Back in 2013, 49ers safety Donte Whitner laid a hit on Rams wide receiver Chris Givens that ended up costing him a fine from the league. Whitner patrolled the Niners’ secondary with such ferocity that opposing offenses would tremble. When the league imposed the fine, he responded by attempting to legally change his name to Hitner. The former safety couldn’t complete the process, though, as he failed to show up in court. Donte later shared in an interview with NFL Network that he planned to file the request again in the offseason, but that never happened. At the time, Whitner was playing under HC Jim Harbaugh.
Donte played under Harbaugh’s guidance for four seasons until 2014. After that, Jim left for Michigan, and Donte signed a deal with the Browns. Fast forward to today, and the former safety recently sat down with Kay Adams for a chat. And it was no surprise that Harbaugh’s name came up. Not only did the Chargers’ HC get a mention, but three other coaches also came into the mix, with Whitner making a strong claim about all of them. Host Kay Adams tossed around an interesting question for the former Niners player. She asked him if having four great coaches in the AFC West cancels each other out, or if there’s one coach that stands out.
And Donte had an interesting take on it. “Well, this boils down to who’s the most delusional. And what makes these guys great is, all of them are delusional. They believe that they can win every game,” he said. The 37-year-old explained that the coach who would stand out this season is the one who is the most delusional out of the four. When asked who he thinks is the most delusional coach, Whitner named Jim Harbaugh.
May 29, 2024; Costa Mesa, CA, USA. Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh during organized team activities at Hoag Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
“I would say Jim Harbaugh is the most delusional… The reason Jim Harbaugh has success wherever he goes is that he’s very delusional. He gets the players and the coaches to buy into whatever he says,” he explained. “And then it comes to fruition on the field. It’s not even really about X’s and O’s with these guys. It’s about making the players believe they can do something extraordinary, which is why they always end up doing it,” Donte added.
The 39-year-old didn’t stop at Harbaugh; he had plenty more to say.
Dante Whitner has thoughts on AFC West sidelines
So, after giving the Chargers HC the crown for the most delusional, Harbaugh puts Chiefs HC Andy Reid in the second spot. But it was not a dig. The 39-year-old explained that Andy took plenty of heat during his time in Philly. The 67-year-old coached the Eagles from 1999–2012, but he never could get the team a Super Bowl ring. So, after 13 seasons, Philly and Reid parted ways.
Talking about the Chiefs HC, Donte said, “When Andy Reid was the head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and everything he had to deal with, with that fan base and the negativity, for him to be able to go over to Kansas City and do what he’s done and build the dynasty… You have to be delusional.“
And what does Donte think about the Raiders’ HC? The team fired Antonio Pierce after finishing the season 4–13 and knocked on Pete Carroll‘s door. Raiders minority owner Tom Brady was reportedly on board with the idea of approaching Carroll. Pete said yes and made a comeback to head coaching after a year. “Think about Pete Carroll, he’s 85 years old and still runs around the football field and throws the ball as a quarterback. And they love him,” Donte said about Carroll. Well, not exactly 85, Pete is 73, but the Raiders HC is currently the oldest HC in the league. “He’s delusional, which will probably keep him alive till he’s like 105 years old,” the former safety joked.
Host Kay Adams couldn’t help but laugh as she asked Dante if the Denver Broncos’ Sean Payton comes last on this list. “I would think so… he’s the least delusional,” the 39-year-old replied. The Broncos pretty much improved under Payton, making it to the playoffs last year. They lost to the Bills in the AFC Wild Card game. “When they say to be great at anything, you have to have delusional self-belief first and foremost. So, you have to believe it as an individual, then you can pass it on to everybody else,” added Whitner.
Well, that’s how Dante ranks the AFC West coaches on the delusional scale. And as the former safety said, he believes Coach Harbaugh will come out on top this season. So, will that be the case, or will the rival coaches prove the former Niners player wrong? Guess we’ll have to wait to find out.
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