Jim Plunkett won the Hesiman and was the #1 pick out of Stanford in the early 70s and John Ralston as HC. Elway #1 pick in 1983. So, yeah, they've had some players and coaches.
But Stanford was 1-11 in 2006. the year before Harbaugh was hired, and hadn't had a winning season since 2001 (9-3...