Evidently the small bump in the road between Alex Smith and the San Francisco 49ers is over — the quarterback said yesterday that he wasn’t hurt by his team’s decision to pursue Peyton Manning in free agency.

“Not offended at all,” Smith told Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “In fact, I would have relished the opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback job with Peyton Manning.”

That competition probably never would have happened — if Manning had signed in the Bay Area this week, Smith’s tenure would have been over in a jiffy. And Manning did indeed narrow his choices down to three finalists, including San Fran, before eventually choosing to sign with the Denver Broncos instead.

Smith eventually signed the three-year, $24 million contract the Niners were offering, once the Manning cloud had cleared. He later said that he was patching things up with coach Jim Harbaugh, who had tried to replace him days earlier.

“As good as they’ve always been and getting better,” Smith said of his relations with Harbaugh. “The thing from day one when I first met coach Harbaugh is he’s always been up front and always been honest with me and has continued to do that through this entire process. It’s one of the reasons I love playing for him.”

Perhaps the relationship between quarterback Alex Smith and the San Francisco 49ers is still salvageable after all. Matt Maiocco, who covers the 49ers for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, reports that Smith and head coach Jim Harbaugh are “ironing things out.”

Hearing that Jim Harbaugh and Alex Smith are talking, ironing things out -- first step in making sure Smith remains with 49ers.

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Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) March 20, 2012

Smith, who started every single game for the 49ers team that went 13-3 last year and nearly won the NFC championship, was offended that the team made a run at Peyton Manning last week, attempting to displace Smith after six years as the starter in San Fran. Now that Manning has spurned the Niners and agreed to sign with the Denver Broncos, Harbaugh is working on convincing Smith to stay and be happy in San Francisco.

Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft, had his best season last year for the 49ers. He completed 61.3 percent of his passes, throwing for 3,144 yards and 17 touchdowns, with only five interceptions. The 49ers advanced to the NFC Championship Game and lost a heartbreaker to the New York Giants.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh played the role of student manager for the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team coached by his brother-in-law Tom Crean, according to USA Today.

“I’ve never sat on the bench before, so I felt like I should be contributing in some way,” Harbaugh said.  At halftime, he was asked about his chair duty.  “I’ve been practicing,” Harbaugh said with a grin. “And I’m getting better. It’s taking me some time, but I’m getting better.”

Already in town for the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Harbough decided to attend his brother-in-law’s team playing against North Carolina Central Wednesday night.  Sitting at the end of the bench during the game, Harbough, took it upon himself to bring the chairs on and off the court for the players to sit.  Crean went on to complement his brother-in-law telling USA Today that why he is such a successful leader, saying “(with him) it’s all about winning.”

In his first year coaching the 49ers, Harbaugh led the team to a 13-3 record bringing them to  the NFC Championship against the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.