National media reacts to budding Fangio-Harbaugh feud

By now, most of Broncos Country has likely heard of Denver head coach Vic Fangio’s reaction to the late-game antics by the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday’s 23-7 loss at home.

Furthermore, many have likely heard Ravens head coach John Harbaugh’s reaction to Fangio’s “insult.”

Naturally, the high drama between the one-time colleagues — Fangio was an assistant under Harbaugh in Baltimore from 2006-’09 — created a stir in the football world.

Here’s some of the national media’s reaction to the story:

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Mina Kimes on “NFL Live”

“I understand why actually in the moment Fangio was a little annoyed. Granted they never got into formation. They were clearly going to run a play. Nobody was in danger. It was a sweep. Nobody was even really tackled on it. I think he was way over the top in his response. ‘It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen.’ OK, Grandpa Simpson.

“But I do love … I’m here for the petty on both sides. And, look, Harbaugh, to say something serious for a moment, that’s why his players will run through a wall for him. Every player on that team, every coach on that team absolutely loves him.”

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Woody Paige on “Around the Horn”

“I thought it was bulls*** too. I mean, you have your quarterback go for it with three seconds to go? What if he gets a concussion, as Teddy Bridgewater had got earlier in the game, because the Broncos said, ‘We’re going to take you out.’ He was right at the sideline. It was a mistake. What kind of record is that?”

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Michael Wilbon on “Pardon the Interruption”

“In real time, I don’t think I was aware of this because it didn’t seem like … You know the word record. You know, we’ve got two generations of people in this business who call everything a record. It’s just a first. It’s not really a record. And, so Fangio was upset about it. I don’t know why. Their running the ball. Anything less is only taking a knee. They weren’t throwing it around the yard. They weren’t running trick plays. They didn’t do Jerry Glanville on Sam Wyche. This is much ado about nothing. And it’s not a record; it’s a first.”

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Tony Kornheiser on “Pardon the Interruption”

“I thought it was sort of high school-ish when I saw it. I was watching it on the Red Zone, and everybody just assumed that they would kneel down. And then I read Fangio’s comments that he thought it was rinky-dink. But John Harbaugh has owned this. John Harbaugh said this is completely his idea, to get those few remaining yards. I will say this: It’s 43 games. That’s almost three full seasons. If you weren’t going to use that phrase to ‘build an identity’ or ‘build a culture’ … that’s what they’ve done there. So, I understand why that’s important to Harbaugh. But I will say this: If he’d gotten a guy hurt, I’d be slamming him today.”

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Steve Young on “Monday Night Football”

“If it’s a personal shot to somebody, you can have this kind of back and forth. I get that. But short of that, you’ve got to run your own locker room. The idea that they’ve got this record for most 100-yard rushing games, that’s motivation for your team. Your players have that sense of future. They don’t want to give that away. So, you run your locker room. If you don’t like it, you go do something about it.”

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Adam Schefter on “Monday Night Football”

“Vic Fangio worked on John Harbaugh’s staff. The men know each other. They had a good conversation before the game. And then, afterward, he comes out and says what he does, questions their safety tactics. John Harbaugh says why are they throwing the football? I didn’t know there was a 16-point play with 10 seconds left. They’re trading barbs. This is great.”

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Jay Williams on “Keyshawn, JWill, & Max”

“It’s just an ‘old man get off my lawn’ type of moment. That’s what it feels like for Vic Fangio, right? Just little things that bother you that you start expressing anger over. My whole thing is it’s not like they disrespected the game, like they (didn’t) try to run up the score. They went for a five-yard run. Go stop it. Go stop it. You know, coaches always talk about the coaching speak. You play until the clock goes zero on the scoreboard. Play until the clock goes zero. If you have an issue with it, stop it. Don’t let them get the five-yard run. Beat them in that mental game that they’re playing.”