Ranking all 32 NFL Head Coaches from Worst to First

Here are all the NFL’s head coaches ranked while weighing their past success with how we think they’ll fare in the future.

32. Hue Jackson, Browns: He’s 1-31 on his career. He has won 3 percent of his games. I’d be stunned if he didn’t get fired in 2018. Even for Cleveland, one win is superlatively bad.

31. Todd Bowles, Jets: The Jets would have so much reason for optimism after Sam Darnold — if it wasn’t for Bowles. Bowles has the fourth-worst winning percentage in the NFL (.417). His offenses can’t score with the ninth fewest points per game (18.6). His defenses can’t stop people from scoring with the ninth most points allowed per game (23.9). That’s a losing combination.

30. Vance Joseph, Broncos: His seat is awfully hot. With Case Keenum at quarterback, it’s put up or shut up for Joseph, who could blame his 5-11 record in his rookie season on bad quarterbacking.

29. Dirk Koetter, Buccaneers: He’s an offensive mind that hasn’t figured out how to turn Tampa Bay into an offensive juggernaut. They’re getting the yards (ninth) but not the points (18th). Jameis Winston hasn’t developed into elite passer (though that might fall onto Winston). Koetter has no playoff appearances, and a 43.8 winning percentage in two seasons. To make things worse, Winston’s suspension will almost certainly put the Bucs in a 0-3 hole, and effectively end their season.

28. Marvin Lewis, Bengals: There’s nothing impressive about Lewis’ tenure except for its length. But his tenure has been more oppressive than impressive. He has four AFC north championships, seven playoff berths and 123 regular-season wins. He’s also the ignominious owner of a 52.3 winning percentage with zero playoff wins where he’s 0-7.

27. Jay Gruden, Redskins: He works for a tough organization, but he’s made only one playoff appearance (a loss to the Packers in 2015). He’ll inherit Alex Smith in a make-or-break year. The idea is that if the Chiefs can make Smith look good the Gruden can, too. We’ll see if that works out.

26. Frank Reich, Colts: Call me a skeptic, but didn’t the Colts settle for Reich? They turned to him after Josh McDaniels abandoned. At that point, the best candidates were off the market. Reich may just turn into a great coach, but he feels like a player who entered the draft a year early with too much boom or bust potential.

25. Adam Gase, Dolphins: He made the playoffs in his first season as a head coach, but couldn’t win with Jay Cutler last season. Hard to count that against him. But what do the Dolphins do well? What is their identity on offense and defense? They don’t have one. That falls on Gase.

24. Matt Nagy, Bears: Chicago hired Nagy with the hopes of finding the next Sean McVay. Mitch Trubisky didn’t look particularly bad or good last year — he looked like a rookie. Nagy, who was the offensive coordinator for Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, will be responsible for justifying Trubisky as a second-overall pick in the draft. With the Chiefs, Nagy put together an outstanding offense that was even better when he (not Andy Reid) was calling plays. There’s reason to have faith.

23. Steve Wilks, Cardinals: With a defensive mind in Wilks and an offensive talent in Josh Rosen, the Cardinals could soon get on the right track. In 2017 as the Panthers defense coordinator, his defense allowed the 11th fewest points per game and the seventh fewest yards per game. They also had 50 sacks, good for third in the NFL (just five behind Jacksonville). The question is how much of that excellence is a product of Ron Rivera’s defensive-minded coaching.

22. Matt Patricia, Lions: He has already lost his players, right? Patricia seems to be working toward developing into a Bill Belichick clone in Detroit. The Lions have a great deal of talent on offense — the defense is coming together. Patricia’s Belichick act could get old if he doesn’t win quickly. That said, Patricia and the Lions looked primed to win quickly.

21. Pat Shurmur, Giants: The man who made Case Keenum into a real quarterback. The Giants are hoping he can do the same thing with a fading Eli Manning (and then whoever comes next). As a head coach, Shurmur had a losing tenure with the Cleveland Browns. He also took over as the Eagles interim head coach in 2015 after Chip Kelly got fired.

20. Sean McDermott, Bills: At least he can win ugly? McDermott somehow turned the Bills into a playoff team in 2017 despite a highly dysfunctional offense. Now, the most important test for McDermott: developing a franchise quarterback. Josh Allen is in the house.

19. Jon Gruden, Raiders: He’s got a Super Bowl ring, but can he transition from the press room to the locker room? Oakland is betting $100 million he can. He’s been out of the game for a long time, his Super Bowl win is in the very distant past and he was even fading as an analyst. Does he really have a mental edge over other coaches?

18. Bill O’Brien, Texans: Houston has basked in mediocrity for long enough. O’Brien has gotten by with a 31-33 record on his career because he can blame a run of bad quarterbacks. With Deshaun Watson, O’Brien must finally realize his potential as a coach — or he’ll be looking for a job. Considering what the duo did together last year, the Texans will be just fine.

17. Mike Vrabel, Titans: His rise up the coaching ranks was tremendously quick. He seems to be a rising star. He’ll take over a promising group in Tennessee. What’s not to like?

