The pregame tension between John Harbaugh and Mike Vrabel carried over to the postgame handshake after the Titans pulled out the OT victory.
Harbaugh took offense to Titans players stomping all over the midfield logo and wound up having to be restrained, along with Tennessee defensive back Malcolm Butler.
At the conclusion of the game, Vrabel still tried to come over and shake hands, but Harbaugh waved him off.
Vrabel dismissed any notion of a possible rift between himself and Harbaugh, whose team fell to 6-4 and in third place in the AFC North.
“I went to celebrate with Derrick [Henry] and the team and congratulate them, and ran back to shake his hand,” Vrabel said of his actions immediately following the Titans’ 30-24 win. “Asked [Harbaugh] what the issue was before the game, and he said there wasn’t an issue. So I went to celebrate with my football team.”
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Vrabel was also asked if Harbaugh declined to shake his hand.
“No, absolutely not,” Vrabel said. “No. A lot of respect for John. We shook hands.”
Harbaugh echoed what Vrabel said:
“After the game, there wasn’t an issue,” Harbaugh said, via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “Coach Vrabel, was down there celebrating in the end zone, and then he came back around and shook hands. [What transpired] before the game is irrelevant.”
