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10. Sean Payton -- Saints
People complain there's not enough praise in my NFL Truths column. So to fix that, I'm naming the 10 best and 10 worst NFL coaches of the 2008 season so far. Someone has to take the blame for New Orleans' 4-5 record. I don't have a real problem with Payton. It's impossible to win in the Big Easy. There are just too many distractions in N.O. to build a successful football franchise.
9. Marvin Lewis -- Bengals
The Bengals avoided 0-16 by beating the Jaguars, although 1-15 is a real possibility. Lewis created the Chad Johnson situation. Lewis didn't learn from the Denny Green mess and allowed Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh to take over the Bengals the way Randy Moss and Cris Carter once did the Vikings. Let that be a lesson to any future NFL coach. Don't let your wide receivers determine the personality of your football team. It cost Denny Green his job in Minny and it's likely to cost Marvin in Cincy.
8. Mike Shanahan -- Broncos
Would someone please talk John Elway out of retirement so he can save Shanahan's reputation? I consider Shanahan one of the game's great coaches. It's getting harder and harder to make a pro-Shanahan argument.
7. Mike Singletary -- 49ers
The end of the "Monday Night Football" contest against the Cardinals is all the evidence you need to understand why I wanted Singletary to pass on the San Francisco job. Singletary has a chance to be a great NFL coach. Unfortunately, he took a head coaching job before he was ready. Singletary can't manage the clock. All the whining about the refs spotting the ball wrong or too quickly just points to Singletary's inexperience and the folly of having Mike Martz as an unsupervised offensive coordinator.
6. Mike McCarthy -- Packers
With Brett Favre at the helm, the Packers were one play from the Super Bowl. With Favre run off to New York, the Packers are 4-5 and in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. You have to blame McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson for Favre's absence. Aaron Rodgers has been pretty damn good. He's not the problem. Apparently he's not the answer either. McCarthy wanted to be the big hero for letting Favre go. Well, now McCarthy and Thompson look like fools.
5. Wade Phillips -- Cowboys
If the Cowboys don't rally and make the playoffs, Phillips will likely be the scapegoat and fired. He deserves it, even though Jerry Jones is the main reason the Cowboys underachieve. Jones hired Phillips to oversee the bunch of talented bad boys Jones showered with enough money to make the players uncooperative. Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, Terrell Owens and Jessica Simpson are just a handful of high-profile idiots Phillips is expected to handle. Phillips is blowing it. But it's a job that was too much for Bill Parcells, too.
4. Jack Del Rio -- Jaguars
He's the captain of the most undisciplined ship in the NFL. Thank God Jacksonville is off-Broadway. No one pays attention to the multiple arrests and countless off-the-field problems Del Rio's players encounter. The Jags are as bad as the Bengals. Somehow Del Rio has avoided being as big a laughingstock as Marvin Lewis. Jacksonville lost to Cincy. Enough said.
3. Norv Turner -- Chargers
Philip Rivers is allegedly having the best season of any quarterback in the league. LaDainian Tomlinson, for my money, is still the best running back in the league. OK, the Chargers lost Shawne Merriman to a knee injury. That doesn't excuse San Diego's 4-5 record in a division that includes the Chiefs and the Raiders. Norv is a very mediocre head coach.
2. Romeo Crennel -- Browns
The new Art Shell is leading the league's most disappointing team. Crennel can't tame Kellen Winslow's mouth or bad attitude. Crennel can't get Braylon Edwards to hold onto the football. The 3-6 Browns quit against the Broncos. Crennel played a role in the Browns giving Derek Anderson a new contract. Yeah, Romeo is making Charlie Weis seem like a Notre Dame success story.
1. Andy Reid -- Eagles
Twice this season Reid has taken the game out of the hands of Donovan McNabb and tried to win at crunch time with his running game. Here's a coach who loves to throw on damn near every down except when the game is on the line. I also blame Reid for the Eagles failing to trade a second-round draft pick for Tony Gonzalez. Other than the one season with Terrell Owens, McNabb has made a living throwing the ball to the James Thrashes of the world. It's ridiculous. I'm convinced the Eagles don't want to win it all.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/pgStory?contentId=8789802#sport=NFL&photo=8789818
People complain there's not enough praise in my NFL Truths column. So to fix that, I'm naming the 10 best and 10 worst NFL coaches of the 2008 season so far. Someone has to take the blame for New Orleans' 4-5 record. I don't have a real problem with Payton. It's impossible to win in the Big Easy. There are just too many distractions in N.O. to build a successful football franchise.
