The Top 25 Head Coaches in NFL History

plasticman · Jul 22, 2020

Looking at winning percentage with a minimum of 100 games:

Rk __ Coach __ W-L%▼ __ Yr plyf
1 __ John Madden+ __ 0.759 __ 8
2 __ Vince Lombardi+ __ 0.738 __ 6
3 __ George Allen+ __ 0.712 __ 7
4 __ Blanton Collier __ 0.691 __ 5
5 __ Ray Flaherty+ __ 0.684 __ 6
6 __ Bill Belichick __ 0.683 __ 18
7 __ George Halas+ __ 0.682 __ 8
8 __ Don Shula+ __ 0.677 __ 19
9 __ Paul Brown+ __ 0.672 __ 15
10 __ Tony Dungy+ __ 0.668 __ 11
11 __ George Seifert __ 0.648 __ 7
12 __ Mike Tomlin __ 0.642 __ 8
13 __ Curly Lambeau+ __ 0.631 __ 5
14 __ Sean Payton __ 0.63 __ 8
15 __ Bill Cowher+ __ 0.623 __ 10
16 __ Bud Grant+ __ 0.621 __ 12
17 __ Joe Gibbs+ __ 0.621 __ 10
18 __ Buck Shaw __ 0.621 __ 2
19 __ Andy Reid __ 0.618 __ 15
20 __ Mike McCarthy __ 0.618 __ 9
21 __ John Harbaugh __ 0.615 __ 8
22 __ Marty Schottenheimer __ 0.613 __ 13
23 __ Bill Walsh+ __ 0.609 __ 7
24 __ Tom Landry+ __ 0.607 __ 18
25 __ Steve Owen+ __ 0.605 __ 10

"+" denotes HOF
Bold denotes current HC

21 of the 25 top HC's are either in the Hall of Fame or still currently coaching. it would be difficult to eliminate a current HC from future induction with maybe one or two exceptions.

One of those exceptions would be Mike McCarthy....for now.

However, one more Super Bowl championship for McCarthy....just one....gets him in. There is no way they could deny the only HC in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different teams. It's never been done.

It can't be said that McCarthy has little to be motivated and there he is, listed among the greatest of all time.

Pompey-Cowboy · Jul 22, 2020

I think you made an error, I can't see Jason Garrett listed?

plasticman · Jul 22, 2020

Pompey-Cowboy said:
I think you made an error, I can't see Jason Garrett listed?

Exactly 100 HC's coached at least 100 games. Garrett is ranked #40.

Pompey-Cowboy · Jul 22, 2020

plasticman said:
Exactly 100 HC's coached at least 100 games. Garrett is ranked #40.

That is surprising. That would actually be an impressive thing for him to put on his C.V to fool those that hadn't been paying attention.

gjkoeppen · Jul 22, 2020

plasticman said:
Looking at winning percentage with a minimum of 100 games:

Rk __ Coach __ W-L%▼ __ Yr plyf
1 __ John Madden+ __ 0.759 __ 8
2 __ Vince Lombardi+ __ 0.738 __ 6
3 __ George Allen+ __ 0.712 __ 7
4 __ Blanton Collier __ 0.691 __ 5
5 __ Ray Flaherty+ __ 0.684 __ 6
6 __ Bill Belichick __ 0.683 __ 18
7 __ George Halas+ __ 0.682 __ 8
8 __ Don Shula+ __ 0.677 __ 19
9 __ Paul Brown+ __ 0.672 __ 15
10 __ Tony Dungy+ __ 0.668 __ 11
11 __ George Seifert __ 0.648 __ 7
12 __ Mike Tomlin __ 0.642 __ 8
13 __ Curly Lambeau+ __ 0.631 __ 5
14 __ Sean Payton __ 0.63 __ 8
15 __ Bill Cowher+ __ 0.623 __ 10
16 __ Bud Grant+ __ 0.621 __ 12
17 __ Joe Gibbs+ __ 0.621 __ 10
18 __ Buck Shaw __ 0.621 __ 2
19 __ Andy Reid __ 0.618 __ 15
20 __ Mike McCarthy __ 0.618 __ 9
21 __ John Harbaugh __ 0.615 __ 8
22 __ Marty Schottenheimer __ 0.613 __ 13
23 __ Bill Walsh+ __ 0.609 __ 7
24 __ Tom Landry+ __ 0.607 __ 18
25 __ Steve Owen+ __ 0.605 __ 10

"+" denotes HOF
Bold denotes current HC

21 of the 25 top HC's are either in the Hall of Fame or still currently coaching. it would be difficult to eliminate a current HC from future induction with maybe one or two exceptions.

