Jim Harbaugh coached Jake Moody in college and believes his former kicker will bounce back in 2025
At the owner’s meetings in Florida, Los Angeles Chargers head coach and former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers kicker Jake Moody. Harbaugh was asked, based on his experience, how Moody deals with adversity and bounces back from bad situations.
Moody entered the season after setting a Super Bowl record by hitting a 55-yard field goal against the Kansas City Chiefs. Those were the types of things the 49ers expected when they took a kicker in the 2023 NFL Draft.
But 2024 did not go as planned. Moody was money at home, making 15 of his 17 kicks at Levi’s Stadium, with two of those misses coming from 50+ yards. It was a different story for Moody when he wasn’t in the confines of his home stadium.
On the road, Moody made 52.9 percent of his kicks, but was 3-for-11 on kicks from 40+ yards. When the 49ers hired a new special teams coordinator, I wondered if they were going to rip the band-aid off and start fresh at kicker. It would have sent a message that the performance from Moody would not be tolerated.
The 49ers have moved on from their third-round picks, or any draft pick who has underperformed in that span. So, it’s not as if there isn’t evidence of the team doing so. But Moody, unless the Niners draft or bring in a kicker post-draft, will get another third season as the Niners’ kicker.
Harbaugh believes Moody’s confidence and history will lead him to a successful season:
“What do I know of Jake Moody? He’s just like a very, very, steady, confident player of his ability. I’ve seen him miss a few and then come back and make 14 or 17 straight. I can’t remember exactly what it was. But I would think that it’s going to repeat itself.”
If you could see Harbaugh’s mannerisms and tone, he didn’t sound like the most confident person — or perhaps interested — in the topic.
If the 49ers are going to move on from Moody, they better find a replacement first. Financially, it’s a move they can stomach without any dead money repercussions. The team would eat just under $650,000 in dead money spread out over the next two seasons, while saving north of $1 million in cap savings in 2025 and 2026.
That can’t happen without somebody beating Moody out in camp, where he never misses.