"Stan Edwards was among those who took notice when the 49ers hired Jim Harbaugh in January.

Sure, his son, Braylon, was busy playing wide receiver for the New York Jets, who were in the NFL playoffs. But Stan said he and his son casually considered a future in San Francisco.

"We talked about the Niners and Harbaugh when Jim first took the job out there and how wonderful it would be to play out there," Stan Edwards said.

Seven months later, Edwards is a 49er after signing with San Francisco last week. He acknowledges his family's three-decade-old connection with Harbaugh was a factor.

The tie that binds is the University of Michigan.

Stan Edwards was an all-Big 10 running back at Michigan from 1979-82. Harbaugh was an All-America quarterback at the school from 1983-86. Braylon Edwards followed with an All-American career in Ann Arbor from 2001-04.

Stan Edwards and Harbaugh were never teammates, but they first met over 30 years ago when Harbaugh's father, Jack, was an assistant coach at Michigan and Jim was a star quarterback at Pioneer High in Ann Arbor.

Harbaugh attended Michigan practices and Edwards, who played six seasons in the NFL, remembers the teenage quarterback's arm strength matching the Wolverines' signal-callers.

"Obviously we knew of each other because of Harbaugh Inc., and we'd like to think that the Edwards have a little piece of equity in Ann Arbor as well," Stan Edwards, who works in commercial real estate outside Detroit, said by phone Wednesday. "So the relationship between the Harbaughs and the Edwards goes way back. ... The respect I have for (Ravens head coach) coach John (Harbaugh), Jim and Jack is of the utmost."

Harbaugh speaks of "breathing the same air" as Braylon Edwards. In turn, Edwards acknowledges that."