Prisco: Ranking the NFL Head Coaches

[AsthmaField]

They just look at records for things like these (and some would say rightly so). However, if they looked more in depth at how the team plays for him, the discipline that he brought the team, how focused the team is, what adversity the team fights through, and how all the players and coaches love Garrett as their head coach... I think he'd be higher up on this list. Even the players talk like Garrett and that doesn't happen unless you have the attention and respect of your players.

Consider:

Dallas was among the lead leaders in penalties and particularly pre snap penalties ever since Switzer was the head coach in the mid-90's. Even Parcells had trouble getting the teams attention about that. Garrett has done it. Without a losing season.

Garrett took over one of the oldest teams in the NFL with one of the worst salary cap situations in the league and has systematically re-built it how he wants it to be. Without a losing season.

Is it just a coincidence that the entire franchise model for the Cowboys has changed since Garrett took over? Their draft and free agency hauls have been pretty much universally lauded and respected and now even the media is pointing to Dallas as a model franchise and how one should be run.

Garrett played a much larger role in all of that than most want to admit, IMO. Frankly, I'd take him over just about anyone else out there. There might be a few I'd take first but Garrett would be a whole hell of a lot higher than my 18th choice.

I will stop before I have the non-Garrett supporters up in arms too much.

 

[DallasEast]

Will you guys feel better if I make my own ranking and publish it?

My answer is yes IF your ranking of Chip Kelly falls nowhere in the vicinity of the top 10.

 

[KJJ]

I'm sorry but Garrett is better than 18th. Come on...

The Cowboys will have to validate last season for Garrett's ranking to improve. He was near the bottom at the start of the 2014 season. He's not going to be put in the upper echelon of head coaches after one good season they're not just looking at last season.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Yeah but Tom.... What have you done for me lately?

 

[jobberone]

One man's list. I'd drop Coughlin some and put Jason and Chip around each other. Gruden is unproven but don't count him out to improve.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Garrett doesn't deserve top-10...

But 18th?

The guy is 10 games over .500 after 4 1/2 seasons.

To have him ranked in the bottom half of the NFL seems silly.

 

[KJJ]

Garrett hasn't traded Nick Foles for Sam Bradford, and then traded even more in terms of picks. Chip Kelly is a Madden player, plain and simple.

Who's to say that trade won't work out for Kelly? Bradford is a more talented QB than Nick Foles and IF he can stay healthy he may flourish under Kelly. Things weren't working out for Drew Brees in San Diego and he was let go due to injury and eventually blossomed in NO. Im not saying the same will happen with Bradford in Philly but you just never know. Jimmy looked pretty foolish with some of the moves he made when he first arrived in Dallas. He and Jerry were the butt of many jokes but they ended up getting the last laugh. Kelly has taken some gambles to bring in his type of players but what looks foolish now may end up looking brilliant in another couple of years. I would advice everyone to let things play out for awhile before coming to any conclusions.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Everybody is waiting on Garrett to see if last year was just a fluke and we return to the mean at 8-8 again this year. However, if we are a playoff team again then Garrett will start to get some more love from the national media...........I got no problem with him being 18 for now, let him prove last year was not a fluke.

However, Chip Kelley at 12 is laughable.............how the hell can you be ranked 12 without a single playoff win?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Everybody is waiting on Garrett to see if last year was just a fluke and we return to the mean at 8-8 again this year. However, if we are a playoff team again then Garrett will start to get some more love from the national media...........I got no problem with him being 18 for now, let him prove last year was not a fluke.

I get the dinging of Garrett for the 3, 8-8 seasons.

But still given the POS roster he had to work with entering the position and that he's 10 games over .500 after 72 games...

18th is a bit harsh.

I wonder how many winning coaches are ranked below Garrett... probably not many.

 

[erod]

What in the world would Pete Prisco know about this?

That's not even a real name.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Absolutely! And put it on your own blog, with a bunch of pop-up adds, too.

Pop-ups? I love pop-ups!

 

[wileedog]

Garrett doesn't deserve top-10...

But 18th?

The guy is 10 games over .500 after 4 1/2 seasons.

