John Harbaugh/Mike Tomlin exchange after the game (1 Viewer)

[Casting Couch]

Some of you might have missed this.

Harbaugh walks up and says congratulations, Mike Tomlin wants to just get off the field. Harbaugh grabs him and reels him back in. Tomlin extinguishes the situation, not sure I would have done the same if I were Tomlin.

 

[scrumptrulescent]

Harbaugh is just a straight up deuche. He acts much tougher than he should.

Tomlin be keepsing it real wits his boys. he keeps it real real.

 

[Dizzy]

Looked to me like one guy really doesn't like the other… and the other guy just realized that.

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

I don't get the "nothing to see here" posts. In the sanitized world of the NFL, when every press conference has the same five cliches and even the injury report reveals as little as possible...at least we have some real, authentic emotion. These guys really don't seem to like each other.

They say teams in the NFL don't like each other, but that's manufactured drama for fans. Regardless of the score, players smile, joke, shake hands, pray and laugh together. It's a reunion of millionaires who all work for different subsidies of the same company. The same money comes in that week regardless of how they did.

Coaches are a little different. They have enormous pressure, big egos and almost no control over what actually happens on the field on any given play. This is a real moment in the league-- Tomlin doesn't want anything to do with Harbaugh, and even after the quick "thanksnicejob" you can see Harbaugh just standing there like he doesn't know how to respond. And with the attention it's getting, you know it bothers him. I'd like to see them meet again in the playoffs.

I think it's interesting. I'd rather discuss this than hear Tom Brady say "It was a great team effort but now we have to put it behind us and get ready for _______." At least this is real.

 

[Clorox]

I think they're both giant pricks and this doesn't change my thinking.

What makes you think Tomlin is jerk?ETA - never mind, saw your response. No idea what he is like in real life but I've always thought he was a class act. I might be biased.

 

[Dawg Pound 69]

You really think that was a legit, respectful exchange from Tomlin? Harbaugh obviously felt slighted which is why he pulled him back in, Tomlin gave him the "yea ok whatever" handshake and didn't even seem to look at him and Harbaugh felt disrespected. In the end, it's just two ego filled male adults acting like women.

According to Tomlin, he likes to meet his team in the tunnel after every game and he was seeing his players leave the field quickly and was in a hurry to be there. He said he shook Harbaugh's hand, as well as other Ravens, quickly just to get to the tunnel. Tomlin isn't known to give out a ton of info but he usually is a straight-talker and this is exactly how it looked to me.

Obviously Harbaugh was looking for more of an exchange and I suppose Tomlin should have said something but Harbaugh pulling Tomlin back like that was bizarre.

I think this is the true explanation. Tomlin does do this after every game, win or lose. Part of the reason why his players love him.

 

[RavenLunatic]

Seemed like no big deal to me. Maybe it was his brother Jim's experience with Schwartz that has the family a bit sensitive to post game handshakes?

 

[Short Corner]

I wonder what Bob Costas' take was on this...

Obviously the solution is to sever the hands of all NFL HCs.

 

[mad sweeney]

I wonder what Bob Costas' take was on this...

I heard he dropped to his knees to pray for handgun victims and the Harbaughs.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I think Harbaugh should be fined.

 

[Da Guru]

Why do people care?

It amazes me how a bad handshake..a snub..a kick in the nuts..a comment takes on a life bigger than the game itself.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Which one of the Harbaughs socked Jim Kelly back in the day?

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Why do people care?It amazes me how a bad handshake..a snub..a kick in the nuts..a comment takes on a life bigger than the game itself.

Because people nowadays are soft and this is a big deal to them. The guys on the field just smashed people for 3 hours and this is what's getting talked about lol

 

[Bayhawks]

Tomlin didn't like Harbaugh saying the tougher team won after their last meeting.

IMHO, it doesn't matter if Tomlin doesn't like it. Then punch him out after the game and after the press has left the building. Or walk across the field and go into his locker room and hash it out in Harbaugh's office. Or fire barbs back in the press.

