Alex Smith is scheduled to become a free agent, whenever the free agency period might be, but Niners fans thought they would finally be rid of Alex Smith. Not so fast as Matt Maiocco reports.

The Comcast reports states that Harbaugh and Alex Smith have met several times, Harbaugh even admitted, “Yeah, we were two out on the field- just two guys throwing the ball around”. This is disturbing news.

Mr. Maiocco points out that Alex Smith has played for six different offensive coordinators in his first six seasons in the league and played for defensive minded head coaches. That does not overcome the fact that Smith has never thrown for more than 18 touchdowns in a regular season and has never finished with a passer rating above 82.1. It is time for the 49ers to move on, let this young man take his “potential” elsewhere.

Did the 49ers ownership spend all the tens of millions of dollars in the hiring of Jim Harbaugh to start another season with Alex Smith under center? Since he is scheduled to become a free agent, Smith will likely want a long term contract deal, and do the fans seriously want Smith to continue to be linked to this team?

I realize that many 49ers fans were hoping for a clean start with the announcement of Jim Harbaugh being named head coach. It appears, at least at the outset, that that might not be the case at all. The prospect of starting 2011 with Alex Smith under center should be disheartening to all Niners fans.

You can listen to the two legendary 49ers players on the Dan Patrick Show right here.

The quarterback situation in San Francisco has been well documented, and it is very likely that the organization will go another direction at the position this season. The only question that remains is whether or not the franchise will draft for the future or decide to move forward by selecting a veteran free agent.

Legendary WR Jerry Rice was asked about if he had any input with the 49er’s decision to draft Alex Smith in the same season that Aaron Rodgers was available. Rice responded, “I remember being over there catching balls with Aaron Rodgers and I knew this guy could really help the San Francisco 49ers.”

He didn’t stop at that comment though. When he was asked if he was rooting for the Steelers, Rice responded, “Green Bay because Aaron Rodgers was at Cal and I thought we were going to draft him to the San Francisco 49ers, but we decided to make the worst move ever, not sign him and we decided to go with Alex Smith.”

I don’t think you can get anymore to the point than that comment.

The problem is, that they selected the wrong quarterback. The 49ers decided that they would go with Utah quarterback Alex Smith. That was a solid choice. Or so it seemed at the time, because 23 spots lower in the first round, another West coast college quarterback was selected which has become a modestly amount more successful in the NFL.

23 teams passed over Aaron Rodgers of the University of California. Of course, Rodgers did have the benefit of going to a team which was quarterbacked at the time by Brett Favre, and Rodgers did not need to be thrown into the fire right away, but with the money and time the 49ers have invested in Alex Smith, investments have not paid the same dividends.

Smith, in his career with the Niners has been lackluster. Passing for 9,399 yards, 51 touchdowns and 53 interceptions. Rodgers, however, has been on fire since gaining the reigns in Green Bay. He has already thrown for 12,723 yards, 87 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. Rodgers is the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. He has been electric in his postseason performances as well, tossing 10 touchdowns in his first three playoff games.Against the Atlanta Falcons during the NFC divisional game, Rodgers completed a mind-blowing 86.1% of his passes.

So, just how great would Aaron Rodgers look in a San Francisco uniform right now? Alex Smith has cashed his paychecks from the 49ers and will likely be moving on next season to assume his role as a career backup with another club.

It’s easy to look back at past drafts in hindsight, but the fact that Rodgers played his college ball in the same state as the 49ers, is really disappointing. It’s not like he played at Miami of Ohio or Penn State, he played at Cal. With Rodgers under center and Frank Gore in the backfield this season, the 49ers might have gone 13-3 this season.

Davis was a guest on the T. Ocho Show this week and said, “Oh man- I’d love to catch some passes from Donovan McNabb”.

McNabb may be one of the veteran free agent quarterbacks available next season as his status with the Washington Redskins is in doubt. Despite being given a contract extension mid-season after being benched in a game against the Detroit Lions, McNabb was demoted and did not start the final three games of the season for the Redskins.

Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan said that he would welcome McNabb back next year, but as a back-up. McNabb struggled on a Redskins team which was devoid of serious playmakers on offense and had the worst season of his career.

The Redskins will most likely be looking for a trade for McNabb but there is a chance that McNabb would simply be released before the Redskins are slated to pay him a roster bonus. What complicates matter for the 49ers is the current lack of a Collective Bargaining Agreement. If the CBA expires on March 4th, there can be no free agency period or player trades until a new agreement is reached. The new agreement could be reached after the NFL draft in April, so the Niners might have to address their quarterback situation through the draft instead of free agency.

49ers general manager Trent Baalke told Mike Florio on Tuesday of this week, “Is the quarterback of the future on this roster? I think it’s obvious that he isn’t at this point, but things can change through one of those vehicles”. The three vehicles Baalke spoke of were- draft, trade or free agency.

