Feb 1, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (left) and San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh speak during a press conference at the New Orleans Convention Center. Super Bowl XLVII will be played between the San Francisco 49ers on February 3, 2013 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

We all know that San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh will be facing his older brother John, in Super Bowl XLVII. However, what most of us did not know, is that Jim will also be going up against his oldest son, Jay Harbaugh.

Jay, currently serves as the coaching intern for the Baltimore Ravens, where his uncle is the head coach. His father Jim, has not had much communication with his son, as he prepares for the Super Bowl, making it hard on both him and his family. As the 49ers head coach had this to say during a Super Bowl Press Conference:

I’m really thankful and proud that Jay is doing what he loves to do, Jim Harbaugh said Friday from a stage with his brother. This week has been tough. I haven’t been talking to him or calling him. I’ve sent a few texts to let him know how I feel about him. I don’t want to get him where people are thinking I’m talking to him. I’ve heard he’s done a great job and that means the world.

Feb 1, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh speaks during a press conference in preparation for Super Bowl XLVII against the Baltimore Ravens at the New Orleans Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time in Super Bowl history, the brothers held a joint press conference, with significant differences in both personality and appearance. John wore a suit and provided elongated answers, while younger brother Jim, wore a long-sleeve t-shirt, khaki pants, while providing brief responses.

With the Super Bowl just two days away, it will be interesting to see how the Harbaugh’s deal with one another during pre-game, in-game, and post-game

Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

One of the major storylines at Super Bowl XLVII is Jim and John Harbaugh facing off on the NFL’s biggest stage. The only other time two brothers were head coaches and their teams went up against one another, was the first edition of the Har-Bowl when the 49ers and Ravens played on Thanksgiving night.

With two siblings on opposite sidelines, it’s no surprise their parents are part of the narrative at the Super Bowl. On Wednesday, Jack and Jackie Harbaugh had a press conference and talked about what it is like to have two of their children coaching against each other in the Super Bowl. It was a fun press conference to watch and the Harbaugh parents were diplomatic in all of their responses. You get a good insight into the history of the Harbaugh family. My favorite part was when they were asked if Sunday will be the longest three and a half hours they have ever experience. Jack’s response was:

There are no emotions during the game. Last year at Thanksgiving, it was emotionless. There wasn’t any cheering. There wasn’t any emotion. It was just watching the game. Archie Manning, before the game last year at Thanksgiving time on Tuesday, he called and I can’t tell you how thrilled we were to receive the call. He just called out of the clear blue and he said, ‘My wife and I are just sitting here talking and we’re talking about how this going to be for you on Thursday. For us, it’s a little bit different. When Peyton is on offense, we root for the offense. When Eli is on offense, we root for the offense. He said, I can’t imagine how it’s going to be for you and Jackie when the head coaches are in charge of the game on both sides.’ He said, ‘I’m going to give you a piece of advice.’ He said, ‘Listen to me, a piece of advice.’ I’m thinking this is really going to be something profound, right? The advice was this, ‘This will be over on Friday. I promise you it will be over on Friday,’ and sure enough it was great advice and that’s exactly how it happened.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Jack and Jackie use that advice again on Sunday. But this time, after the game is all over, Jim will be the winner.

Here is the full transcript of the interview:

Opening statement:

Jack: “Before we open up for questions, I’d like to tell a quick story. Back in 1957, Jackie and I were freshmen at Bowling Green State University. One of the great college coaches, his name was Doyt Perry. He’s a Hall of Famer, he was our college coach there. Our second year there, he held a class. It was Football 101. There were 35 guys in the class, all purporting to be coaches. That’s what they wanted to do, high school coaches and possibly college coaches. On the first day of the class, Doyt stood up and he said ‘How many of you here want to be coaches?’ and of course 35 hands went up. And he said ‘To start the class, I’m going to tell you the three things that are going to be necessary for you to be a coach. Number three, you have to have a love and passion for the game of football. Number two, you needed to outwork the people that you were coaching against.’ He said, ‘The reason I say that, I’ve been around you for about a year and there’s not many of you here that are going to outsmart anybody so you had better be prepared to outwork them.’ And he said ‘Number one on the list, if you want to be a coach someday, marry wisely.’ I guarantee the only advice that I know I listened and followed from the great coach Doyt Perry was the marry wisely part. Jackie Harbaugh is the foundation of this Harbaugh family. She is the rock of our family. She’s the one that moved us 17 times in a 43 year coaching career. She sold houses at every stop and she bought houses at every stop. She took them in to school and out of school. She went to school when things didn’t go well. This is my hero right here, Jackie Harbaugh. You’re going to ask us how we feel on this historic day? Jackie, who has it better than us? Nobody!”

