SANTA CLARA -- New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Friday reflected on speaking with then-Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh and legendary Bill Walsh on one phone call as he prepared for a draft.
Prior to the 49ers' departure on Friday to New England, Harbaugh said he vividly remembered the conversation.
"Actually, we were in Bill Walsh's office and Coach Belichick had called Bill Walsh and they were talking for about 10 or 15 minutes and I was sitting there like I used to do," Harbaugh said. "I'd just sit in Coach Walsh's office and try to pick things up. And then he handed the phone to me to talk to Coach Belichick.
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"And I remember it very well, distinctly, he wishing us luck at Stanford. And talked about how important it was . . . how much he wanted to see Stanford get back on top in football, how important he thought that was for college football, institutions like Stanford and the Naval Academy and academies to be competitive in football. We talked a little bit about his family and my family. It was a very good conversation."
Harbaugh was hired as Stanford coach in December 2006. Walsh, a three-time Super Bowl-winning coach with the 49ers and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died in July 2007.
NO FINE FOR BOWMAN: Linebacker NaVorro Bowman said he expected to be fined after referee Mike Carey flagged him Sunday for roughing the passer against Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Carey announced it as a helmet-to-helmet hit, which would have subjected Bowman to a fine. But the NFL said Friday that Bowman would not be fined.
"I was just hoping not to see a fine," said Bowman, who was docked $10,000 last week for unnecessary roughness against the St. Louis Rams. "If it gets called a penalty, I'm expecting one (a fine)."
San Francisco 49ers
Bowman said the penalty did not matter because there was another 49ers penalty on the play. Chris Culliver was called for pass interference, a penalty that was declined with Bowman's penalty being enforced.
"It wasn't helmet-to-helmet," Bowman said. "It was a bad call. But I think he just threw it (the flag) because he saw Tannehill look back at him. It's a quarterback-friendly league."