The day the San Francisco 49ers will eventually rue is almost at hand. Multiple media reports say the franchise will relieve Jim Harbaugh of his head coaching duties soon after Sunday's season finale against the Arizona Cardinals.

The 49ers' brass has been so out in front and relentless in leaking this news, or news of irreconcilable personality issues, that it doesn't shock anymore. It's been coming for months and months. That was probably the point. Harbaugh was always going to be a goner, so don't fret about the decision, let's focus the conversation on what kind of compensation the team can get from another NFL franchise (a possible move to the University of Michigan would throw a wrench in that plan).

It's worth noting, however, any number of high-profile spots (NFL and NCAA) are going to line up to grab what the 49ers are tossing out, including, quite deliciously if you're into revenge, the 49ers' cross Bay rivals in Oakland.

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There are two things you get with Harbaugh: An abrasive, aloof and hard-headed personality that doesn't take well to bosses …

And wins.

That's him. And in the NFL that is generally well worth the trade.

The two most coveted and difficult to attain things in football is a great quarterback and a great coach. You get one and you have a chance to contend for a title. You get two and you're the New England Patriots.

And no matter what, you never just give either away.

Harbaugh, 50, is a unique personality, one who will never conform or think about anything other than doing something exactly how he believes it should be done. His track record suggests you don't try to manage that – it's fruitless. You just get out of the damn way.

He spent his NFL quarterbacking career earning the name "Captain Comeback" while battling with coaches after he'd change the plays because he had a better idea. And a man who didn't back down in a test of wills with a fully enraged and in his prime Mike Ditka sure isn't cowering to Trent Baalke.

While he was still playing, he observed the subpar recruiting going on at Western Kentucky, where his dad, Jack, was then the head coach. So he circumvented the actual assistant coaches and just moonlighted as a volunteer staffer whose sole job was to find some good prospects. Each offseason he'd drive around to high schools near his home in Orlando looking for players for his dad, stunning teenagers when a starting NFL QB would pop into the school cafeteria looking for them.

"[My sister] told me a guy by the name of Jim Harbaugh called. I was like, 'What?!?'" said Willie Taggart, then a star athlete in Bradenton who had Nebraska and Tennessee after him as a defensive back.

Harbaugh showed up at Taggart's house.

"We were out in the backyard throwing the football around and people are riding by yelling, 'Hey, Jim Harbaugh!'" Taggart said. "They were coming over for autographs. He was talking to everyone."

View photos Reported conflict between Jim Harbaugh (L) and GM Trent Baalke (R) is expected to lead to a breakup. (AP) More

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