Jim Harbaugh Fight: 49ers Head Coach Guilty of Making Rookie Mistake

The post-game handshake. It's a formality that has existed between NFL head coaches for who knows how long, and it's just what it sounds like. There's not a whole lot to it, and there's not supposed to be.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh did not get the memo.

If you missed it, Harbaugh was a little excited after the 'Niners finished off a 25-19 upset over the Detroit Lions earlier on Sunday. He was jumping and shouting in the moments immediately after the game went final, and he was still very much fired up when he met Lions head coach Jim Schwartz in the middle of the field.

It was then that Harbaugh turned the postgame handshake into a postgame hand slap. For good measure, he slapped Schwartz on the back and appeared to shout something directly in his ear.

Schwartz did not approve, and he caught up with Harbaugh to make sure he knew about it. A scrum ensued.

After the game, Harbaugh admitted (per SFGate.com) that he may have gone a little overboard.

“I was really revved up,” Harbaugh said. “That was on me a little, too hard a handshake there.”

However, don't expect an apology anytime soon.

“I do get emotional, I do get fired up. A lot," said Harbaugh. "I'm not going to apologize for that. If that offends you or anybody else, so be it.”

Well, if he says so. Nevertheless, Harbaugh should know that he's at fault here.

Listen, we can all agree that Harbaugh didn't mean to offend Schwartz when he met him for the postgame handshake. Like he said, he was emotional, and that's just how he is.

This being said, the replay makes it look like Harbaugh was showing Schwartz up, and that's very clearly what Schwartz thought, too. The postgame handshake is supposed to be respectful, and there was nothing respectful about the way Harbaugh approached Schwartz. On the contrary, it was actually quite disrespectful.

Needless to say, that's just not cool.

Of course, it should also be noted that Schwartz probably should not have gone after Harbaugh like he did. Just as Harbaugh should have realized he was out of line, Schwartz should have realized that two wrongs don't make a right. He had a chance to look like the better man, and he blew it.

But hey, it's kinda hard to blame Schwartz for acting like he did. He may not be Vince Lombardi, but he was made to look like a tool by a rookie head coach.

I’d be miffed, too. So would you.