(on when the last time they watched a Super Bowl together was)

Jack: “I would say every sporting event, every big sporting event was a big occasion at our house. I can remember back when we were watching the Boston Bruins play in a hockey game way back where Bobby Orr had that great shot where he flew across the net and knocked it in. John, to this day, still holds us responsible because he was on a refreshment run. He was about halfway up the steps when Orr knocked that puck into the goal and he has never forgiven us for not seeing that. They had no replays in those days, so I don’t know if he ever did see the shot.”

Jackie: “No, not really because I don’t think back in the 70s, it wasn’t as big of as an event as it is today. We kind of took every day as it came. So, no Super Bowl parties.”

(on where Jim and John got their colorful animated demeanors from)

Jack: “I think anyone that knows the family and knows Jackie and myself, and I think John and Jim would be the first to describe the emotion, passion and love comes from Jackie.”

Jackie: “I think we both feel strongly about certain things in life. We’re so excited for John and Jim to be in this situation but we’re also really excited for the players and their families. This is a huge event for them and I just am thrilled that some of them, this is their first time in this situation, so I can imagine how all those mothers and fathers feel about their sons being in this situation.

(on if there was ever a time where they talked to their sons about toning it down)

Jackie: “No.”

Jack: “The one thing that we watch and take great pride in is that both of them are themselves. We were around Bo Schembechler for a long time and there were a lot of coaches that tried to emulate him. The first time you weren’t yourself, you were exposed and somewhat of a fraud. So, always be who you are and not follow anyone else.”

(on whether all of the ‘J’ names are on purpose)

Jackie: “No, we aren’t very creative. John for Jack, because his given name is John. So John is after Jack. Jim is actually after my doctor. Dr. Frasier in Perrysburg, Ohio. They came in and said ‘What are you going to name this baby?’ and I said that I liked the name Jim. Joanie Marie is after my mother’s middle name and Jack’s mother’s first name.”

(on when Jim and John understood that Jack was a football coach)

Jack: “Again, I have to point to Jackie. In coaching, a lot of times I left before the sun came up and came home after the sun went down. Jackie has a great philosophy and that is that she wanted her children to know what their father did. She wanted them to understand who he was and what he did. I can remember when they could just barely walk, John and Jim, that she’d bring them out to the practice field. We’d be practicing and they’d be around jumping on the dummies and then they learned they could throw the ball around. Then they learned they could get into the locker room and meet the players and those kinds of things. We would invite our players at Iowa and Michigan when they were growing up to come to the house on Thursday. That was the day we had off. Jackie would cook a great meal for them and then pretty soon they were wrestling on the floor. Jackie always involved our children in the job that we were involved with.”

(on whether Jack sees his own coaching style in his sons)

Jack: “I really believe they’re both who they are. I don’t think you have to watch very long or be a psychologist just to watch and see who they are. The beauty of it, they allow themselves to be who they are. I think Jackie and I are most proud of that.”

(on whether John picked on Jim)

Jackie: “I think that brothers both do this and so do sisters. So everyone out there that has a brother or sister, you all have had your little ins and outs with one another. So that’s not unusual.”

(on if either son has called to ask what the other has said about leading up to the Super Bowl)

Jack: “Bo Schembechler had two great sayings. One was, ‘if you’re going to play in the North Atlantic, you have to practice in the North Atlantic.’ The other was ‘loose lips sink ships.’ They both have subscribed to that philosophy, so no one talks to anyone. Jim is very quiet and guarded and John is very quiet and guarded. That’s exactly the way we want it.”

Jackie: “And so are we.”

(on how much Jim and John consult with Jack regarding football questions)

Jack: “The story that’s been told is on draft day in 2011 after the first day of drafts was over, Jim called on his way home and he asked what I thought about the draft. We didn’t have much to talk about as it relates to the draft, but he had not expressed to me who they were thinking about drafting at the quarterback position so I said ‘Jim, tomorrow in the second round, surely you’re going to draft a quarterback, but which one is it going to be?’ and it was dead silent. He said ‘are you talking to anybody?’ and I said ‘I swear I’m not talking to anyone.’ He said ‘we’re drafting Colin Kaepernick. Do I not only think that he’s the best quarterback in the draft, I think he’s the best football player in the draft and we’re going with Colin Kaepernick.’ And I thought to myself, ‘wise decision.’”

