Jim Schwartz Broke the Coaching Code of Ethics by Going After Jim Harbaugh

Warning to every coach that has to play the Detroit Lions this season: Jim Schwartz does not appreciate strong handshakes!

Schwartz certainly proved that today when he went flying toward San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh after Harbaugh gave the Detroit head man a stern handshake and a pound on the back after the 49ers took down his Lions 25-19 at Ford Field this afternoon.

The ceremonial meeting of the two head coaches at midfield took a strange twist when Schwartz took exception to Harbaugh’s jubilant demeanor, and you better believe he was fully prepared to let him know all about it.

If you haven’t seen the video that’s been going viral all day long, you can watch it here. Schwartz paused for a second after feeling slighted by Harbaugh’s lack of a usual “Great game coach, good luck in the future” type of gesture and then proceeded to chase Harbaugh all the way down the field before things got heated in front of the tunnel to the locker room.

The skirmish was eventually extinguished after some basic pushing and shoving commenced between both teams, but the fact that Schwartz reacted the way he did was just overkill.

In a postgame press conference, Harbaugh admitted he was a little over-exuberant and shook Schwartz’s hand “too hard,” but come on, what he did definitely did not warrant that type of reaction.

Yes, there was no need for Harbaugh to celebrate a Week 6 win like he just won the power ball and the Super Bowl in the same three seconds.

Still, can you really blame a coach for getting excited because his team, which nearly every member of the sports media wrote off as an also-ran before the season, just made a statement on the road against one of the conference's top contenders to move its record to 5-1?

No, good for Jim Harbaugh.

God forbid an NFL coach show a little excitement or emotion these days.

So Harbaugh doesn’t fit the Bill Belichick robotic mode of going about things.

That’s fine.

He actually has a personality—deal with it.

It obviously worked for him at Stanford, and so far, it’s working quite well for him with the 49ers.

If I remember correctly, I’ve seen Jim Schwartz do a few fist pumps after big wins during his time with the Lions, and I’ve never seen an opposing coach go chasing after him like a recently freed madman.

Why, because NFL head coaches know that no matter what is said in that little midfield meeting, whether it’s respectful or not, you have to be the bigger man and walk away.

Sometimes you have to just cool down your testosterone, go against your gut instinct and act like a professional.

You know why?

Because you are a professional. You’re the face of a professional football organization.

That's a pretty powerful seat to sit in.

Wear that badge with honor, and most importantly, wear it with responsibility and take control of your emotions.

I’ve seen plenty of cold coaching handshakes during my 10 or so years of watching pro and college football (Heck, Belichick alone has already given me a lifetime’s worth) but I’ve never seen any coach pull what Schwartz did.

It’s unacceptable.

Be the bigger man.

If you want to point out what an ass Jim Harbaugh was to the media in a postgame press conference, that's fine, but when you go about making an ass of yourself, you lose all credibility.

NFL coaches don't like each other, it's a simple fact.

Sure, some are friendly, some like to fish and drink wine with each other in the offseason, and that's great, but when they get out on the field, it's always a battle and that's the way it should be.

There's certainly some level of jealousy, ego and power-tripping involved, but again, that's fine.

We expect that.

What we don't expect is going to start a fight with a coach because he stiffed you at midfield.

Get over it and grow up.

This is the NFL, not Celebrity Deathmatch.

Decorum and discipline are appreciated.

I will say this, though, after seeing this all escalate, it does leave me very intrigued to see what Harbaugh has in store for his former college rival Pete Carroll.

Hopefully, Carroll learned a thing or two from Schwartz's mistake and won't pull an ECW version of his "What’s your deal?" spiel if Harbaugh decides to give him a strong handshake.