RF365’s head coach power rankings

By Os Davis | Thursday, July 26, 2007 | ( 11 )

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At this point in the non-season, it is said, every team is tied for first. By that same logic, every coach has made just as many mistakes in 2007 as any other while achieving identical success.

Through hard analysis of both past (but not too far gone) achievement, present status with his team, and the ever-elusive "What Have You Done for Me Lately?" factor, RealFootball365.com presents an attempt at a logical, objective, non-controversial look at the NFL's head coaches.

(Well, two out of three ain't bad.)

1. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots. Who else, right? Right.

2. Tony Dungy, Indianapolis Colts. All right, I'll admit it. Dungy has built some great teams. (Remember those wonderful 1999 Tampa Bay Buccaneers?) Yet nearly everywhere the meek one is placed No. 2 to a guy who hasn't won the Super Bowl in two years. Hmmm...

3. Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles. Call him the NFL's answer to Bobby Cox. In six of the last seven seasons (and eight total as Eagles head coach), Philadelphia has made the playoffs, and four times it has appeared in the NFC championship. Not bad for a guy who just discovered the running game in about Week 7 of last season.

4. Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears. Since going 6-14 in his first 20 games as Bears head coach, Smith has turned this team into a defensive marvel, going 25-7 including the playoffs since. Lovie has no ring yet, but he's got the time and potentially the personnel of his own choosing.

5. Mike Shanahan, Denver Broncos. Yes, he hasn't won a Super Bowl since a dude named John Elway was quarterbacking, but did you realize that the Broncos have posted exactly one losing season in the 12 of Shanahan's reign? Denver under Shanahan is always a threat to contend; plus, there's that 5-1 mark against the Belichick/Brady Patriots...

6. Mike Holmgren, Seattle Seahawks. Another coach who hasn't won the big one since the '90s, Holmgren has registered just two losing seasons in a 15-year head coaching career with the Seahawks and Green Bay Packers. With Seattle's injuries and limp defensive performance last year, many felt the team had no business getting into the playoffs; all the more credit to miracle-making Holmgren.

7. Brian Billick, Baltimore Ravens. Billick has managed to produce double-digit win totals (and one Super Bowl win) in four of his eight seasons as Ravens head coach, despite a sorry run of QBs like Tony Banks, Jeff Blake, Kyle Boller, Stoney Case, and Elvis Grbac. Installing Air McNair got Billick's boys to 13-3 and a reputation for more than defense.

8. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints. The only sophomore to place in the top 10, Payton was blessed with an enviable combination of players, luck and skill last season. Payton used Reggie Bush to perfection, designed a sweet offensive game plan for Drew Brees, and uncovered talents like Marques Colston. Are Payton and the Saints for real? We think so.

9. Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Whether Chucky was a great coach hasn't been in question since the Gruden Bowl -- I mean, Super Bowl XXXVII. But does the former wunderkind still have it? Gruden loves old guys at QB and with Jeff Garcia, white hot in 2006, at the helm, it's a make-or-break year for the coach.

10. Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans. The Music City Miracle isn't the only magic Fisher has seen in his tenure with the Titans, but he may need a little Potter in 2007 after a terrible offseason and three years of 17-31.

11. John Fox, Carolina Panthers. Sure, the Panthers had a brutal year in 2006, crawling to .500 after gaining status as prohibitive NFC favorites. Fox, however, has twice followed disappointing years with 11-5 marks.

12. Eric Mangini, New York Jets. The acolyte of Belichick fanned the flames of hope for Jets backers in his debut season. Gang Green has since taken up Thomas Jones. Mangini with a running attack? Scary.

13. Mike McCarthy, Green Bay Packers. After hastily constructing the league's youngest team, McCarthy got his guys confident enough to go 7-4 in the last 11, including a season-closing four-game win streak. One wonders what will happen when that 25th-best QB is replaced.

