San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh has admitted that he would give one of his own fingers to be able to don a helmet and play for the team this weekend.
Harbaugh's men take on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship game, and although he is looking forward to the clash, he concedes that he would rather be on the field than on the sidelines.
He told reporters: "This kind of game, I was thinking of the things I would trade to be able to compete as a player in these games, in this game. It's a pretty significant match, this one.
"There's a lot that I would trade to be able to play against Seattle. I'd easily trade a finger. An eye or an arm? I don't know if I'd be going to those extremes!
"But there's nothing better than playing. Coaching is the second-best thing though, because you are still competing."
Selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1987 NFL Draft, Harbaugh was a quarterback who threw over 120 touchdown passes in his 13-year playing career.
Joe McPhee
