Jim Harbaugh once broke his hand punching Jim Kelly

Jim Harbaugh can relate to Geno Smith, the New York Jets quarterback sidelined with a broken jaw suffered in a fight with a teammate.

During Harbaugh's NFL playing days, the Michigan coach broke his hand in a brawl with former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly.

Unlike Smith, though, Harbaugh — who was the Indianapolis Colts quarterback at the time — incurred his injury throwing a punch.

The incident took place in October 1997, when Kelly ripped Harbaugh on a pregame show in Buffalo, calling him a "baby" who faked injuries. Harbaugh didn't take kindly to the comment

"He said if he were still playing, he'd tell Buffalo players to hit me in the mouth and I'd get rattled," Harbaugh told Mitch Albom in 1997. "Well, he was doing a game in San Diego, and I wanted to ask him where he was coming from with those comments. We went into a room and started talking about it. He said, 'I call it the way I see it.' One thing led to another.

"I hit him. I threw a couple of punches. Sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe in."

Harbaugh broke a bone in his hand and missed the next three games for the Colts, who finished 3-13 and drafted Peyton Manning the next year.

"I regret throwing the punch," Harbaugh said. "But I felt I had to do something since my toughness was being questioned."