Following his near-perfect season with the Stanford Cardinals, Jim Harbaugh will make the jump for the college ranks to the pros. The San Francisco 49ers and Harbaugh agreed today on a five-year, $25 million deal. Although other NFL teams and the Michigan Wolverines (Harbaugh’s Alma Mater) were said to have been pursuing Harbaugh, the former NFL quarterback went with 49ers. Harbaugh will receive a massive pay raise and will not have to move his family. Stanford and San Francisco are only separated by 36 miles. The Oakland Raiders were also though to be in the running for Harbaugh after owner Al Davis surprisingly fired head coach Tom Cable. The Bay Area’s other NFL team had a better season in 2010 than San Francisco. The 49ers are weaker at the quarterback position with Jason Campbell showing some good signs in Oakland. The 49ers do have considerable pedigree historically and some talented players on roster in Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, Patrick Willis, and Justin Smith. However, the 49ers do play in the worst division in the NFL - the NFC West. We shall see if Harbaugh can restore this once proud franchise back to its former place.

Should the Seahawks defeat the Rams next Sunday at Qwest Field, Seattle will claim the NFC West title with the completely mediocre record of 7-9. To say the NFC West has been dreadful this season would be putting it more than mildly. The NFC West’s poor play in 2010 has been downright historic. If the Seahawks prevail next weekend they will officially be the first team in NFL history to qualify for the postseason with a sub-500 record. Plenty of coaches in recent years have been fired for finishing the year with 7-9 records, but Pete Carroll may lead Seattle to their first playoff appearance in four seasons this year. St. Louis will be favored this weekend after claiming the top spot in the division by beating fellow NFC West jokers the San Francisco 49ers. Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford has matured nicely as the season has progressed and should perform well against Seattle’s swiss cheese defense. Seattle has, however, been better at home in 2010. Regardless of who claims the NFC West crown on New Year’s weekend, the division champs will be lucky to be in the playoffs.

Outside of the weirdness in Minnesota,  the Washington Redskins have been the most controversial team in the NFL this season. From the bizarre pre-season spat between head coach Mike Shanahan and defensive linemen Albert Haynesworth to Donovan McNabb’s unexpected benching in week 8, Redskins fans have been through a lot. Things keep getting odder in the nation’s capital with Shanahan once again benching McNabb in favor of backup Rex Grossman. McNabb has been mediocre this season throwing more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (14). The 34-year-old quarterback signed a five-year $78 million contract during the season, but the Redskins reportedly have an option to cut him before the end of the regular season. If Washington decides to not cut McNabb, the franchise will owe him a $10 million bonus. If Rex “Sexy Rexy” Grossman can show some worth this weekend against Dallas, expect McNabb to be on his way out of D.C.

Running back Chris Ivory took an uncommon path toward NFL stardom, but the 22-year-old undrafted rookie is the leading rusher on the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. Despite featuring in a backfield behind future Hall of Famer Drew Brees, Ivory was the star of the Saints’ victory last week in Cincinnati. The Longview, Texas native torched the Bengals for 117 yards on just 15 carries and a pair of touchdowns. Darting through the middle of Cincinnati’s defense, Ivory displayed his breakaway speed on a 55 yard TD run in the second quarter. Head coach Sean Payton’s newest favorite runner spent three seasons at Washington State, but was dismissed from the team as a junior for disciplinary reasons. Ivory headed to the tiny Ohio town of Tiffin to resurrect his playing career. The Tiffin University Dragons welcomed Ivory to the their team and Ivory rushed for 223 yards on 35 carries before suffering a season-ending injury to his knee. Despite his misfortune, NFL scout were still enamored by his speed and Ivory signed with the Saints shortly after the 2010 NFL Draft. His road to the New Orleans wasn’t an easy one, but it appears that Chris Ivory has a shot at shining a NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year Award this off-season.

On December 4th, 2010, the football programs of Auburn University and the University of South Carolina will square off for the SEC Championship. The two teams have taken two very different paths to get to where they are with the Tigers a perfect 11-0 and the Gamecocks 7-3. Led by Heisman Trophy candidate Cameron Newton, Auburn is ranked #2 in the country in both the BCS and AP rankings. The Tigers will travel this weekend to Alabama with the SEC East championship wrapped up, but a chance to play in the National Championship game on the line. Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks have never played in a SEC Championship game in school history. South Carolina’s entrance into the SEC Championship is the crowning achievement of Spurrier’s reign in Columbia. Auburn beat South Carolina 35-27 in a close game earlier this year at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Fans buying 2011 SEC Championship tickets might be in for a instant classic this year at the George Dome.

