Poll: Top 5 Best NFL Head Coaches (current)

[mikeford]

after Belicheck, it gets pretty hazy when you determine alltime records and situational fall offs or sudden spurts of greatness.... so whats your current top 5

[looksthatkillbn]

1. Bill Belichick - for obvious reasons
2. Tony Dungy - for consistency and putting it together this year
3. John Fox - pure intellectuality. great plays and ways to exploit teams
4. Mike Holmgren - for transcending time
5. Marvin Lewis - for going from a defensive coach to having an incredible offense, among other things

Honorable Mention: Mike Shanahan (consistency, transcendence), Andy Reid (would have been on this list last year)

[Clarett'sGreyGoose]

1. Bill Belichick - for obvious reasons
2. Tony Dungy - for consistency and putting it together this year
3. John Fox - pure intellectuality. great plays and ways to exploit teams
4. Mike Holmgren - for transcending time
5. Marvin Lewis - for going from a defensive coach to having an incredible offense, among other things

Honorable Mention: Mike Shanahan (consistency, transcendence), Andy Reid (would have been on this list last year)
i have to agree, though maybe not in the same order, with all 7 of the guys mentioned in this post.

[brendan]

You've got to put Joe Gibbs in there. He has worked wonders for the Redskins as far as attitude and character go, and is obviously turning the organization around and heading in the right direction.

[mikeford]

bill cower gets no love?

[FondestMemory]

1. belicheck - obvious
2. cowher - longevity, consistency, creativity. maybe it's a bit of a biased pick.
3. parcells - knows how to make a lot out of a little. has proven it in four places.
4. gibbs - has the history, but is also making it happen this year.
5. dungy - was a solid coach in tampa and even better in indy. i knew he'd be a great headcoach when he was still in minnesota. he proved me right.

close behind:
holmgren - i actually had him at five originally, but then dungy slipped in there after further consideration.
lewis - i had the same feeling about him as i did with dungy. knew he'd be a great coach. what he's done with that team is amazing. but he hasn't been a head coach long enough for me to consider him above any of the other five. great coach though.

[looksthatkillbn]

I could have thrown Joe Gibbs into the honorable mention category, but he needs to make the playoffs first. Otherwise, I can add Jim Mora Jr., Mike Mularkey, and Jack Del Rio as coaches who are on the brink but can't push it over right now.

[mikeford]

MIKE MULARKY?

my brain just exploded.

[Clarett'sGreyGoose]

I could have thrown Joe Gibbs into the honorable mention category, but he needs to make the playoffs first. Otherwise, I can add Jim Mora Jr., Mike Mularkey, and Jack Del Rio as coaches who are on the brink but can't push it over right now.
Mike Mularkey? Are you serious?

[looksthatkillbn]

Mike Mularkey still has Willis McGahee, and last year had arguably the best defense in the league because of their uncanny way to create turnovers. Mike Mularkey is one of the up-and-coming NFL head coaches.

I never said he was a great coach, I said he was about the make the leap, just like Joe Gibbs and Jack Del Rio.

[Clarett'sGreyGoose]

Mike Mularkey still has Willis McGahee, and last year had arguably the best defense in the league because of their uncanny way to create turnovers. Mike Mularkey is one of the up-and-coming NFL head coaches.

I never said he was a great coach, I said he was about the make the leap, just like Joe Gibbs and Jack Del Rio.
Listen here sonny, if you're going to "take the sports forum by storm" you'd better come in here with opinions that AREN'T RETARDED.

Mike Mularkey has Willis McGahee, yes. But he has no offensive line and he has not pushed GM Tom Donahoe to upgrade it.

Mike Mularkey had the "best" defense in the league last year, but he doesn't run the defense. Jerry Gray runs the defense, and that's why last offseason, Jerry Gray was a serious candidate for some head coaching positions.

MIke Mularkey has been calling the plays for the Buffalo Bills most of this season. The product? A 5-10 abyss of a season in which he benched JP Losman, the "QB of the Future for the Bills" for Kelly Holcomb, effectively stunting Losman's growth. He's also called draw plays on 3rd and 22 and pass plays on 3rd and 1. He's called FULLBACK DIVES on 4th and Goal from the 2, and run plays on 3rd and 8.