Many of the on field rituals about the game are about respecting the game itself. Shaking Harbaugh's hand doesn't mean you have to like or respect Harbaugh, but it means you have to respect the game.

Unwritten rules to every sport. You don't put your feet under a player who is about to land after taking a jumpshot in basketball. You don't signal for time until the umpire has truly called you safe on a steal attempt. You don't run up the score after you have a wide margin of victory assured in football.

Would John Wooden do it? Would John Wooden think it was important to stop, shake hands and acknowledge each other after the game, even if you hate each other's guts? I think yes. The ethical coaching gold standard IMHO is John Wooden in all of sports.

How you feel should have no bearing on doing your job. Tomlin is miffed over a press statement? Who gives a flying ####, do your job. Your job as coach is to be an example to the rest of your team for sportsmanship, even if you don't like it.

I think this thread is much ado about nothing, but did you even watch the clip? That (the bolded) is EXACTLY what Tomlin did. He shook Harbaugh's hand; setting the "example to the rest of your team for sportmanship." What more is he required to do, under the unwritten rules of coaching you cite? Should he have engaged in a bear-hug? Does he have to make a statement, and if so, what is the required length of that statement?

Seriously, what do you expect of him (and other coaches)?

You really think that was a legit, respectful exchange from Tomlin? Harbaugh obviously felt slighted which is why he pulled him back in, Tomlin gave him the "yea ok whatever" handshake and didn't even seem to look at him and Harbaugh felt disrespected. In the end, it's just two ego filled male adults acting like women.

WTF are you talking about? Where in my post did I say that Tomlin was showing respect to Harbaugh? I was responding to a post that said coaches should respect the game and its' traditions. The tradition is to shake the other coaches hand (I guess). Tomlin did that. If Harbaugh got his feelings hurt because it wasn't a "good enough" handshake, tough ####.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Why do people care?It amazes me how a bad handshake..a snub..a kick in the nuts..a comment takes on a life bigger than the game itself.

nobody cares -- ministry probably just didn't go to the movies recently.

 

[HughHoney]

The guys on the field just smashed people for 3 hours and this is what's getting talked about lol

I agree but do we the fans really have a choice? NFL network has become just like espn. It's more about the controversy, drama, "who should start", gossip topics than showing important 3rd down conversions, drive stopping tackles, and actual highlights. Turn on NFL network anytime middle of the week it's people talking, instead of video clips of actual football. This is getting way off topic but NFL network stinks. There's no highlights of games. It's just drama. They show about 10 plays max from the Sunday games and it's terrible. I would love to see an hour long show, all highlights, not a word is spoken by commentators, and zero obvious analysis by former players. :rantover:

 

[Godsbrother]

The guys on the field just smashed people for 3 hours and this is what's getting talked about lol

I agree but do we the fans really have a choice? NFL network has become just like espn. It's more about the controversy, drama, "who should start", gossip topics than showing important 3rd down conversions, drive stopping tackles, and actual highlights. Turn on NFL network anytime middle of the week it's people talking, instead of video clips of actual football. This is getting way off topic but NFL network stinks. There's no highlights of games. It's just drama. They show about 10 plays max from the Sunday games and it's terrible. I would love to see an hour long show, all highlights, not a word is spoken by commentators, and zero obvious analysis by former players. :rantover:

I used to the watch NFL Network a ton but the only time I watch it now is Thursday night or if I missed a great game and they're showing it again on NFL Replay.

 

[Sabertooth]

The Harbaughs are not good at the whole handshake after the game thing.

Family gatherings must be a #####. "Hey John! Long time no see, bro!""Hey Jim! Put 'er there.""HEY! WTH was that?"

Pretty much.

 

[Frenchy Fuqua]

Watched the PIT/BAL Replay on NFL Net last night. Camera is on Tomlin from end of game until handshake. He calmly walked to midfield where Harbaugh enters picture, Tomlin extends his hand first. Doesn't seem all that odd until Harbaugh tries to pull him back. Much ado over nothing.