The Best And Worst NFL Head Coaches
Becoming an NFL head coach is an opportunity that few are privileged to have. 31 teams expect to win now, with no time for learning curves. No matter the talent level of their roster, coaches are judged on wins. Here are the best and worst NFL Head Coaches.
Bill Belichick (Best)
Considered to be the greatest coach in NFL history, Bill Belichick, head coach of the New England Patriots since 2000, has 6 Super Bowl rings.
Belichick lost QB Tom Brady to Tampa Bay and struggled that following season, but Belichick and the Patriots bounced back with a 10-7 record last season.
Matt Lafleur (Best)
Matt Lafleur is the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, one of the NFL's most storied franchises. Lafleur, with Aaron Rodgers, an elite quarterback, has yet to reach a Super Bowl.
Lafleur, 39-10 in 3 seasons, an NFC best each year, has Super Bowl intentions this season.
Lovie Smith (Worst)
Although overall, his record is 89-87 in 11 seasons, Lovie Smith's teams have only been .500 or better six times, and he has only coached in one Super Bowl.
Smith, 6-10 with Tampa Bay (2015), will coach the Houston Texans in 2022, despite an atrocious track record as coach.
Sean McVay (Best)
Sean McVay was the youngest NFL head coach ever hired at age 30. McVay became the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl, winning last season with the Los Angeles Rams.
McVay, one of the most innovative and fresh minds, is looking to repeat as a Super Bowl champion.
Kliff Kingsbury (Best)
Kliff Kingsbury, a subpar college head coach, somehow managed to land the job as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2019.
Kingsbury's coached QB Kyler Murphy from day one as a coach. Each of the three seasons, the Cardinals' record has improved, with 2021 being the best (11-6).
Mike Tomlin (Worst)
Before Rams' head coach Tim McVay did it last season, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl in 2008.
Tomlin and his Steelers have seen a steady decline in talent. Tomlin's QB Ben Roethlisberger retired this offseason after 17 seasons.
Brian Daboll (Worst)
As the NFL head coach in New York, Brian Daboll is always in the proverbial hot seat. The New York Giants have not been competitive since their last Super Bowl appearance, winning in 2011.
In January of 2022, Daboll was hired, shortly after the team missed the playoffs again.
Kyle Shanahan (Best)
Kyle Shanahan achieved early success in his brief tenure as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. In 2019, Shanahan coached the 49ers to a 13-3 record and a Super Bowl appearance, which they lost.
Shanahan's offensive genius as coach has yet to yield any real playoff success.
Arthur Smith (Worst)
The Atlanta Falcons have been mired in mediocrity since their epic Super Bowl LI collapse. Arthur Smith took the job as head coach of the Falcons in 2021 and guided the team to a respectable 7-10 record.
Atlanta looks to rebuild after trading longtime QB Matt Ryan to Indianapolis.
John Harbaugh (Worst)
Baltimore Ravens' head coach John Harbaugh has had two losing seasons in his 14-year career, all spent in Baltimore.
Drafting star QB Lamar Jackson, injured last season, has raised expectations for Harbaugh and the Ravens. The team has fallen short in the playoffs recently, but looks to rebound this season.
Sean McDermott (Best)
Sean McDermott is 49-32 as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo's QB Josh Allen is McDermott's starter and is among the top talents at the position in the NFL.
McDermott and the Bills were seconds away from advancing to the 2021 AFC championship before eventually losing.
Matt Rhule (Worst)
Matt Rhule, coaching Carolina since 2020, has not done much with the team having a record of 10-23.
Carolina's moved on from franchise QB Cam Newton, and with his job on the line, Rhule's focus now is to return the Panthers to the playoffs.
Matt Eberflus (Worst)
Matt Eberflus is undefeated as head coach of the Chicago Bears, mainly because Eberflus was hired in January of 2022. Chicago has 2 playoff appearances since 2016.
Eberflus has never been the head coach, from college to the NFL, but must now return this once proud franchise back to glory.
Zac Taylor (Best)
Zac Taylor has already enjoyed success as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals (2019), losing to the Los Angeles Rams in last year's Super Bowl.
Taylor and star QB Joe Burrow, lost some key talent, but are expected to power through the playoffs back to the Super Bowl in 2022.
Kevin Stefanski (Worst)
Kevin Stefanski was named NFL Coach of the Year in 2020, his first season as head coach, after leading the Cleveland Browns to their first playoff berth since 2002.
Deshaun Watson, Cleveland's new QB, faces suspension over legal troubles, forcing Stefanski and the team to move forward without him.
Mike McCarthy (Worst)
Coaching "America's Team", the Dallas Cowboys, brings a lot of pressure and scrutiny. Since Mike McCarthy was hired as their head coach (2020), the team has grossly underachieved.
