The Jim Harbaugh drama with the San Francisco 49ers is all for naught, according to the franchise's starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

The San Jose Mercury News reported Tuesday that Colin Kaepernick told media covering the Seattle Seahawks that he believes Harbaugh will return for a fifth season with the 49ers in 2015. Harbaugh is in the fourth year of a five-year contract with the team, but he and 49ers management tabled talks about an extension until after the season.

Colin Kaepernick says it doesn't matter what his coach tells a member of the media, as long as that coach helps him win

That has led to speculation that Harbaugh will leave San Francisco after the 2014 season ends. But not from Kaepernick's point of view.

"I think he'll be back," Kaepernick said Tuesday on a conference call in advance of Thursday night's game between the 49ers and Seahawks at Levi's Stadium.

San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh refuses to say whether Colin Kaepernick is an elite quarterback

Asked why he believes his head coach will return next season, Kaepernick, ever the economist on words, stated simply, "His résumé."

Harbaugh has guided the 49ers to three consecutive NFC Championship games, having advanced to the Super Bowl at the end of the 2012 season.

San Francisco's 43 wins the past three seasons are second only to the New England Patriots' 46 during that span.

Harbaugh, who attended a predraft workout that Kaepernick held while at Nevada in 2011, drafted the quarterback in the second round of the 2011 draft and inserted him into the starting lineup midway through the 2012 season.

Recently, Harbaugh was asked what Kaepernick needed to do to become elite. Rather than answer the question, Harbaugh said the team's focus was on the upcoming opponent only.

A day later, Kaepernick was asked whether he would want a coach that praises him constantly in the media or points out deficiencies that he needs to correct.

"I want a coach that tells me what I need to do to win," Kaepernick said.

"What about in front of the media?" a reporter asked.

"Doesn't matter," Kaepernick replied.