One of those exceptions would be Mike McCarthy....for now.

However, one more Super Bowl championship for McCarthy....just one....gets him in. There is no way they could deny the only HC in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different teams. It's never been done.

It can't be said that McCarthy has little to be motivated and there he is, listed among the greatest of all time.

Just like all lists there are reason for disagreeing with it. First, The Super Bowl trophy is named after the only coach in NFL history to with three NFL championships three years in a row. Maybe some of it had to do with his passing only a couple years after accomplishing that. Next Belicheat has more Super Bowl wins than any other coach ever and been with the same team for the 3rd longest run of any coach. Tom Landry has the 2nd longest run as a head coach with the same team and has a couple of Super Bowl wins. Based on intangibles those three should be ranked higher than Madden. When you have a high percentage in anything it's gets tougher and tougher to keep that high percentage. Madden was a head coach half the years as Belicheat and less than half as many as Landry and Shula.

If you created this list I give you credit for taking the time to do it but as far as thinking it is any kind of real representation of the best coaches in the history of the NFL in that order, I disagree with most of it because it doesn't take the intangibles into account. Also there were far different rules when some of them were coaching. Also going beyond the top 5 or 10 isn't really necessary.
.
.

plasticman · Jul 22, 2020

Pompey-Cowboy said:
That is surprising. That would actually be an impressive thing for him to put on his C.V to fool those that hadn't been paying attention.

Yeah, I know, we both realize it's all about championships.

Garrett's regular season record puts him in that group of HC's that were capable but, for one reason or another, could never translate regular season success into postseason hardware.

Lovie Smith, Marvin Lewis.....Jason Garrett....HC's with winning records and nothing to show for it.

plasticman · Jul 22, 2020

gjkoeppen said:
Just like all lists there are reason for disagreeing with it. First, The Super Bowl trophy is named after the only coach in NFL history to with three NFL championships three years in a row. Maybe some of it had to do with his passing only a couple years after accomplishing that. Next Belicheat has more Super Bowl wins than any other coach ever and been with the same team for the 3rd longest run of any coach. Tom Landry has the 2nd longest run as a head coach with the same team and has a couple of Super Bowl wins. Based on intangibles those three should be ranked higher than Madden. When you have a high percentage in anything it's gets tougher and tougher to keep that high percentage. Madden was a head coach half the years as Belicheat and less than half as many as Landry and Shula.

If you created this list I give you credit for taking the time to do it but as far as thinking it is any kind of real representation of the best coaches in the history of the NFL in that order, I disagree with most of it because it doesn't take the intangibles into account. Also there were far different rules when some of them were coaching. Also going beyond the top 5 or 10 isn't really necessary.
.
.

I hear you, it doesn't take the circumstances into account. Tom Landry not only started with the Cowboys as an expansion team, they didn't even get to participate in the draft prior to their first season. Some HC's took over winning franchises. And, yes, I'm talking about Madden who took over the team in 1969. The year before they were 12-2 and the year before that they were 13-1.

When I titled it "Top Head Coaches" I didn't mean to imply they were the best and ranked accordingly. I just couldn't figure out a title that referred to the winning percentage so I included the information in the opening sentence. With that said, it is still a pretty impressive group and it is reassuring to see McCarthy's name in that group.

Under any circumstances, you want to win, that is what HC's are held accountable for, fair or not.