Yeah, Mike Mularkey's a real up and comer alright. He's about to come up and get his ass canned.

Oh by the way, this is coming from a Bills fan. Mularkey fucking blows. :thumbsup:

[still_life]

1. Belichick - obvious reasons
2. Cowher - Only 3 losing seasons in 14 years with the same team
3. Parcells - A HOFer, still gets it done
4. Dungy - Always has his team in contention, never panics.
5. Lewis - Turned the Bungles around, has yet to have a losing season

[Drew Beringer]

I think Dungy has the most wins out of any coach since like 2000 or something.

[looksthatkillbn]

just because Gray "runs" the defense does not mean that Mularkey has nothing to do with it.

"no offensive line" can easily be improved, regardless of whether or not it has been previously pushed for.

JP Losman was hurt this year also at one point.

McGahee hasn't produced...period.

And the play calling? that's completely situational. I could pull out game film from the Colts this year against any of their first 13 games and pick out at least half a dozen completely ignorant calls. It happens to every coach. You can't just pick out one situation.

Most of those things aren't his fault completely.

But one question, completely out of this argument we're having: do you believe the Bills are not making the playoffs in the next 2-3 years?

[mikeford]

1. Belichick - obvious reasons
2. Cowher - Only 3 losing seasons in 14 years with the same team
3. Parcells - A HOFer, still gets it done
4. Dungy - Always has his team in contention, never panics.
5. Lewis - Turned the Bungles around, has yet to have a losing season

switch parcells with cower, and replace dungy with gibbs and thats basically my list.

andy reid is a BAD coach, lemme just say that.

[Drew Beringer]

This is what it is: Since 1999, Dungy has the most wins than any other coach. (77 wins)

[Clarett'sGreyGoose]

Oh by the way, looksthatkillbn, since you're a stat geek, here's some stats for you.

Mike Mularkey:

Third Down Conversions: 66/187 (35%)
245.4 yards of offense per game (30th in the NFL)
30 yards - The Bills longest rushing play of the season (31st in the NFL)
146.8 - passing yards per game (29th in the NFL)
14.9 - points per game (30th in the NFL)

I can't find a Red Zone stat anywhere but I'm pretty sure they're about 28th in the league in that.

Read the stats man, Mularkey B-LOWS.

[looksthatkillbn]

the stat there that would be mostly Mularkey's fault would be 3rd down conversions, that is a lot of play calling, given. but the longest rushing play is mostly the running back. passing yards per game is ugly, but that's what happens with kelly holcomb (being a browns fan...). and you still didn't answer my question from before

[Clarett'sGreyGoose]

I believe that when Tom Donahoe gets fired this offseason, we're going to have to start back at Square One. Even if we hire the new GM in-house, there's a long list of players that need to go.

Sam Adams leads the list, and Mike Williams, unless he takes a pay cut down to about $2-3 million (from his $9 million) next season, is going to be waddling his 400-pound ass right behind him. Jeff Posey's contract is up, and Angelo Crowell has played so well this season in place of Spikes, they need to move him to Strongside LB if it's possible. Troy Vincent has shyed away from contact all season. Coy Wire is making too much money to be a special teams player only, and his coverage skills are horrible. Nate Clements is going to walk away if he keeps demanding Top-5 CB money, even though Chad Johnson AND Chris Chambers have made him look absolutely silly this season. Trey Teague has done well at center, but if we're going to clean house, let him walk, and put Duke Preston in there. Let JP Losman and Duke Preston work together through their careers like Jim Kelly and Kent Hull. Bennie Anderson should be cut, he's a waste.

Here's my view on the situation: Donahoe didn't get the job done as GM, and if he gets fired, and a GM from inside the Bills isn't hired, we're in big trouble. Also, if a GM is hired from outside, I think Mularkey's job is in jeopardy too.

I want Donahoe gone because he's taking us nowhere, but I just don't want to see another year of losing here.

