

Khakis are suitable for any occasion, like yelling at referees. (John Bazemore / AP)

The NFL’s championship weekend is here, with the drama and tension that comes with playing for a Super Bowl berth nearly unbearable. So many story lines, all of them so critically, globally important. Like…

Jim Harbaugh, what’s your deal with the khaki pants?

The coach, whose San Francisco 49ers face the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship game on Sunday, found himself at the epicenter of a controversy after his wife ripped the cover off Khakigate. Harbaugh loves him some pleated khakis (and black mock turtlenecks and a Sharpie around his neck) and he isn’t about to give them up. Oh, no, he isn’t, no matter how crazy they drive the Mrs.

“Not very many things make me want to call into a radio station,” Sarah Harbaugh told CBS Radio’s Fernando and Greg. “But I will not take the blame for his outfit.”



Two weeks ago in Green Bay, Jim Harbaugh probably had on long johns. (Mike Roemer / AP)

Part of the issue is the pleats. The other part is the cost. Harbaugh loves his khakis cheapcheapcheap.

“I’ve thrown them away many times. I’ve asked him please! Pleats are gone! Wear the flat fronts. He’s got a flattering body!” she said. “I threw them out and when he went to the combine [in Indianapolis last February] he found a Walmart. They were $8. $8! He pulls them up to the middle of his stomach. I said, ‘You’re aging yourself 50 years and you look like ‘Rainman.'”

Sure enough, photographic evidence cropped up Wednesday afternoon in a picture snapped by Austin Jeffers.

In fairness to the coach, having a go-to look eliminates one daily distraction. The pants are roomy (for challenge flags and long underwear in Green Bay) and they look good from every angle.

His wife’s protestations aside, he can’t exactly change his look now. But, as all coaches know, there’s always next year.

“He would be so open to it and I’ll tell you why,” she said. “I said ‘next year, will you please let me dress you or someone else dress you?’ And he agreed to that.”

H/T Deadspin for the GIF