Who won the AP Coach of the Year award for the 2011 NFL season?

Jim Harbaugh won the AP Coach of the Year award for the 2011 NFL season. The Associated Press selected the San Francisco 49ers’ first-year head coach after he transformed the team into one of the league’s biggest success stories.

Harbaugh took over a 6–10 49ers team and guided it to a 13–3 regular-season record, the NFC West title, and the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2002. San Francisco also earned a first-round bye and reached the NFC Championship Game, where it lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants in overtime. The turnaround made Harbaugh the clear choice for the AP honor.

The award was based on voting by a nationwide panel of media members. Harbaugh received 45 of the 50 first-place votes, while Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy received the other five. A common mix-up is confusing this award with the AP College Football Coach of the Year award, which is a separate honor; the question’s NFL context specifically points to Harbaugh and the 49ers.