Schwartz had no reason to lose his freaking mind.
The Lions' coach was upset that the 49ers' coach was a little aggressive in his postgame handshake, which came amid a jubilant jaunt across the field. Schwartz had every right to tell Harbaugh to calm down, but it should have ended there.
It didn't, and that's where the true blame should be cast — not on the coach who couldn't properly handle winning, but on the coach who couldn't handle losing.
First of all, Schwartz should know better. He's the same man who looked like a WWE star when his Lions completed a comeback this season against the Vikings. The Vikings. Watch.
Those same Vikings have a 1-5 record and are arguably the worst team in the NFL, yet Schwartz couldn't contain his excitement after beating them. Sure, he was toned down when he eventually shook Leslie Frazier's hand, but he should understand the ecstasy that comes with winning an emotional football game. To take offense to another coach doing the same is hypocritical.
Making matters worse is that after Schwartz told Harbaugh, with conviction, that he didn't appreciate the hard slap on the back, Harbaugh didn't engage in a war of words. He simply kept on running in blissful glory, likely unaware he was even in the middle of what would become Sunday's most-discussed confrontation in the NFL.
But Schwartz wanted a showdown. He persisted, he pushed, he broke free from a pack and sprinted 10 yards to try to catch up to Harbaugh. He lost his damn mind.
"I went to congratulate Coach Harbaugh and got shoved out of the way," Schwartz said after the scuffle. "I didn't expect an obscenity at that point. Obviously, when you win a game like that, you are excited, but there is a protocol."
To try to throw Harbaugh under the bus for swearing is a joke of magnificent proportions. Swearing? Really? Is this kindergarten or is this professional football? And weren't you caught taunting an opponent with an expletive not too long ago?
And you're mad about hearing a naughty word that you can't say on TV? Come on, Jim.
Harbaugh, to his credit, owned up to his role in what transpired.
"That's totally on me," Harbaugh said simply. "I shook his hand too hard."
That he did, and that's all he's responsible for.
A coach is supposed to be a leader who sets an example for his team. If Schwartz is starting what turned out to be a near-brawl, can he get mad at any of his players if they do the same and cost the team 15 yards? What if a player overreacts and gets himself kicked out of a game? What if that player is Ndamukong Suh or Kyle Vanden Bosch? Schwartz can blame himself when it hurts the team.
The major takeaway is that coaches should probably never act like they won a Super Bowl, unless they actually win a Super Bowl. Take a page out of Bill Belichick's book and take a regular-season win for what it is: a regular-season win. It is what it is, we still need to improve, and so on and so forth. It's boring, but it can save you a lot of trouble.
But in the event that you're a coach and your counterpart goes all Josh McDaniels on you, just take a deep breath and think of it as a compliment. If you weren't the coach of a good football team, the other coach wouldn't be so excited.
Both Harbaugh and Schwartz are helping to author wonderful stories, as both have turned 6-10 teams into 5-1 teams. Instead of the football world discussing that, it is wasting time talking about a needless skirmish. You can blame Harbaugh for being a little too animated, but you can blame Schwartz for everything else.
