It's been nine years since the San Francisco 49ers have won the NFC West division. The once-proud franchise - winner of four Super Bowls between 1982 and 1990 - has been through four coaches since 2003. 

Each year, Niner fans are told their team is headed in the right direction, only to be disappointed by yet another second or third place finish. What makes it even more painful is that the NFC West is the league's worst division; Seattle won it last year with a 7-9 record.

Enter new head coach Jim Harbaugh. The passionate, aggressive former NFL quarterback turned Stanford University into a football power before agreeing to tackle the 49ers job. Four games into the 2011 season and you have to say he's turned the ship around. If not for a late collapse against the Cowboys, San Francisco would be 4-0. As it is, the Niners are 3-1 and have a two-game lead on the rest of the division.

Harbaugh has already impressed the players with his commitment and work ethic. A 49ers blog reports that the coach refuses to fly in first class (as most other NFL coaches do), instead choosing to give up his seat to a player. He's also being praised for being a straight shooter who doesn't mince his words, yet has a firm belief in the game plan and his players. Week Four's stunning win at Philadelphia featured a comeback from 20 points down, with much-maligned quarterback Alex Smith again impressing with his accuracy and leadership.

This week, Tampa Bay (3-1) comes to town in what should be a good test. There's a long way to go - and the bandwagon hasn't departed yet -  but for long-suffering San Francisco fans, things are starting to get exciting.

Short yardage situations

- The NFC East has been known as the NFL's toughest division for a few years now. Not only are all four teams competitive, but the rivalries are fierce: Dallas v Washington and Philadelphia v the Giants is as brutal as it gets. At the start of this season, most pundits believed the Eagles would win the division if not the NFC conference, with the Redskins bringing up the rear. Now, four weeks in and the Skins and Giants share top spot at 3-1, with the Cowboys at 2-2 and the Eagles mired in last place at 1-3. 

- Mike Heimerdinger. Say it fast a few times and it sounds pretty funny. No wonder he was known as "Dinger." Heimerdinger was a longtime NFL assistant who died of cancer over the weekend at the age of 58. Heimerdinger, a college roommate of Washington Redskins' head coach Mike Shanahan, coached receivers for Shanahan at Denver. The Broncos won two Super Bowls during that time. Heimerdinger last served as offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, but never got the chance to be a head coach, something he always wanted to do.

- It's good to be a sports fan from Wisconsin or Michigan at the moment. The Packers and Lions are undefeated, the Brewers and Tigers are in baseball's postseason and both the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan are 5-0 and nationally ranked.