(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
Richard Sherman was once public enemy number one for 49ers fans. You might think that Sherman’s disdain for the 49ers was mutual during his time with the Seahawks, but the now-San Francisco cornerback said his issue was more personal.
In fact, it still is.
“I meant it to (Jim) Harbaugh,” Sherman said on Thursday, specifically citing the butt pat he gave Harbaugh after the Seahawks’ 29-3 victory over the 49ers in September 2013. “We’ve had our history. I don’t regret a second of that. I’d do it again, twice, maybe more.
“If he were their coach and we were in the same position, it would maybe be worse right now. There’s bad blood there. There’s history there. . . . It was very personal. It was less 49ers and Seahawks. It was very personal.”
Sherman told NBC Sports in October that his issue with Harbaugh stems from their time together at Stanford when Harbaugh was head coach.
“Sherman said his relationship with Harbaugh was irreversibly damaged when Harbaugh expressed anger toward Sherman after he underwent season-ending knee surgery early in the 2008 season. Harbaugh told Sherman he quit on the Stanford team, Sherman recalled.
“Sherman said Harbaugh told him he would never play offense for Stanford again, despite being the team’s leading wide receiver as a freshman and sophomore. Sherman moved to defense and began the following offseason at the bottom of the Stanford depth chart.”
Of course Sherman eventually won the starting cornerback job, was drafted by Pete Carroll and the Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, and contributed to a game deciding interception vs. Harbaugh’s Niners in the 2013 NFC Championship Game that sent Seattle to the Super Bowl.
Now with Harbaugh gone, Sherman Saturday’s 49ers-Seahawks matchup is all business.
“It’s ball.”