9. Marvin Lewis -- Bengals
The Bengals avoided 0-16 by beating the Jaguars, although 1-15 is a real possibility. Lewis created the Chad Johnson situation. Lewis didn't learn from the Denny Green mess and allowed Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh to take over the Bengals the way Randy Moss and Cris Carter once did the Vikings. Let that be a lesson to any future NFL coach. Don't let your wide receivers determine the personality of your football team. It cost Denny Green his job in Minny and it's likely to cost Marvin in Cincy.
8. Mike Shanahan -- Broncos
Would someone please talk John Elway out of retirement so he can save Shanahan's reputation? I consider Shanahan one of the game's great coaches. It's getting harder and harder to make a pro-Shanahan argument.
7. Mike Singletary -- 49ers
The end of the "Monday Night Football" contest against the Cardinals is all the evidence you need to understand why I wanted Singletary to pass on the San Francisco job. Singletary has a chance to be a great NFL coach. Unfortunately, he took a head coaching job before he was ready. Singletary can't manage the clock. All the whining about the refs spotting the ball wrong or too quickly just points to Singletary's inexperience and the folly of having Mike Martz as an unsupervised offensive coordinator.
6. Mike McCarthy -- Packers
With Brett Favre at the helm, the Packers were one play from the Super Bowl. With Favre run off to New York, the Packers are 4-5 and in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. You have to blame McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson for Favre's absence. Aaron Rodgers has been pretty damn good. He's not the problem. Apparently he's not the answer either. McCarthy wanted to be the big hero for letting Favre go. Well, now McCarthy and Thompson look like fools.
5. Wade Phillips -- Cowboys
If the Cowboys don't rally and make the playoffs, Phillips will likely be the scapegoat and fired. He deserves it, even though Jerry Jones is the main reason the Cowboys underachieve. Jones hired Phillips to oversee the bunch of talented bad boys Jones showered with enough money to make the players uncooperative. Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, Terrell Owens and Jessica Simpson are just a handful of high-profile idiots Phillips is expected to handle. Phillips is blowing it. But it's a job that was too much for Bill Parcells, too.
4. Jack Del Rio -- Jaguars
He's the captain of the most undisciplined ship in the NFL. Thank God Jacksonville is off-Broadway. No one pays attention to the multiple arrests and countless off-the-field problems Del Rio's players encounter. The Jags are as bad as the Bengals. Somehow Del Rio has avoided being as big a laughingstock as Marvin Lewis. Jacksonville lost to Cincy. Enough said.
3. Norv Turner -- Chargers
Philip Rivers is allegedly having the best season of any quarterback in the league. LaDainian Tomlinson, for my money, is still the best running back in the league. OK, the Chargers lost Shawne Merriman to a knee injury. That doesn't excuse San Diego's 4-5 record in a division that includes the Chiefs and the Raiders. Norv is a very mediocre head coach.
2. Romeo Crennel -- Browns
The new Art Shell is leading the league's most disappointing team. Crennel can't tame Kellen Winslow's mouth or bad attitude. Crennel can't get Braylon Edwards to hold onto the football. The 3-6 Browns quit against the Broncos. Crennel played a role in the Browns giving Derek Anderson a new contract. Yeah, Romeo is making Charlie Weis seem like a Notre Dame success story.
1. Andy Reid -- Eagles
Twice this season Reid has taken the game out of the hands of Donovan McNabb and tried to win at crunch time with his running game. Here's a coach who loves to throw on damn near every down except when the game is on the line. I also blame Reid for the Eagles failing to trade a second-round draft pick for Tony Gonzalez. Other than the one season with Terrell Owens, McNabb has made a living throwing the ball to the James Thrashes of the world. It's ridiculous. I'm convinced the Eagles don't want to win it all.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/pgStory?contentId=8789802#sport=NFL&photo=8789818