[looksthatkillbn]

Okay. I was never trying to make Mularkey out to be a great coach in the NFL, I was just trying to downgrade Joe Gibbs. I think Mularkey will at least have a playoff team in the next couple years because they have a lot of playmakers such as McGahee, Losman, Evans, Vincent, Spikes, Clements. I agree with the signing problems in the next year, and 100% agree with Donahoe getting ousted as soon as possible. My original point was, coaches like Mora, Mularkey, and others are right there to pushing teams into the playoffs for various reasons, be it talent, coaching ability, or front office power. Mularkey has the talent, and he really put the defense well together last year, and if that can be repeated next year, I think if Losman McGahee Evans Moulds stays healthy, they will be a playoff team. Unless Losman can pull a Kyle Boller, but I can't see that happening. By no means is Mularkey a wonderful coach; I never tried to say that. But he has a very real possibility of pushing his team into the playoffs soon, just as Gibbs does. But let's not get into the quarterback situation argument that's going on in Washington...

[Scott Weber]

I don't think you can include Holmgren in a top 5 until he's won a playoff game with Seattle. Things are different this year, but he's headed some seriously underperforming teams the past several years.

[still_life]

Mularkey sucks, I don't even know why he was mentioned. The guy got kicked out of Pittsburgh after one too many reverse plays or stupid draws on 3rd down. He gets cute too much, and his offenses just aren't that great.

[Drew Beringer]

This is what it is: Since 1999, Dungy has the most wins than any other coach. (77 wins)

Yep, Dungy is my number 1 coach.

[ActorInThisPlay]

Jon Gruden is awesome too. Led Tampa Bay to their first Super Bowl victory in his first year as a coach there. TB also has a good shot at winning the division this season.

[still_life]

Gruden took Dungy's defense and rode it that year to the SB.

[ActorInThisPlay]

Gruden took Dungy's defense and rode it that year to the SB.
yes but also greatly improved on the offense...when Dungy was headcoach, he built an amazing defense but they had absolutely no offense, which is why they couldn't win anything. When Gruden came in, he stayed with the defense but improved the offense so much, thus bringing them to Super Bowl victory.

[Drew Beringer]

Gruden took Dungy's defense and rode it that year to the SB.

Yep. In the new ESPN mag with Dungy on the cover, Derrick Brooks described Dungy as the Moses for the Bucs. Built that team and lead them to the promised land but he didn't get to enter it. It was something like that.

[ActorInThisPlay]

Yep. In the new ESPN mag with Dungy on the cover, Derrick Brooks described Dungy as the Moses for the Bucs. Built that team and lead them to the promised land but he didn't get to enter it. It was something like that.
like I said...Dungy made a great DEFENSE but there was little no to offense there.

[still_life]

yes but also greatly improved on the offense...when Dungy was headcoach, he built an amazing defense but they had absolutely no offense, which is why they couldn't win anything. When Gruden came in, he stayed with the defense but improved the offense so much, thus bringing them to Super Bowl victory.

Improved the offense so much? They scored 324 points in 2001 and 346 in 2002. They scored 30 offensive TDs in 01 with Dungy, and 29 in 02 with Gruden. They went from being ranked 25th in total offense to 24th with Gruden. That's not much improvement. The key was a dominating defense, and getting to play the team Gruden coached for the last few years in the Super Bowl. They knew exactly what was coming in the SB.

[Drew Beringer]

Improved the offense so much? They scored 324 points in 2001 and 346 in 2002. They scored 30 offensive TDs in 01 with Dungy, and 29 in 02 with Gruden. They went from being ranked 25th in total offense to 24th with Gruden. That's not much improvement. The key was a dominating defense, and getting to play the team Gruden coached for the last few years in the Super Bowl. They knew exactly what was coming in the SB.

Boomshakalaka.

[Scott Weber]

Boomshakalaka.
KABOOOM!

[ThriftWhore]

1. Bill Belichick - the system he has built in New England is incredible. One of the greatest coaches of all time.
2. Tony Dungy - he jumped up on this list because of bringing his tampa bay defense to indy finally and getting that team to where they are now.
3. Marvin Lewis - defensive minded coach who drafted and created the offense of the present. after the 2001 draft that cincy had which brought justin smith(1st round), chad johnson(2nd round), rudi johnson(4th round) and t.j. houshmandzadeh(7th round), marvin came in, in 2003 and drafted carson palmer and put all the weapons together to build the powerhouse we see today.
4. Bill Parcells - no matter what team, what players, he finds a way to win. he's the larry brown of the nfl.
5. Mike Shanahan - 3 words: denver's running game. look at the stars he's produced at that position, with many leaving and then just creating new ones.