14. Mike Nolan, San Francisco 49ers. This ranking brought to you by the Straddling The Fence Department. On the surface, the 49ers appear to be improving under Nolan, moving up steadily from the 2-14 bottoming out under Dennis Erickson to 7-9 last year. Just one problem: The defense was still dead last in terms of points allowed and bottom five against both run and pass. After an excellent offseason, suited or no, Nolan has few excuses left.

15. Herm Edwards, Kansas City Chiefs. Is there a blander, more uninspiring, greater waste of apparent football intelligence than Edwards in the NFL today? I mean, besides Romeo Crennel...

16. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings. Childress' 2006 Vikings: Fair-to-middling squad squeezed to their full potential by no-nonsense coaching or fair-to-middling squad disastrously out-coached against Chicago, New England and the Jets? Discuss.

17. Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars. From 12-4 to 8-8, despite statistical improvement to both offense and defense? What is that "chopping wood" thing about again?

18. Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals. Lewis' Bengals records throughout his tenure: 8-8, 8-8, 11-5, 8-8. Think the Bengals'll go 8-8 this season?

19. Scott Linehan, St. Louis Rams. Ever since the glory days of Kurt Warner ended, the Rams have been spinning their wheels, making personnel moves seemingly without rhyme or reason. Linehan hopes to continue that trend.

20. Romeo Crennel, Cleveland Browns. Funny bit on Crennel from his Wikipedia entry: "Before beginning the 2003 playoffs with the Patriots, Crennel interviewed for head coaching positions with five teams in under 36 hours. He was not offered any jobs, however, and was passed up by the New York Giants, Buffalo Bill, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons." Imagine the second-guessing going on in Cleveland right now, after a season in which the defense actually degenerated from 2005; holding a roster filled higgledy-piggledy with past-their-primers, the mostly untried, and Kellen Winslow; and a "quarterback controversy" that might go on for a long, long time.

21. Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans. Kubiak's doing the best he can, I suppose.

22. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants. How many coaches prove to be a distraction, with players claiming they're being worked too hard...

23. Joe Gibbs, Washington Redskins. ...not to mention having to memorize a 10,000-page playbook?

24. Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys. Generously do we let bygones be bygones. Son of the Houston Oilers' immortal Bum Phillips, Wade is at least at home in Texas; wish him well.

25. Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers. Don't get me started. I'm referring everyone here. .411 ... sheesh.

26. Dick Jauron, Buffalo Bills. With each passing year, you gotta wonder how long Jauron's reputation is going to cruise on a fluke 13-3 season with the Bears back in two thousand-freaking-one. (And doesn't anyone remember how laughingly easy Chicago's schedule was that year?) Folks, he's 30-55 career otherwise.

27. Rod Marinelli, Detroit Lions. How are you given lots of license and the wizard of the Greatest Show on Turf and actually decline from a Joey Harrington-led 5-11 team? An inauspicious beginning, indeed.

T28. Cam Cameron, Miami Dolphins.

T28. Bobby Petrino, Atlanta Falcons.

T28. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers.

T28. Ken Whisenhunt, Arizona Cardinals. Lifetime records of 0-0, one and all. Give 'em all a grade of "pending."

32. Lane Kiffin, Oakland Raiders. Already beat down by the NFL powers-that-be once, reportedly working veterans too hard ... hoo boy. I know we'll take a beating from Raider Nation for this rating, so I'll just say "Welcome to the league, Mr. Kiffin."

RealFootball365.com: Fearlessly ranking 1 to 32, 24/7/365.

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	About Os Davis Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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Comments: 11 | Sign Up View all comments


	No.1 fr8ttrain	11:18 AM 07/26/2007

	Nothing too provoking in this assessment. Nolan may be a bit high and Gibbs a tad low, considering you have Gary Kubiak,...


	No.2 deez	11:46 AM 07/26/2007

	I don't agree with this assessment at all. The first eight picks I could see, however Gruden doesn't deserve a top 15 pick, let...


	No.3 Dave	12:52 PM 07/26/2007

	I have to say I can never understand how people overrate Herm Edwards as a head coach. He stunk with the Jets and he stinks as...