It sounds like Joe Montana agrees with Jim Harbaugh about the former 49ers coach deserving a medal for his time with the franchise.

Montana opened up Tuesday about his thoughts on Harbaugh’s ouster in 2014 after taking San Francisco to three straight NFC Championships and the Super Bowl in 2012.

“Sometimes, you’ll make bad decisions in an organization,” the Hall of Fame quarterback recently told Sports Illustrated’s SI Now. “And I think letting Jim Harbaugh go was not a good decision on their part at that point in time. … All of a sudden they were in the Super Bowl and then it just took a dive.”

That narrative has had plenty of attention since then, especially with Harbaugh succeeding so well as the head coach at Michigan. It should be noted that Harbaugh is known for the friction he creates in a organization because he believes it can bring out the best in players, coaches and the staff.

But, despite the troubles from three years ago, Montana is optimistic about the current state of the 49ers.

“I think it’s heading in the right direction,” Montana told SI Now. “I like both those guys (general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan). I think they’re trying to change the culture that had been kind of destroyed from prior years. It’s going to take… (it) won’t be done tomorrow.” Related Articles 49ers analysis: Three highlights despite the Bosa-Garoppolo carnage

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Fellow former 49ers star Steve Young chimed in about that topic last week while appearing on KNBR’s Murph & Mac program.

“We have a history, maybe top four organizations with a history like this in the league. and we are now going to try to use all of those to inspire the guys on the field today,” he said. “That’s a smart thing to do. Those guys are cousins to the original 20 years. John understands that because he was in Denver, Kyle understands it… They know what it’s supposed to feel like, they know what it’s supposed to look like, and I think they’ve completely embraced it. John especially has just said, ‘The first thing these players are going to hear about is what we used to be like, what the standard is.’”