NEW ORLEANS — Here’s a little something I’m not sure many football fans realize that’s worth talking about as we crank up the hype machine for Super Bowl XLVII between the Ravens and 49ers. Jim Harbaugh is not simply the laser-focused, hyper-intense, at times seemingly maniacal NFL head coach he is often painted as; he is, in fact, a really good guy.

John’s a great guy, too, but for various reasons, people readily accept the Ravens’ head coach, reasonably described as the more polished of the rapidly ascending legendary NFL coaching brothers, as potentially also the guy next door. To too many NFL fans, Jim is often seen as almost other worldly. It’s a bum rap. With Jim you just have to dig a little deeper.

At the root of Jim’s perception issues are his pre-game rituals of pounding on his quarterbacks, his unfortunate misunderstanding with Lions head coach Jim Schwartz in 2011 and his kryptonite-piercing stares when things aren’t going the 49er way. But there is so much more to him than that.

Now, I am admittedly biased. Jim Harbaugh has been a friend for 25 years. In 1987, I began an 18-year run as a color commentator on the Chicago Bears radio network, and that April, he was the Bears’ first-round draft choice. That we are both Michigan alums, were neighbors during his seven-year stint with the Bears and I proudly supported his significant charitable efforts for underprivileged kids in the Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor, Mich. area during his 14-year playing career are all further, full disclosure. But I can assure you, I’ve also known a lot of Michigan alums, neighbors and charitable types I couldn’t stand. If you knew him, you’d like Jim, too.