(on where this Super Bowl ranks amongst all Harbaugh moments)

Jackie: “I would honestly have to say that the birth of our own children and then the birth of our grandchildren are the most important to me and this is like frosting on the cake for our whole family, our extended family which includes a lot of relatives. I might take this time, if I may, to thank all those friends and families and all those ex-football players that have called us to congratulate John and Jim. They’re so excited for this because they feel they’re part of this, too. It’s fun hearing from them and sharing this moment with them.”

Jack: “All those millions of people that are parents out there, this is just a fantastic, fantastic experience and really no one has it better than us. But when you’re in the process of going through parenting, the day that they made the junior high school football team, they said we made our high school team. You have that feeling of being thrilled for your children. They go to high school and they make the high school team. Then they are lucky enough to get a college scholarship. Then every one of those stops along the tremendous journey. The thrill that you feel, I know this is on a big stage, but in parenting, those don’t rank any differently.”

Jan 12, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers inside linebacker Patrick Willis (52) leads a huddle against the Green Bay Packers during the second quarter of the NFC divisional round playoff game at Candlestick Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

With all the media attention given to coach John and Jim Harbaugh, people tend to forget it’s the players that are going to decide the game. From Patrick Willis to Ray Lewis, the team that executes the best, will win the Super Bowl. And if history is any indication, the Baltimore Ravens hold the edge.

Last year, the San Francisco 49ers played the Ravens on Thanksgiving day. The berth of the “Har-Bowl” was born, and the home-field advantaged Ravens beat the 49ers in a defensive struggle 16-6. However, that was last year, and both teams have drastically changed since then.

On one hand, you have the 49ers changing quarterbacks, going from Alex Smith to now Colin Kaepernick. The move was quickly scrutinized by NFL pundits around the league, and even amongst the 49ers very own fan base. However, despite these acts, Harbaugh stuck to his guns and rolled the dice with Kaep; and as a result, the 49ers now find themselves in Super Bowl XLVII.

Jan 20, 2013; Foxboro, MA, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) celebrates with wide receiver Jacoby Jones (12) after scoring a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the second quarter of the AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

On the other hand, you have Jim’s older brother, John Harbaugh, making a coaching change. Rarely do you see a playoff team make a coaching change in December, but that’s what happened, as offensive coordinator Cam Cameron was relieved of his duties, in favor of Jim Caldwell.

Cameron was let go in large part to the offense’s inconsistency as well as not getting Ravens running back Ray Rice enough touches. Cameron who was fired, had this to say:

It was a brilliant move. Everyone on the team took a look in the mirror after that.

Jan 20, 2013; Foxboro, MA, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) throws a touchdown pass to wide receiver Anquan Boldin (not pictured) in the fourth quarter of the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

How can one argue? Since Caldwell took over in Week 15, the offense has since flourished with a more balanced attack. The team also looks more explosive averaging 30.0 points per game in the playoffs, good for second best in postseason play. Apparently, Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome thought the same, releasing a statment saying Caldwell would be brought back in the same position for the 2013 season.

With two drastic moves, what team has the upper hand? The answer lies in the offensive line.

The two teams clashed last year in the first ever, “Har-Bowl.” In that game, Alex Smith was sacked nine times and hit three more.  He was on his back more often than not and was consistently rattled. Furthermore, the smash-mouth run game the 49ers pride themselves in was non-existent, evidenced by 74 total rushing yards. the 49ers were not themselves and looked like they met their match.

October 30, 2011; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Joe Staley (74) and offensive guard Mike Iupati (77) line up at the line of scrimmage during the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Candlestick Park. The 49ers defeated the Browns 20-10. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

As for the Ravens, they struggled just as much. Although Baltimore did not allow a sack, the run game was shaky, gaining only 92 yards to a stingy 49ers defense. So with both teams scrambling on offense, what gives? In my opinion, it is the offensive line that is going to determine the outcome of the game.

Whoever can control the line of scrimmage from an offensive standpoint will win the game. We all know both defenses will show up, and play lights out. But what we don’t know, is which offensive line will. With the game being about inches, it will be fun to see which unit can come out on top, and if I were to guess, I would put my money on San Francisco, to get the job done.