Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The San Francisco 49ers and Richard Sherman had a famously contentious dynamic early in his career, but things changed once Jim Harbaugh was no longer in the picture.

During Super Bowl LIV opening night Monday, Sherman talked about how his views toward the 49ers changed when Harbaugh was fired by the organization, per SI.com's Conor Orr:

"[49ers CEO] Jed York tells a funny story about when I was coming out in the draft the 49ers had a higher draft grade on me than most teams and Jim Harbaugh came and took me off the draft board. Jed was pretty upset about that. Honestly, I wanted to put [Harbaugh] out of the league, and once I got that done, I had no animosity toward the 49ers or the organization."

Sherman has held a grudge against the former 49ers head coach since his time at Stanford, when Harbaugh was his head coach.

Per NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco, Sherman's relationship with Harbaugh was "irreversibly damaged" in 2008 when the coach accused him of quitting on the Cardinal when Sherman underwent season-ending knee surgery.

Sherman played a key role in keeping Harbaugh and the 49ers from a Super Bowl. He famously tipped the ball on Malcolm Smith's last-minute end-zone interception in the 2013 NFC Championship Game, which sealed the Seattle Seahawks' 23-17 victory over San Francisco.

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Harbaugh was fired by the 49ers after the 2014 season and went back to the college ranks to coach Michigan.

San Francisco signed Sherman to a three-year deal in March 2018 after he was released by the Seahawks. The five-time Pro Bowler can help the 49ers end their 25-year title drought Sunday in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs.