Harbaugh-Schwartz "Near Fight" Overshadows Contest Between 49ers and Lions

In today's NFL action an undefeated 5-0 football team lost a close game at home to a 4-1 football team late in the fourth quarter. Yet the story now and probably well into tomorrow's sports radio shows as well as many NFL weekly recap shows will probably be about the "near fight" between the two head coaches in the middle of the field at the end of the game. 

There was no fight of course. It was really a scene that one could see replicated at any bar on any given weekend night. Two guys, one smacked the other on the back too hard, the other reacted adversely, and then a bunch of guys broke it up while the two guys told each other how much they wanted a piece of the other one. Exciting? Not really. Newsworthy? I guess it is, seeing as how it's leading nearly every website as I type this. 

It shouldn't be the lead though. What should be leading is that two of the NFL's three 5-1 football teams are the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions. Detroit is a surprise and San Fran is a total shock. 

The Lions are of course rising from the ashes. They were 0-16 in 2008, 2-14 in 2009 and 6-10 in 2010. Does that numerical sequence mean that the Lions are due for a 12-4 season this year? It just might. Meanwhile out in San Francisco the 49ers are attempting to recreate the 80's. They've brought in a young and energetic coach from Stanford in hopes of turning the team around. 

Bill Walsh had done a stint as Head Coach at Stanford from 1977 through the end of the 1978 season before he assumed head duties in San Francisco. Current head coach Jim Harbaugh made the leap directly from Stanford as well where he was a very successful head coach until January 7th 2011. That day he signed a five-year contract to take over in the City by the Bay. 

Jim Schwartz, the Head Coach of the Detroit Lions ,was previously the defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans. At one time he interviewed for the position that his on-field adversary today holds. Head Coach of the 49ers. That was back in 2005 and San Francisco opted to hire Mike Nolan. Nolan brought with him former Dallas Cowboy's head coach Tom Landry's propensity for wearing suits on the sidelines, but he neglected to bring Landry's impressive win-loss record and lasted only three seasons.

The Lions have been patient with Schwartz and it appears that this season they may be reaping the rewards. The Lions have a collection of very impressive talent to show for their disastrous losing seasons of a few years back.

Their 2007 first-round pick Calvin Johnson may very well be the best wide receiver in the NFL. Their 2008 first-round pick Gosder Cherilus has become a steady offensive tackle. They need good offensive linemen because their 2009 first-round pick (and No. 1 overall ) Matthew Stafford is now their starting quarterback.

Detroit rounded out their first-round hauls by stocking the defensive line in 2010 and 2011 with the selections of Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. Suh is already arguably the league's most feared defensive lineman and Fairley has tons of potential. 

All of a sudden the eternally downtrodden Detroit Lions are looking dominant. Until today they were 5-0 and those big-name first-round picks all look to be living up to their billing. In San Francisco the talent was not the issue but the coach was. Nolan was a failure but he was gone in 2008. Things didn't improve under the likes of Mike Singletary who was fired last season. His successor was an intern head coach named Jim Tomsula. 

Harbaugh signed his deal and knew from the get go he had the very talented but very injury prone Frank Gore at running back. He had Vernon Davis at tight end, and he had former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith at quarterback. Throw in speedy returner and wideout Ted Ginn and one of the NFL's best linebackers in Patrick Willis, and the Niners' cupboard was not bare. 

Now as Week 6 concludes, both teams are 5-1 after the Niners pulled off a bit of an upset by defeating the Lions in Detroit earlier today. It was a great game. The lead changed five times before the Niners scored the go-ahead and game winning touchdown with 1:51 left in the fourth quarter. 

Clearly it was an emotional and hard fought game between two teams that are very hungry for success, and with both of them tasting it early in this NFL season, neither was going to take a loss well.

It was after the game when the two head coaches engaged in the traditional midfield post game handshake that things got heated. Harbaugh who was clearly jubilant in his team's win didn't just shake Schwart's hand, he added in a hearty back slap for good measure. Schwartz whose team had just suffered their first loss of the season reacted with immediate anger and yes, the two coaches needed to be separated.

It's great to see two young up-and-coming teams find their identities and learn to win in the NFL. It was great to see them engage in a hard fought game. It would be a shame if the players and the coaches who were part of the game were overshadowed by what really amounts to almost nothing. It was almost a fight but no violence really transpired. In the coming days football fans are very likely to hear and see a lot of replays and rehashing of what happened on the field after the game ended.

Real NFL fans should probably be paying attention to what was happening on the field during the game. It was very good football and if you missed it you may get to see it again... in January.