McCarthy's boss, Jerry Jones, who never passes up an open mic, denies rumors of McCarthy's demise, which seemingly occur after every loss.
Nathaniel Hackett (Best)
Nathaniel Hackett was hired as head coach of the Denver Broncos in late January. Denver has since acquired star QB Russell Wilson, from the Seattle Seahawks.
Hackett, along with Wilson at QB, hope to lead the Broncos to the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50.
Dan Campbell (Worst)
Head coach Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions, hired in 2021, has one of the worst jobs in the NFL. The Lions, winless in 2008, own the NFL record for longest playoff win drought.
Campbell hopes to make the playoffs, and improve from their 3-13 record last season.
Frank Reich (Best)
Former QB Frank Reich, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, has made the transition from quarterback to coach seamlessly.
Reich quarterbacked the 1992 Buffalo Bills to the largest playoff comeback in NFL history. Reich, new QB Matt Ryan, and the Colts, try and improve from finishing 9-8 last season.
Doug Pederson (Worst)
Doug Pederson will debut as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars this season. Pederson won the 2017 Super Bowl as head coach of his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Pederson takes over coaching a dysfunctional Jaguars squad, disgraced by former coach Urban Meyer. Jacksonville was 3-14 last season.
Andy Reid (Best)
Andy Reid was thought to be coaching the Kansas City Chiefs to a dynasty of championships. Even with the best QB in the NFL, Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City is 1-1 in Super Bowl games under Reid.
This season, Reid hopes to erase last season's loss in the AFC championship game.
Josh McDaniels (Worst)
Disgraceful and dysfunctional perfectly describes the Las Vegas Raiders, who will be coached by Josh McDaniels this season. Players, coaches, and executives, all played a role in the chaos surrounding the Raiders' 2021 season.
Vegas was 10-7 last season, hoping McDaniels can take them even further this season.
Brandon Staley (Best)
While one Los Angeles team, the Rams, won last season's Super Bowl, the other Los Angeles team, the Chargers, look to find their way under head coach Brandon Staley.
Staley, the Chargers' former defensive coordinator, was promoted to head coach last season, leading the team to a respectable 9-8 record.
Mike McDaniel (Best)
Mike McDaniel will be head coach of the Miami Dolphins at the start of the 2022 season. McDaniel, with no prior experience as an NFL coach, is the Dolphins' 13th head coach in their history.
McDaniel's priority is to make the playoffs, building on their 9-8 record last season,
Dennis Allen (Worst)
Previous New Orleans Saints' coach of 15 seasons, Sean Payton, left pretty big shoes to fill for new Saints' head coach, Dennis Allen, by winning a Super Bowl in 2009,
Even after an 0-4 start and being fired by Oakland (Raiders), Allen now has a clean slate in New Orleans.
Robert Saleh (Worst)
J-E-T-S, JETS! JETS! JETS! That raucous cheer from New York Jets fans as well as postseason prosperity will hopefully return with the hiring of Robert Saleh as head coach.
The Jets 4-13 record last season, means that this season cannot be much worse for Saleh and the Jets.
Pete Carroll (Worst)
Pete Carroll, the Seattle Seahawks head coach since 2010, won, then lost in back to back Super Bowls with Seattle.
Seattle went 7-10 last season under Carroll and missed the playoffs. Trading QB Russell Wilson away leaves Carroll the monumental task of returning Seattle to the playoffs this season.
Nick Sirianni (Best)
Nick Sirianni picked up very nicely where previous head coach Doug Pederson left off. Sirianni took the Philadelphia Eagles to the 2021 playoffs, after coaching the team to a 9-8 regular season record.
Sirianni's Eagles are expected to battle the Cowboys for the NFC East division crown this season.
Todd Bowles (Best)
Todd Bowles' becoming head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a promotion from being the Bucs' defensive coordinator. Bowles became coach after Bruce Arians stepped down, a year after winning a Super Bowl.
Bowles and QB Tom Brady look to move forward after losing ultimate weapon Rob Gronkowski.
Ron Rivera (Worst)
The Washington Commanders have been awful on the field, and worse off it, for years. Head Coach Ron Rivera, led the Commanders to an NFC East division championship game loss, after the team finished the season 7-9.
Rivera continues to battle, surviving controversies and his own health issues.
Mike Vrabel (Best)
Mike Vrabel, head coach of the Tennessee Titans, has 3 playoff berths, and 2 division championships. Vrabel has a 41-24 record since taking over head coaching duties in 2018.
Tennessee finished 12-5 last season, their best season under Vrabel, and are hopeful to have another spectacular season in 2022.
Kevin O'Connell (Worst)
Kevin O'Connell takes over as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings after the Vikings went 8-9 in 2021. Minnesota last made the playoffs in 2019.
The Vikings have yet to enjoy real postseason success, but are thinking their new head coach O'Connell, can quickly reverse that trend.