To have him ranked in the bottom half of the NFL seems silly.

12 months ago he was on the hot seat after 3 8-8 seasons and some horribly mismanaged games that directly cost us a playoff spot.

I think moving him up to 18th, especially considering the carousel of assistants he has had to go through to find a way to win, is more than fair. If he can repeat it this year then that will move him up some more.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

12 months ago he was on the hot seat after 3 8-8 seasons and some horribly mismanaged games that directly cost us a playoff spot.

I think moving him up to 18th, especially considering the carousel of assistants he has to go through to find a way to win, is more than fair. If he can repeat it this year then that will move him up some more.

Again, I agree that he gets dinged for some bad games over his career-- and rightfully so.

But still a winning coach after 4.5 seasons only 18th?

And look at the defense he's been saddled with the last 3 seasons. Last year's front 4 was the worst I've seen on this team since the '89 club. The defense in '13 was the worst Cowboy defense ever... and Rob Ryan's last year wasn't anything to write home about either.

I'd like to see how many winning coaches were ranked worse than Garrett-- I bet not many.

 

[KJJ]

Garrett doesn't deserve top-10...

But 18th?

The guy is 10 games over .500 after 4 1/2 seasons.

To have him ranked in the bottom half of the NFL seems silly.

It would be silly to put him in the top 10 after one good season when he entered last season on the hot seat. Garrett was the butt of jokes entering the 2014 season and it's going to take more than one good year for him to gain respect. The games he won as the interim HC means little that wasn't his team. That team got blow up and Garrett proceeded to go 8-8 the next 3 seasons losing 3 consecutive season finale elimination games. One good season isn't going to overcome all of that. The guy was 500 as THE HC entering last season. These coaches are being ranked based on their head coaching "career" not last season.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

It would be silly to put him in the top 10 after one good season when he entered last season on the hot seat. Garrett was the butt of jokes entering the 2014 season and it's going to take more than one good year for him to gain respect. The games he won as the interim HC means little that wasn't his team. That team got blow up and Garrett proceeded to go 8-8 the next 3 seasons losing 3 consecutive season finale elimination games. One good season isn't going to overcome all of that. The guy was 500 as THE HC entering last season. These coaches are being ranked based on their head coaching "career" not last season.

Who's putting him in the top-10?

 

[Beast_from_East]

Another 12-4 season with atleast 1 playoff victory should put Garrett in the top 10 and deservedly so.

 

[KJJ]

Who's putting him in the top-10?

My bad read your comment wrong thought you were trying to put him in the top 10. For some reason I thought I saw a question mark after your comment.

 

[wileedog]

Again, I agree that he gets dinged for some bad games over his career-- and rightfully so.

But still a winning coach after 4.5 seasons only 18th?

And look at the defense he's been saddled with the last 3 seasons. Last year's front 4 was the worst I've seen on this team since the '89 club. The defense in '13 was the worst Cowboy defense ever... and Rob Ryan's last year wasn't anything to write home about either.

I'd like to see how many winning coaches were ranked worse than Garrett-- I bet not many.

He's only had 1 winning season though. Granted it was a good one, but he also had legitimate MVP level play from the QB and RB last year.

Again, IMO he's only 1 season removed from being a non-winning coach. I don't think you get to move into the top ranks off what could possibly even be a fluke year.

 

[Risen Star]

They just look at records for things like these (and some would say rightly so). However, if they looked more in depth at how the team plays for him, the discipline that he brought the team, how focused the team is, what adversity the team fights through, and how all the players and coaches love Garrett as their head coach... I think he'd be higher up on this list.

Yeah but none of that other stuff means anything. You either win or lose. I couldn't give a crap how much players like playing for the head coach.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

He's only had 1 winning season though. Granted it was a good one, but he also had legitimate MVP level play from the QB and RB last year.

Again, IMO he's only 1 season removed from being a non-winning coach. I don't think you get to move into the top ranks off what could possibly even be a fluke year.

But the guy has never had a losing season... yet he's ranked in the bottom-half of the NFL.

Fluke season or not, that doesn't make sense.