Honorable Mention: Mike Holmgren, Tom Coughlin, Dick Vermiel.

[ActorInThisPlay]

Improved the offense so much? They scored 324 points in 2001 and 346 in 2002. They scored 30 offensive TDs in 01 with Dungy, and 29 in 02 with Gruden. They went from being ranked 25th in total offense to 24th with Gruden. That's not much improvement. The key was a dominating defense, and getting to play the team Gruden coached for the last few years in the Super Bowl. They knew exactly what was coming in the SB.
ok so why didn't the Bucs win with Dungy then if Gruden did absolutely nothing? He improved the offense and I know because I have been a fan for a very long time now and seeing them lose 12-7 to the fucking Rams in the playoffs is not a good showing of offense. Dungy hasn't won anything yet, not even with the Colts, so I can't honestly believe that Gruden did absolutely nothing.

[still_life]

ok so why didn't the Bucs win with Dungy then if Gruden did absolutely nothing? He improved the offense and I know because I have been a fan for a very long time now and seeing them lose 12-7 to the fucking Rams in the playoffs is not a good showing of offense. Dungy hasn't won anything yet, not even with the Colts, so I can't honestly believe that Gruden did absolutely nothing.

11-6, so nice of you to add an extra point to each team. And holding the 99 Rams to 11 points is an accomplishment, and many people forget that team itself had a very good defense.

Hard to win in the playoffs with

Trent Dilfer: 11/36 for 200 yards, 2 INTs
or Shaun King (rookie): 13/29 for 163 yards, 2 INTs
or 199 net yards of offense against the Eagles
or Brad Johnson's 4 interception outing against the Eagles the next year

[justinevans]

I could have thrown Joe Gibbs into the honorable mention category, but he needs to make the playoffs first. Otherwise, I can add Jim Mora Jr., Mike Mularkey, and Jack Del Rio as coaches who are on the brink but can't push it over right now.

Jim Mora Jr. just bitches on the sideline. He has some boy just run around the field and he tries to call him the quarterback.

[justinevans]

1. belicheck - obvious
2. cowher - longevity, consistency, creativity. maybe it's a bit of a biased pick.
3. parcells - knows how to make a lot out of a little. has proven it in four places.
4. gibbs - has the history, but is also making it happen this year.
5. dungy - was a solid coach in tampa and even better in indy. i knew he'd be a great headcoach when he was still in minnesota. he proved me right.

close behind:
holmgren - i actually had him at five originally, but then dungy slipped in there after further consideration.
lewis - i had the same feeling about him as i did with dungy. knew he'd be a great coach. what he's done with that team is amazing. but he hasn't been a head coach long enough for me to consider him above any of the other five. great coach though.

Parcells? come on. He doesn't have a little.

[justinevans]

1. Belichek
2. Dungy
3. Reid
4. Holmgren
5. Shanahan

[yeat182]

bill cower gets no love?

he shouldn't they've lost too many home AFC championship games.

[walshknilb281]

you know without belichick inhis system parcells has a sub 500 record as a head coach

[LeftWideOpen]

1. Bellichek
2. Parcells
3. Dungy
4. Cowher
5. Shanahan

Lewis, Gibbs, L. Smith, Gruden, Fox are all close too in my opinion. I like Lewis a lot, but he hasnt coached long enough to be considered with the other 5. He's the best up and comer though, for sure.

[LeftWideOpen]

Gruden took Dungy's defense and rode it that year to the SB.

You're right. He isnt a top 5 in my estimation. But I can't deny what the guy did with an Oakland franchise that was a mess, plus what he did with TB before (even if a lot of it had to do with Dungy) and now. Tampa should be about 5-10 right now considering the talent they have on offense. He made Joey Galloway matter again and is putting Simms in a position to overachieve. He isnt in the elite class, but he isnt far behind.

