FOXBORO - The University of Michigan was never quite "Quarterback U", but the Wolverines produced a chain of NFL quarterbacks through the 1980s and '90s that began with Jim Harbaugh and ended with Tom Brady.
The two ends of that chain don't know each other too well, however.
I asked Brady on Wednesday how often he'd interacted with the 49ers coach who'll try to stop Brady this weekend.
"He used to have a golf tournament every summer (when I was at Michigan)," said Brady. "He'd come back and it was a big deal. The guys all got excited when he was around. I didn't get too many chances to talk to him. I was just one of the plebes."
Since then?
"I saw him out golfing out one day while he was coaching at Stanford. Talked to him a little bit," said Brady. "He's a tough, hard-nosed guy."
Harbaugh was the Wolverines starter from 1984-86. Elvis Grbac, Todd Collins and Brian Griese were some of the quarterbacks in between Harbaugh and Brady who was the most-of-the-time starter in 1998.
New England Patriots
Brady's had a better pro career than Harbaugh did.
Harbaugh, of course, is working very hard to cultivate a hard-ass, no-nonsense persona in the NFL, so it will be interesting to see what kind of interaction he has with Brady on Sunday prior to the game.
Given Brady's penchant for using slights for fuel, if Harbaugh goes hard-ass, it might not work out so well for him.