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NFL Coaches Fight Club: Jim Schwartz (3) vs. John Harbaugh (6)

John Harbaugh Jim Schwartz fight club
NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.





It seems like every NCAA basketball tournament features an upstart three seed who ends up making a run and knocking out a few of the higher seeds. In 2006, Florida took one to the championship, as did Syracuse in Carmelo Anthony's lone collegiate season. Last year, Villanova rode a three to the Final Four. There are many more examples, but this isn't a dissertation on college basketball. It's an introduction to Jim Schwartz's sneakiness as a three-seed in a fictional fight tournament.

Schwartz is relatively young, appears to be in great physical condition and has a serious mean streak. Look at the picture above. It'll be a common sight for the rest of 2009 as the Lions struggle through Year 1 of the rebuilding process. He's already had his first post-game meltdown -- Week 4 against the Bears, when he undressed his own team in the presser after a 48-24 loss -- which illustrates how he has zero tolerance for failure.

As someone who was an All-American and Academic All-American linebacker for Georgetown, Schwartz is easily a double-threat in terms of brains and brawn. Plus, look at how miserably the Titans are faring this season without him calling the shots as defensive coordinator. A final note: Schwartz appears crazy at times, and that's definitely a good thing. No matter how you slice it, Schwartz is a legitimate threat to make some serious noise in this tournament.

Of course, he first needs to take down a pretty tough six seed in John Harbaugh. Sure, he's slightly smaller and older, but he's no pushover. Harbaugh played defensive back for Miami (OH) and can match the intensity of Schwartz. Harbaugh's also a good bet to match Schwartz's smarts; he is the very definition of a student of the game. He wasn't really even considered a legit candidate for the Ravens' head coaching gig, but he knocked the socks off Ravens' brass and ended taking Baltimore to the AFC Championship game in his first year -- with a rookie quarterback. I also think Harbaugh would be pretty scrappy in a heated battle like fictional fight club would provide.

Still, it's gonna be a tough task to take down the younger, stronger and more insane Schwartz.

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