MikeB80 · Jul 22, 2020

A list supposedly listing the best coaches of all time that doesn't have Bill Parcells on it is not worth reading.

aikemirv · Jul 22, 2020

MikeB80 said:
A list supposedly listing the best coaches of all time that doesn't have Bill Parcells on it is not worth reading.

When the title of the thread does not match the thread, everything becomes a bit disjointed!

Bowdown27 · Jul 22, 2020

Pompey-Cowboy said:
I think you made an error, I can't see Jason Garrett listed?

Londonboy · Jul 22, 2020

plasticman said:
I hear you, it doesn't take the circumstances into account. Tom Landry not only started with the Cowboys as an expansion team, they didn't even get to participate in the draft prior to their first season. Some HC's took over winning franchises. And, yes, I'm talking about Madden who took over the team in 1969. The year before they were 12-2 and the year before that they were 13-1.

When I titled it "Top Head Coaches" I didn't mean to imply they were the best and ranked accordingly. I just couldn't figure out a title that referred to the winning percentage so I included the information in the opening sentence. With that said, it is still a pretty impressive group and it is reassuring to see McCarthy's name in that group.

Under any circumstances, you want to win, that is what HC's are held accountable for, fair or not.

You could have added "by winning percentage" to the end of the title.

quickccc · Jul 22, 2020

MikeB80 said:
A list supposedly listing the best coaches of all time that doesn't have Bill Parcells on it is not worth reading.

+1
Ditto here too.
No Tuna Parcells ? That instantly loses a lot of credibility.
Plus a number of these named HC's i've never even heard of.
Blantor Collier ? ..Curly Lambeau ?.. Buck Shaw ? Steve Owens ? .. Who .?
:huh:

Bobhaze · Jul 22, 2020

Tom Landry’s Cowboys won a whopping 20 playoff games in 29 years and had 20 consecutive winning seasons. Jimmy Johnson’s Cowboys won 7 playoff games in 5 years.

Those two HCs are responsible for 27 of the Cowboys’ 35 total playoff wins. That’s 77% of the Cowboys playoff success in two coaches, spread over 34 years. The remaining 8 playoff wins have been spread out over the last 26 years, among 6 coaches.

CowboysRule · Jul 22, 2020

Mike Tomlin at 12 on a list that doesn't even include Parcells and has Tom Landry near the bottom. :thumbdown:

OmerV · Jul 22, 2020

Of course there are flaws with ranking coaches by winning %. Landry is a key example. His winning % is effected by the fact he had to start his coaching career with a team that was built from scratch, and it took several years to build up a team that could compete. Plus, Landry got to and won championships. Plus he had the challenge of maintaining over a much longer period of time than most coaches. A coach that inherits an already strong team and doesn't get to or win championships or try to maintain success as long could have a better winning %, but be nowhere near as good a coach.

CalPolyTechnique · Jul 22, 2020

Jason Garrett .500

big dog cowboy · Jul 22, 2020

MikeB80 said:
A list supposedly listing the best coaches of all time that doesn't have Bill Parcells on it is not worth reading.

Or Jimmy Johnson.

PA Cowboy Fan · Jul 22, 2020

quickccc said:
+1
Ditto here too.
No Tuna Parcells ? That instantly loses a lot of credibility.
Plus a number of these named HC's i've never even heard of.
Blantor Collier ? ..Curly Lambeau ?.. Buck Shaw ? Steve Owens ? .. Who .?

Curly Lambeau is who Lambeau Field is named after. He founded the Packers.

Super_Kazuya · Jul 22, 2020

I mean, winning percentage should be one of the main ways to rank coaches... it's funny that people want to put W/L record on QBs, RBs, etc. but the one guy who really should be judged on that is somehow forgotten. Since the ultimate goal is the Super Bowl I would say that I would put number of Super Bowl wins as the most important, but after that I would say winning percentage would be second. It is literally the one thing coaches are responsible, not TD passes, not points, not turnovers... winning.

Williamsboys · Jul 22, 2020

Jimmy Johnson was a great coach and even better talent evaluator, if he had coach longer I think he would have definately made this list.

The Top 25 Head Coaches in NFL History

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