the draft 

"Everybody in the locker room got along with Harbaugh,” Smith said, via CSN Bay Area. "He was a good guy. He was quirky, this and that, but everybody loved him. And we loved what we were doing. How could you not have fun with that?

"But for whatever reason, it didn’t work out. As a player, you don’t try to get involved in that. Whatever’s going on, whatever else, it’s not our problem. We’re just trying to win."

The 49ers made a surprise choice as Harbaugh's replacement, tabbing defensive line coach Jim Tomsula as the head coach. Tomsula has been awkward with the media since his promotion, but Smith said his former position coach isn't dumb, even though the media "tried to make him look like a meathead D-line coach."

"That’s not the case. This guy is a cerebral guy," Smith told the radio station. "He knows the game inside and out — offensively and defensively.

"Half the time we’re talking defense in our defensive meeting rooms, we’re talking about how the offense is trying to attack us. So he’s got good knowledge of what the offense is trying to do — special teams, all of it. We got a great coach and he’s going to do fine and it’s going to be fun to watch it."

"It’s football. Players move on, coaches move on. You got to roll with the punches. I think they’ll be fine. Like I said, I have all the faith in the world in Jimmy T."

Smith, who played for seven seasons for both the Bengals and 49ers, went to five straight Pro Bowls from 2009-2013. The first-round pick out of Missouri in 2001 finished his career with 87 sacks, 43 1/2 each for Cincinnati and San Francisco.

 

Ron Clements