"In 42 years as an NFL executive, Bill Tobin encountered only one other player who matched Jim Harbaugh's competitiveness. Perhaps you have heard of Walter Payton.

"Harbaugh and Payton were the two most competitive guys I was ever associated with,'' Tobin recalled.

So the former Bears player personnel director still finds amusing the time he caught the gung-ho quarterback with his guard down. Nobody expected the Bears to select Harbaugh 26th overall in the first round of the 1987 draft, not even the intuitive Michigan quarterback. That was obvious when Harbaugh eagerly rushed to old Halas Hall from his parents' home in Kalamazoo, Mich., and showed up wearing a case of the chicken pox — but no sport coat.

"He had been sick and looked anemic,'' Tobin said. "The first thing out of his mouth was, 'Sorry, I didn't know I'd be a first-round pick.' I took a lot of criticism for taking Jim in the first round, but he lasted (14) seasons. What he has done after that hasn't surprised me because that's what he's all about.''"