NEW ORLEANS - It's baffled TV viewers for years, and it's even confused players on the San Francisco 49ers.

It's the red Sharpie that dangles around Jim Harbaugh's neck and flaps all over the place when he's in the middle of one of his sideline temper tantrums.

It is not a piece of jewelry, though. That's something Harbaugh wanted to clarify right away when asked about his "necklace" during a press conference Monday.

"I take offense at you calling it a necklace. It's a whistle," Harbaugh said to a round of laughter in the ballroom of the team's hotel. "A coach should go to practice with a whistle and I just clip a pen on it. It's really not complicated at all."

Actually, it is.

Fact is, no one has ever seen him use the marker. At least not that they can remember.

"No, I've never seen him use it. I haven't," fullback Bruce Miller said. "He's got everything written down already."

Added offensive guard Alex Boone, "Oh man, you think it's a fake Sharpie? I've never seen him use it, now that I think about it. You know what, I'm going to ask him. I'll get the answer for you."

Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports