When Jim Harbaugh coached the 49ers, he was one of the best in all of football, averaging 11 wins and guiding the franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance since 1995. But Harbaugh could only last four years in San Francisco before bolting to Michigan.

According to Harbaugh, he should receive a medal for lasting that long. 

Harbaugh, who has enjoyed similar success at the college level since leaving the NFL, recently joined Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News for a conversation on the “TK Show.” Here’s what he told Kawakami about his four years with the 49ers:

Oh, we talked about the 49ers, too, of course, and the highlight was Harbaugh noting that he lasted four seasons under the current ownership -- the longest any of their seven coaches (previous to just-hired Kyle Shanahan) have survived.

“Maybe there should be an endurance medal, a courage medal for that,” Harbaugh joked.

Fans of the 49ers haven’t forgotten about Harbaugh. Before a home game this past season, someone flew a “Levi’s Stadium -- The House That Harbaugh Built” sign over the 49ers’ stadium.

Since letting Harbaugh leave following the 2014 season, the 49ers have hired and fired both Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly. They also let go of general manager Trent Baalke this offseason, bringing in John Lynch to work with new coach Kyle Shanahan. At Shanahan’s introductory press conference, he named Harbaugh as one of the great coaches in 49ers history.

Harbaugh told Kawakami that Shanahan’s comments were very “flattering,” though he didn’t think he was there long enough to be considered an all-time 49ers great. He also spoke highly of Lynch.

“I would’ve loved to have worked for John Lynch,” Harbaugh said. “He reminds me a lot of the athletic director we have here, Warde Manuel, who’s also a former player and was a teammate of mine. Common-sense guys that are team guys -- just the way they go about their business always speaks volumes.”

If you’re interested in hearing more of Harbaugh talking about the 49ers, you can listen right here. Be warned, though: Harbaugh refused to take any shots at Jed York, saying he wanted to take the high road.