49ers defensive coordinator Greg Manusky’s name has been in the news the past few days as he has become a hot prospect. Manusky reportedly spoke with the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, but reports state that Manusky might be the favorite to take over as defensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers, a team he worked for from 2002 to 2006 as the linebackers coach.

NFL.com reports that Jim Harbaugh is expected to bring Stanford defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to the 49ers to take over the same position with San Francisco.

On Wednesday, ESPN reported that 49ers assistant coach Mike Johnson is slated to become the offensive coordinator for the UCLA Bruins. The move leaves current offensive coordinator Norm Chow’s future in flux.

Former head coach of the University of South Florida Bulls, Jim Leavitt was rumored to be on the verge of getting hired to take over the duties of linebackers coach. Leavitt has a history with the Harbaugh family. Leavitt was fired by the Bulls after grabbing a player by the throat and striking the player during a game with the Louisville Cardinals.

Of course all of the usual names of potential free agents will be floated around. Vince Young, Matt Hasselbeck, perhaps a trade for Kyle Orton will all be among the names thrown out. There is a very strong possibility that the 49ers will address the quarterback position in this year’s draft. San Francisco has the 7th overall pick in the first round.

However, if the Niners do not manage to re-sign Troy Smith next season, they are going to need a veteran quarterback on the roster. There is a player which might be under the radar right now. QB Josh Johnson, who is a backup quarterback on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster right now.

Josh Johnson played for Jim Harbaugh while at the University of San Diego, while Harbaugh was the coach there. Johnson is a very accurate passer with good mobility but he is buried behind impressive second year quarterback Josh Freeman for the Buccaneers. Johnson had a most impressive season in his final season with the Toreros, passing for 46 touchdowns and only one interceptions. That interception was a result of a ball which bounced off a player’s shoulder pads.

I am unaware if the Buccaneers would be willing to part with Josh Johnson, he runs a version of the Wildcat offense for the Buccaneers. But with Johnson in the NFL, I wonder if the Niners were to draft a rookie, if Harbaugh might want to try to trade for one of his former players to join San Francisco.

Harbaugh’s journey over the last week has been unreal, an Orange Bowl victory and a seemingly endless parade of teams interested in his services.

The Denver Broncos have announced this morning that they are not bringing Harbaugh in for any interviews, the Broncos were one of the teams rumored to be interested in his coaching duties next season.

The decision now appears to be down to two choices for Harbaugh. Stay at Stanford or jump to the NFL. The decision of Stanford QB Andrew Luck to stay in school might now complicate matters. Harbaugh could very well decide that he wants to return to Stanford with Andrew Luck and try to see if they could win a National Championship next season after having a 12-1 season in 2010.

If Harbaugh decides to return to college, that will leave the 49ers back at square one. The Niners did interview Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, but it is believed that he will have the inside track on getting the Raiders head coaching position.

My gut feeling is that Harbaugh returns to Stanford. But then again, this has been such a strange turn of events with him, anything at this point is possible.

According to Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, the Dolphins have reportedly offered Harbaugh a contract in the $7-8 million dollar range, a pricetag the 49ers wont match. So, if Harbaugh jumps to the Dolphins, it will be time for Plan B. If Plan B includes signing Josh McDaniels, 49ers fans should hope there is a Plan C.

McDaniels burst on the scene last season with the Denver Broncos and raced out to a 6-0 start to the season, but it was all downhill from there as he went on two win five of his next 22 games. The coach that fancies himself as the second coming of Bill Belichick (complete with the hoodie) made several controversial moves with the Broncos. He got rid of WR Brandon Marshall. He traded Peyton Hillis to the Browns in exchange for QB Brady Quinn. Quinn never played a snap and Hillis ran wild for the Browns this season totally 1654 all purpose yards and scoring 14 touchdowns. He selected Demaryius Thomas over Dez Bryant as a wide receiver in the first round. Thomas contributed precious little for Denver this season.

And perhaps the last straw for the Broncos management, McDaniels was found to have been taping a walk through of the 49ers prior to their game in London this season. The Broncos finished the season with one of the league’s worst defenses.

This should be a move the 49ers should stay away from. The Niners are in need of a quarterback and McDaniels should not be given the ability to chose players in this years draft that will shape the future of the organization for years to come. If they select McDaniels as head coach, I fear it will be more of the same for the 49ers for seasons to come.

Sources told Mercurynews.com, that Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh said he would be fine with either Baalke or Lombardi named as the 49ers general manager.

Baalke was the Vice President of Player Personnel for the 49ers after being promoted to that position in May of 2010. He was originally hired by the 49ers in 2005 as a regional player scout.