SANTA CLARA –

David Akers spoke to the media after practice today. Akers played under Jim’s brother John for nine seasons in Philadelphia when John was a special teams coach. The 49ers’ new kicker had glowing praise for the Harbaughs.

Specifically, Akers explained why he signed here and why he believes Jim can turn the 49ers into a winning franchise once again.

Enjoy.

Q: Why not be patient and see if a team in contention needs a kicker? Why sign now?

AKERS: I want to play, and John Harbaugh was my position coach for eight years and I was with him for nine years with the Eagles. I almost played for his father, Jack, at Western Kentucky. I knew Jim from years back, just from when he was first playing.

Q: This team hasn’t had a winning season for eight seasons. How do they turn that around?

AKERS: I think winning is a mentality. They’ve got a great winning tradition here. That’s one thing the Eagles developed with Andy Reid’s program. The year before I got there they were 3-13, then we went 5-11 but every game was close, we were in the mix. Then the next year we flipped it. We went 11-5, went to the playoffs, made the second round. We went to several NFC championship games, went to the Super Bowl. We never got the big win, but it was that process, and it starts with the foundation. You’ve got to build the foundation first. And I think just knowing the Harbaugh family, that’s the way they believe in football. It’s hard-nosed. For the most part, I think their philosophy is a winning philosophy. That family has got so much football knowledge from the dad on down that I think there foundation is so good they can build up anything. What John has done with the Ravens, I think Jim can do the same thing right here with the 49ers. It would be great to be a part of it.

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