Listing The Worst NFL Coaches Of All Times

In the NFL, a few coaches are dismissed and a few are hired to replace them each year. Although there isn’t a lot of churn, there always appear to be instructors who nobody wants to work with.

Listing The Worst NFL Coaches Of All Times

This post may be able to give you some perspective and serve as a helpful reminder that things aren’t all that awful if you’re a fan of the Chiefs, Texans, or Jaguars and your coach is under fire. One of these people may be your team’s leader, after all.

One of the hardest jobs is coaching in the NFL, and while some people have succeeded in the face of adversity, many more have failed. And still more that were downright awful.

What then does one need to accomplish in order to be regarded as one of the worst head coaches in NFL history? Results are usually the most important factor, but in the worst-case scenario, respect for the players and supporters may also be important. Now let’s examine the list of the ten worst head coaches in history.

Dave Campo (Dallas Cowboys) 

The Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s has long since faded in the year 2000. Dave Campo, the defensive coordinator, was promoted to head coach after head coach Chan Gailey was dismissed. The outcomes were ineffective. In just three seasons, Campo’s Cowboys amassed an appalling 15-33 record.

The injury to highly sought-after free agent wide receiver Joey Galloway and the retirement of Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman (after season one) ruined Campo’s first two seasons, and season two ended with a dismal 5-11 record. The Cowboys fell to the Houston Texans in their first-ever game as an expansion club in the first game of Campo’s last season (2002). The team went on to Campo’s third straight 5-11 season.

To Campo’s credit, Dallas traded two first-round selections for wide receiver Joey Galloway in 2001 to address their quarterback instability following Troy Aikman’s retirement. Yet compared to almost every other coach in the history of the series, Campo’s “Hard Knocks” approach generated less confidence. With comparable quarterback problems, Bill Parcells also led the Cowboys of 2003 to the postseason.

John North (New Orleans Saints)

John North led the New Orleans Saints for a period of two and a half seasons. He was able to disappoint almost everyone throughout those 2.5 years.
The Atlanta Falcons defeated him 62–7 in his debut game, and over the course of three years, he only managed 11 victories.

North, with Archie Manning at the helm and producing three subpar offenses, is the choice because the pre-Jim Mora Saints need a representative here.

With a 7-20 TD-INT ratio at the end of the 1975 season, Manning—the second-best quarterback in Saints history—finished the campaign. Under North, the Saints’ offensive ranking did not rise above 24th; North was sacked following a 1-6 start to the 1975 season. North was dismissed in 1975 following a 1-5 start.

Harland Svare, (San Diego Chargers)

In 1971, Svare was chosen general manager by the Chargers, nearly ten years after the Rams hired him as one of the youngest head coaches in NFL history. For a little sum of money, he traded wide receiver Lance Alworth, who is considered to be the finest player in Chargers history, but he quickly succeeded Sid Gillman as head coach, the greatest coach in Bolts history.

Svare finished with a 7-17-2 record, although he made several odd trades, such as sending 32-year-old quarterback John Hadl to the Rams in 1973. That September, Hadl was recognized as an All-Pro. Svare remained general manager of the Chargers until 1976, despite his resignation as head coach midway through the 1973 campaign. An odd period for the series.

Romeo Crennel (Kansas City Chiefs)

Romeo Crennel performed enough as a coach to end it on this list, even if the Cleveland Browns don’t exactly have the best coaching record.

After four years of coaching, he only had one winning season (10–6) in 2006. That’s a terrific year, but you won’t have a very good chance of keeping your job when two seasons of 4–12 follow that one.

Week by week, Crennel’s squad didn’t appear to be nearly as capable or prepared as they ought to have been. To be honest, the squad struggled under Crennel’s leadership, as seen by his 24–40 coaching record.

December 2012 saw the horrific murder-suicide of Jovan Belcher. By 2013, both Pioli and Crennel had left. Andy Reid oversaw a Chiefs squad that resembled this one, with Alex Smith in command, to an 11-5 record in 2013.

Marion Campbell 2.0 (Atlanta Falcons)

As the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons, Marion Campbell enjoyed a pleasant, lengthy career. You know why that’s strange?

The reason for this is that, among NFL coaches with at least three years of coaching experience, Marion Campbell now has the third-lowest winning rate. After a three-year hiatus in Philadelphia, he coached the Atlanta Falcons for two stints: three in the late 1970s and three in the late 1980s.

Owner of the Falcons, Rankin Smith, hired Campbell as head coach from 1974 to 1976. Smith tried to go elsewhere with the hiring, but he ultimately went back to his old subordinate. Though he oversaw consecutive top-ranked Eagles defenses (before to failing as Philly’s head coach), Campbell’s third attempt at head coaching resulted in an 11-32 loss to end his career.

His teams never reached .500, and they certainly never even sniffed the playoffs.

Pete McCulley (San Francisco 49ers)

When the 49ers hired Pete McCulley in 1978, he became the team’s fourth coach in as many seasons, but unlike his three predecessors, he was not even able to serve as the team’s head coach for the complete season in the Bay Area.

On October 29, 1978, he was sacked even though the 49ers outgained Washington but lost 38–20. “I haven’t been surprised since I found out ice cream cones weren’t filled all the way to the bottom,” he deadpanned when asked if he was surprised by the news.

It’s interesting to note that previously in the 1970s, McCulley worked as a coach for both Bill Belichick (of the Baltimore Colts) and his father, Steve Belichick (of the Naval Academy).

 

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