[justinevans]

1. Bellichek
2. Parcells
3. Dungy
4. Cowher
5. Shanahan

Lewis, Gibbs, L. Smith, Gruden, Fox are all close too in my opinion. I like Lewis a lot, but he hasnt coached long enough to be considered with the other 5. He's the best up and comer though, for sure.

Parcells? come on.

[justinevans]

You're right. He isnt a top 5 in my estimation. But I can't deny what the guy did with an Oakland franchise that was a mess, plus what he did with TB before (even if a lot of it had to do with Dungy) and now. Tampa should be about 5-10 right now considering the talent they have on offense. He made Joey Galloway matter again and is putting Simms in a position to overachieve. He isnt in the elite class, but he isnt far behind.

or his playcalling that killed the Eagles :).

[still_life]

he shouldn't they've lost too many home AFC championship games.

I guess that's not as good as the coaches that never even sniff the playoffs or go out in the first round.

[justinevans]

I guess that's not as good as the coaches that never even sniff the playoffs or go out in the first round.

well they're not in the top 5 are they?

[still_life]

well they're not in the top 5 are they?

I've seen coaches that haven't won a playoff game in years mentioned (Holmgren, Shanahan, Gibbs).

[btbam > you]

1. belichick
2. cowher
3. shanahan
4. dungy
5. lewis

[SaoMattie]

No John Fox love?

[btbam > you]

No John Fox love?


he would make my runner up list

[justinevans]

I've seen coaches that haven't won a playoff game in years mentioned (Holmgren, Shanahan, Gibbs).

Shanahan has won 2 super bowls in the last 10 years.

[btbam > you]

Shanahan has won 2 super bowls in the last 10 years.


and holmgren won one.

[still_life]

Shanahan has won 2 super bowls in the last 10 years.

Shanahan won a SB when Dan Marino and Barry Sanders were still playing. 1998 is ancient history in the "what have you done for me lately" NFL.

[ActorInThisPlay]

11-6, so nice of you to add an extra point to each team. And holding the 99 Rams to 11 points is an accomplishment, and many people forget that team itself had a very good defense.

Hard to win in the playoffs with

Trent Dilfer: 11/36 for 200 yards, 2 INTs
or Shaun King (rookie): 13/29 for 163 yards, 2 INTs
or 199 net yards of offense against the Eagles
or Brad Johnson's 4 interception outing against the Eagles the next year
except Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl with the Ravens if I'm not mistaken...Gruden won the Super Bowl with Brad Johnson at QB...so yeah, those QB's are capable of winning Super Bowls if coached correctly and have a good defense behind them.

holding the Rams to 11 points was a great task, but you forget, I was pointing out the fact that they only scored 6 points the entire game. In a playoff game, that is no offense and they should have won it if they had any sort of offense. Gruden provided that offensive spark to the team. Just look at how good the Raiders offense was while he was their coach...probably one of the best, if the best in the league.

[ActorInThisPlay]

Shanahan won a SB when Dan Marino and Barry Sanders were still playing. 1998 is ancient history in the "what have you done for me lately" NFL.

1. Belichick - obvious reasons
2. Cowher - Only 3 losing seasons in 14 years with the same team
3. Parcells - A HOFer, still gets it done
4. Dungy - Always has his team in contention, never panics.
5. Lewis - Turned the Bungles around, has yet to have a losing season

let's see...Cowher, what have you done for me lately...no Super Bowl wins at the head coach his entire 14 seasons with them. Dungy no Super Bowl wins with Colts or Bucs.

[still_life]

except Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl with the Ravens if I'm not mistaken...Gruden won the Super Bowl with Brad Johnson at QB...so yeah, those QB's are capable of winning Super Bowls if coached correctly and have a good defense behind them.

holding the Rams to 11 points was a great task, but you forget, I was pointing out the fact that they only scored 6 points the entire game. In a playoff game, that is no offense and they should have won it if they had any sort of offense. Gruden provided that offensive spark to the team. Just look at how good the Raiders offense was while he was their coach...probably one of the best, if the best in the league.

The 2000 Ravens were the best defense in the NFL in a long time. Trent Dilfer never tried to win the game, just manage it.