 It’s been a long 8 years since the Oakland Raiders have had a winning season, but it appears that Raider Nation might actually have something to cheer about this year. Last Sunday the Raiders pulled off an impressive win against the AFC West division leading Kansas City Chiefs. The Raiders improved their record to 5-4 and now sit only one game behind the Chiefs in the division. The team hasn’t won more than 5 games since 2002. Running back Darren McFadden looks like the next big star in the NFL rushing for 757 yards already this season. With his fellow runner Michael Bush, McFadden has helped the Raiders to the second best running offense in the league. The offensive line is opening holes for Oakland’s running backs and protecting new quarterback Jason Campbell. After enjoying a bye this week, the Raiders’ resolve will be put to the test when they head to Heinz Field to face the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Seattle Seahawks acquired a new running back today.  A host of NFL teams had been thought to be interested in the Buffalo Bills back-up in recent weeks including the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles. It was head coach Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks who ended up winning the Lynch sweepstakes as the Seahawks gave up a 2011 fourth round pick and another conditional pick for the two-time 1,000 yard rusher. After making the Pro Bowl in 2008, Lynch got in trouble with the law in the offseason for a misdemeanor weapons charge and was suspended for the first three games of the season. The Bills gave Fred Jackson the starting job and Lynch was unable to recover his starting position following his suspension. Rumors that the former Cal stand out was on his way out of Buffalo swirled when the Bills selected C.J. Spiller with their first pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. Despite Buffalo losing all four games so far this year, Lynch showed he could still be force out of the backfield in the limited carries he’s received thus far this year. Seattle is in need of a back just like Lynch to help jump start the Seahawks’ running game.

Who had the Kansas City Chiefs starting the season 3-0? The honest answer is nobody. The Chiefs hadn’t won more than four games than each of the last three seasons, but head coach Todd Haley’s team finds themselves perfect in 2010 after week 3. After opening the year with a upset of the San Diego Chargers, the Chiefs outlasted the Cleveland Browns 16-14. This weekend Kansas City flexed their muscles at Arrowhead dismantling the 49ers 31-10. The Chiefs’ defense ranks #2 in the NFL in points allowed and #1 in rushing yards. Derrick O. Johnson, Eric Berry, Brandon Flowers, Tamba Hali, and the rest of the Chiefs defense is simply shutting opponents down. The 49ers were so frustrated on offense that San Francisco head coach Mike Singeltary fired offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye the next day. Kansas City will need running backs Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles to continue to rack up yardage for the Chiefs to continue their win streak. KC heads to Lucas Oil Stadium next week for a clash with Peyton Manning and the Colts. A win against Indianapolis would go a long way in proving the Chiefs’ doubters wrong.

It appears that Michael Vick has earned himself a chance to be a NFL starting quarterback once again. The Philadelphia Eagles QB was named the starter for Philly’s game Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Vick will replace Kevin Kobb as the Eagles starter (who only played one half of the Eagles’ opening game before going out injured with a concussion). Kobb was cleared to play this week, but head coach Andy Reid has decided to give Vick the starting job after the controversial QB led the Eagles to a 35-32 win over the Detroit Lions last weekend.  In a game and a half, Michael Vick has passed for 459 yards, throw 3 touchdowns, and has rushed for 140 yards. In addition to displaying his ability to cut defenses in half with blazing speed, Vick has been very smart with the ball under center. Vick may be in for another big day statistically this weekend as the Jaguars’ defense gave up 38 points in week 2 to the San Diego Chargers.

The blogosphere exploded once again with news of future Hall of Fame quarterback telling undisclosed Minnesota Vikings teammates that he would not play in 2010 and retire from the NFL. Tuesday was an incredibly slow news day in the sports world, and really needed something like a Favre retirement story to get things going. It’s the time of year before the MLB division races really start heating up, NFL teams are just reporting to training camp, and sports media is hungry for any story with legs. ESPN was so desperate for a story they had Mike Golic run suicides to show how out of shape Albert Haynesworth is heading into Redskins camp. However, as soon as reports started trickling out that Favre could be retiring the interwebs went nuts. “Brett Favre” immediately started trending worldwide. Could this be the final retirement of a certain #4? It seems the Brett Favre saga is just heating up. While coaching practice at the local high school in Hattiesberg, Mississippi, Favre told the media that if his ankle is healed he will play this season. The 40-year-old meets with his surgeon next week to discuss his ankle next week. Get ready for some more Favre retirement madness people.