Jim Harbaugh is the most-interesting character in the NFL. That means, when you're talking to someone who has played for him (as Toby Gerhart did very successfully at Stanford), you're required to ask: "What about that Harbaugh?"
Gerhart said on Wednesday: "What you see on the sideline, in a press conference ... that's him. He's passionate, and extremely excitable."
The Vikings running back paused and added: "And quirky."
Gerhart finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up (in a tight race with Alabama's Mark Ingram) as a senior in 2009. Harbaugh was the head coach and David Shaw was the offensive coordinator. Harbaugh left for the 49ers in 2011, Shaw replaced him and has kept things going at Stanford ... to the point it currently stands fifth in the AP ratings.
What kind of guy is Shaw?
"Completely different style than Harbaugh," Gerhart said. "He's a quieter guy ... more like Les Frazier."
When the interview finished, I talked to Frazier for a couple of minutes. The Vikings coach offered sincere appreciation to Gerhart for accepting his fate as a backup to the great Adrian Peterson for a fourth consecutive season.
I'm not an expert on Frazier, but to me, he's giving off a completely different air heading into his third full season as the head coach than he did heading into his first in 2011.