San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin said Monday that there's no "rift" between players on the team and coach Jim Harbaugh, despite multiple recent reports to the contrary.
Harbaugh, who has led the team to the NFC Championship Game each year and a Super Bowl appearance, has a strained relationship with Niners players as well as the team's front office, according to reports. The franchise also shot down a proposed trade offer this offseason that would've sent Harbaugh to the Cleveland Browns.
"Honestly, I just heard about it yesterday," Boldin said of the alleged rift during a teleconference to discuss his new two-year deal with San Francisco. "I really don't watch SportsCenter. I don't read sports news. At this time of the year, people grab at whatever. The football season is not here so they'll take whatever they can and run with it. A lot of it is farfetched."
"When I did hear about it, I kind of laughed," Boldin said. "I don't think anybody in our locker room has an issue with Coach Harbaugh. The way our locker room is built, we have an open door policy. If anybody has any concerns or wants to voice their opinions, they're more than welcome to. There have been times when we've voiced our concerns as players and Coach Harbaugh has listened to us and taken into consideration how we felt as players. I don't think there's any rift between players and coaches, particularly Coach Harbaugh."
Boldin, however, said Harbaugh had a "big" role in his return to the Niners.
"He's a guy that I had a real good relationship with. Me and him was able to talk about anything," Boldin said. "And I just like his demeanor, the way he approaches the game. He's a guy that wants to win. I'm the exact same way. So I think we mesh pretty good. Like I said, he was just good to me the entire year."