16. Anthony Lynn, Chargers: If he had a better kicker, the Chargers might have been 12-4 and a playoff team in Lynn’s first season as head coach. They lost their first three games essentially because of kicking woes (not Lynn’s fault). Aside from that, Lynn looked like a hugely promising coach by getting the most out of stars like Phillip Rivers, Keenan Allen, Melvin Gordon, Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram.

15. Kyle Shanahan, 49ers: He showed he can win with the right quarterback. He and Jimmy Garoppolo need to keep up what they started in 2017.

14. Mike Zimmer, Vikings: Zimmer boasts a good winning percentage (60.9) on his career with a great defense and an improving offense, especially with Kirk Cousins in the mix, but Zimer’s 1-3 in the playoffs. He needed Keenum’s miracle throw to get his lone playoff win.

13. Jason Garrett, Cowboys: He seemed to have everything figured out in 2016. Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot were on the rise. Having Prescott on a modest rookie contract seemed like the cherry on top. Then 2017 happened. Elliot’s suspension. A down year for Prescott. An up year for the Eagles. A 9-7 record for the Cowboys. Garrett’s clearly a talented coach, but he needs to meet expectations. Sooner than later, he needs to get to a Super Bowl.

12. Doug Marrone, Jaguars: Marrone is a sneaky good coach. He took over a messy situation in Buffalo from 2013 to 2014, turned things around quickly and bailed before the situation got really good. He doesn’t look like he’s jumping ship in Jacksonville after a trip to the AFC championship. The Jaguars are one of the youngest and most promising teams in the NFL.

11. Ron Rivera, Panthers: He’s a gifted defensive coach who has helped bring Cam Newton into prominence. He’s also been a two-time coach of the year. However, Rivera has a losing record in the playoffs (3-4) and in the Super Bowl (0-1). It’s time for Newton and Rivera to assert themselves as champions.

10. Andy Reid, Chiefs: He’s won a lot in Kansas City (53-27), just like he did in Philadelphia. However, Reid hasn’t enjoyed postseason success. He’ll have an interesting challenge in 2018 with a hugely talented but still raw quarterback in Patrick Mahomes. Reid has certainly won with a number of lesser quarterbacks. Ultimately, Reid fails when the pressure is on. He can’t manage late-game situations and he doesn’t win in the playoffs.

9. Mike Tomlin, Steelers: He’s one of the most accomplished coaches in the NFL with one of the most talented rosters. But he seemed to have lost requisite control of the Steelers last season with Le’Veon Bell threatening retirement and the players circling a game against the Patriots in the AFC title game that they never got to. Heading into this year, the drama continued. Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown skipped parts of voluntary workouts. Tomlin may have a Super Bowl win, but he’s hit a rough patch where he seems to be losing the respect of his players.

8. John Harbaugh, Ravens: He always seems to get a competitive team together by Week 17. It’s just a matter of whether the team has a good enough record to advance into the playoffs. Harbaugh has a 10-5 record in the postseason and a Super Bowl ring. But what have you done for me lately? He has missed the playoffs in four of the last five years.

7. Sean McVay, Rams: The temptation is to rank McVay higher. He was innovative and thrilling in turning around the Rams last year. But his record remains 11-5 with a loss in his only playoff game. That’s an excellent first season, but not enough to propel him past the Super Bowl-winners below. McVay is on the path to a tremendous amount of success.

6. Dan Quinn, Falcons: Quinn’s Falcons are still in their winning window. However, Quinn’s measured and stable approach seems to create an environment of consistency than his mentor Pete Carroll may lack with the Seahawks. Quinn is set up nicely to establish himself as one of the league’s best.

5. Mike McCarthy, Packers: He’s had a blessed existence from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers. When Rodgers has been injured, he hasn’t looked like the same coach. But he deserves credit for getting Rodgers prepared for succession of Favre. He has had continued success while winning 63 percent of his games, which is fifth best in the NFL. His Super Bowl ring is a nice addition to his resume, too.

4. Sean Payton, Saints: When I think of Payon, I think of the onside kick in the Super Bowl. Gutsy, aggressive and lucky. Payton has had the luxury of coaching Drew Brees, and they’ve proved an outrageously good duo.

3. Pete Carroll, Seahawks: Carroll’s act may have grown somewhat stale with the players who helped him win a Super Bowl. The question is whether he can reignite the organization or whether his style lends itself better to a franchise in transition (much like the college game which is always in transition). Even so, Carroll is the owner of a 62.1 winning percentage, two Super Bowl appearances and one win. He’s a good enough coach that a 9-7 record is a disappointment. That’s a nice compliment. Russell Wilson also has Carroll to thank for his already illustrious career.

2. Doug Pederson, Eagles: He’s an aggressive and fearless leader who figured out how to win a Super Bowl with a backup quarterback. He’s turning Carson Wentz into one of the best players in the NFL. His defense — which isn’t even his specialty — is excellent. And he’s fresh off a win over Bill Belichick. In fact, he made Belichick look like the worser coach in Super Bowl LII.

1. Bill Belichick, Patriots: Yes, he just lost the Super Bowl (while benching Malcolm Butler). He’s got seven Super Bowl wins (five as a head coach and two as a defensive coordinator). There is no way to argue there’s a better coach in the NFL. And it’s hard to argue there’s a better coach in the history of the game.