Should I stay or Should I go?

My favorite college team (other than the Brown Bears, of course) is the Stanford Cardinal. Growing up in Connecticut as a UConn hater, I needed a team to root for. My first Final Four as a cognizant sports fan took place in 1998. A quick refresher: that Final Four featured a relatively boring Kentucky-Utah finals (I see you Keith van Horn), as the Ron Mercer led Wildcats ran away from the Utes. The most memorable game that year came a round earlier, when Kentucky beat Stanford in a thrilling 86-85 back and forth contest. The Cardinal's tournament run was enough for me and from that moment on I began to wear Stanford red proudly. This week rumors began to swirl that Stanford’s head football coach, Jim Harbaugh, was close to leaving Palo Alto for either his alma matter, the University of Michigan, or the recently vacated San Francisco 49ers position. Here are some important facts he needs to keep in mind before he makes his decision:

· Leaving for a bigger program does not necessarily mean more success:

Tyrone Willingham was Stanford’s head football coach in the mid to late 1990s. He led the program to a very respectable 44-36-1 record, including a 1999 Pac-10 title and a birth in the Rose Bowl. However, when Willingham moved on to Notre Dame he never came close to replicating the success he had found in Palo Alto with the Cardinal. After going 10-3 in his first season in South Bend, Willingham led the Golden Domers to back-to-back subpar seasons (combined record: 11-12) and was run out of town. He then landed in Washington where he went 11-37 in 4 seasons (including an 0-12 stinkbomb in 2008, his final season). As Ty learned, the grass is not always greener...

· Harbaugh has something great going at Stanford

In 2010 Harbaugh led the Cardinal to an 11-1 record and a birth in the Orange Bowl. Had it not been for an abysmal second half on the road against Oregon, Harbaugh very well could have had his team playing in the National Championship. And while quarterback Andrew Luck obviously played a pivotal role, this team’s success can be solely attributed to Harbaugh. He truly BUILT this program from the bottom up. In his first year at Stanford the Cardinal went 4-8 finishing 7^th in the Pac-10. However, he turned the program around completely and in three short years Stanford has become a force to be reckoned with. Michigan, on the other end of the spectrum, is 15-21 in the past 3 seasons. Despite their storied history, Stanford is the better program in better shape, especially if star quarterback Andrew Luck returns to school.

· The 49ers, one of the NFL’s historically best franchise, is a without a doubt a great job

If Coach Harbaugh leaves college for the NFL, San Francisco is an ideal landing spot. With the likes of Patrick Willis, Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, and Frank Gore, the 49ers have a very solid young nucleus to build around. And given the sorry state of the NFC West, Harbaugh could realistically have the Niners in the playoffs in his debut NFL season.

The bottom line is no matter what, Coach Harbaugh is going to have a great coaching job next year. As a Stanford fan, I’m hoping he stays in Palo Alto. However, if I were a betting man, I would put my money on San Fran. The bright lights of San Francisco are just too much to turn down. Oh well, at least us Cardinal fans can root for Landry Fields, go Knicks!