Tampa Bay's offense was not ranked that highly in 2002, and the difference were small from 01 to 02. The Raiders had a good offense because Rich Gannon was a pretty good QB those last few years, and he had Jerry Rice and Tim Brown. Not exactly a bad group of receivers.

[still_life]

let's see...Cowher, what have you done for me lately...no Super Bowl wins at the head coach his entire 14 seasons with them. Dungy no Super Bowl wins with Colts or Bucs.

They've been in two of the last four AFC Championships and won 3 of the last 5 AFC North titles with Cowher, and he was the first coach to have a 15-1 team in the AFC.

Dungy is the fourth coach to have a team start 13-0, and he's the only coach that's been in the playoffs for the last 7 straight seasons now.

[ActorInThisPlay]

They've been in two of the last four AFC Championships and won 3 of the last 5 AFC North titles with Cowher, and he was the first coach to have a 15-1 team in the AFC.

Dungy is the fourth coach to have a team start 13-0, and he's the only coach that's been in the playoffs for the last 7 straight seasons now.
yes but it all means absolutely nothing without a trophy...

[still_life]

Cowher's been cursed with bad QB play in the postseason in his coaching career. Sometimes he gets outcoached, but a lot of times the QB just throws too many dumb interceptions. I feel more confident in Roethlisberger than any other Steeler QB though.

[ActorInThisPlay]

The 2000 Ravens were the best defense in the NFL in a long time. Trent Dilfer never tried to win the game, just manage it.

Tampa Bay's offense was not ranked that highly in 2002, and the difference were small from 01 to 02. The Raiders had a good offense because Rich Gannon was a pretty good QB those last few years, and he had Jerry Rice and Tim Brown. Not exactly a bad group of receivers.
yes but you clearly stated that with Dungy, he had bad QB's that couldn't win. I then proved that they could considering Dilfer did it with the best defense, which TB had at one point, and Johnson did the year after Dungy left.

Dungy now has the best QB in the NFL and an awesome Defense this year, but something tells me that the Colts will still not win the Super Bowl this year.

[ActorInThisPlay]

Cowher's been cursed with bad QB play in the postseason in his coaching career. Sometimes he gets outcoached, but a lot of times the QB just throws too many dumb interceptions. I feel more confident in Roethlisberger than any other Steeler QB though.
yet the Steelers might not even make the playoffs...

[still_life]

yes but you clearly stated that with Dungy, he had bad QB's that couldn't win. I then proved that they could considering Dilfer did it with the best defense, which TB had at one point, and Johnson did the year after Dungy left.

Dungy now has the best QB in the NFL and an awesome Defense this year, but something tells me that the Colts will still not win the Super Bowl this year.

Trent Dilfer is a special case. Come on, Ravens won a playoff game that year in which he only completed 5 passes. That was the biggest caretaking job I've seen before Kyle Orton took over in Chicago this year. The Ravens ended up winning that game 24-10, with the deciding TDs coming off a blocked FG return and interception return. Dilfer was awful, and that New York team they then played in the SB team was one of the worst SB teams ever. Another 98 Falcons type.

The Steelers are going to make the playoffs. They have an easy game to win, and the Chiefs have to win a hard one, while hoping the Chargers also lose a game against Denver's back ups.

[ActorInThisPlay]

Trent Dilfer is a special case. Come on, Ravens won a playoff game that year in which he only completed 5 passes. That was the biggest caretaking job I've seen before Kyle Orton took over in Chicago this year. The Ravens ended up winning that game 24-10, with the deciding TDs coming off a blocked FG return and interception return. Dilfer was awful, and that New York team they then played in the SB team was one of the worst SB teams ever. Another 98 Falcons type.

The Steelers are going to make the playoffs. They have an easy game to win, and the Chiefs have to win a hard one, while hoping the Chargers also lose a game against Denver's back ups.
yeah it was probably the worst Super Bowl I can remember. One of the only Super Bowls that I was not excited for.

[itsjdiggity]

yeah it was probably the worst Super Bowl I can remember. One of the only Super Bowls that I was not excited for.

is that the one where the halftime show was Nsync and Aerosmith?