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For the first five years of his career with the San Francisco 49ers, Alex Smith was viewed as one of the biggest quarterback busts of the 2000s. Two decades later, Smith credits head coach Jim Harbaugh for turning his career around, but mostly recalls the “insane” conditions he played under during the start of his tenure.
After dazzling as a dual-threat quarterback in college, the 49ers took Smith first overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. However, they told him that he was not allowed to run the ball, removing one of his best attributes from his arsenal. Smith claimed that the offense was so run-heavy at the beginning of his career that he had to beg his coaches to line up in shotgun on third down to give him more time in the pocket.
“I had to ask the coaches’ permission to get in shotgun on third down,” Smith said, via Zak Keefer of ‘The Athletic.’ “How insane is that?”
Smith joined San Francisco just as Mike Nolan was preparing for his first year as head coach. Nolan went just 18-51 through three and a half seasons before being fired and replaced by Mike Singletary. Harbaugh did not enter the picture until the 2011 season.
Keefer noted that Smith’s production began to ramp up once the 49ers hired former Oakland Raiders head coach Norv Turner as their offensive coordinator. However, Turner reportedly told Smith at the end of his second season that Nolan wanted to revert to the run-heavy style to “take some pressure off the defense.” Needless to say, Smith was not pleased with the decision.
“Every possession was run, run, pass,” Smith said, via ‘The Athletic.’ “Do you know how hard it is in the NFL to throw it on third down when the defense knows you’re throwing it?”
Through his first five seasons, Smith looked like one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the league. Yet, once Harbaugh entered the picture, he finally reached his pre-draft potential.
In his first season with Harbaugh, Smith recorded a career-high 3,144 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions in 2011. He also added 179 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Unfortunately, Smith would lose the starting job to Colin Kaepernick in 2012 after suffering a concussion. However, he would go on to realize even more success with the Kansas City Chiefs over the next five years before being replaced once again by Patrick Mahomes.
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