Head Coach and Staff Rankings in the NFL

A good head coach and staff is key to making a great team. They are necessary for helping players learn and execute plays that will help them score against teams that overall have the best talent in football (after all, that’s why they’re in the league). Here’s list of NFL head coach and staff rankings.

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1. Kansas City Chiefs (Andy Reid)

With the Eagles, Reid coached his team to four straight NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl, and in nine years with the Chiefs, he’s had nine winning seasons, four straight AFC Championship appearances, two straight Super Bowls, and one Super Bowl victory. Over the past 15 years, Reid has one losing season. He’s the model of consistency.

2. Los Angeles Rams (Sean McVay)

From offensive mastermind to possibly overrated and now a Super Bowl champion, Sean McVay has seen the full gambit of reviews of his job performance. The Rams have averaged 11 wins per season under McVay, with two Super Bowl appearances in his five seasons. His offense has never finished lower than 11th in total yards and has been top 11 in total points in four of five seasons. He’s among the NFL’s coaching elite.

3. Baltimore Ravens (John Harbaugh)

In 14 years with the Ravens, Harbaugh has endured just two losing seasons, and in both of them his starting quarterback missed six-plus games to injury. Harbaugh handled the transition from Joe Flacco to Lamar Jackson with deftness and has displayed a keen sense for knowing when to make impactful changes on his staff. Harbaugh is the model CEO-style head coach.

4. New England Patriots (Bill Belichick)

In 22 years with the Patriots, Bill Belichick has coached them to nine Super Bowls and six NFL championships. Belichick’s case is hurt by his mediocre record (17-16) over the past two seasons without longtime QB Tom Brady, who won a Super Bowl in his first year without Belichick. On top of that, Josh McDaniels left the team this offseason and has been “replaced” with former failed Giants HC Joe Judge. This staff has little resemblance to the one that last led the Patriots to a Super Bowl in 2018-19.

5. Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills)

Sean McDermott helped build the Bills into an AFC powerhouse from the ground up. Buffalo now sports arguably the most complete roster from top to bottom in the NFL, with elite options on both sides of the ball. Last season the Bills were fifth and third in total yards and points scored while also leading the NFL with the fewest total yards and points allowed. The Bills have produced a 3-3 record in the playoffs since 2019, trying to overcome the AFC’s buzzsaw. With reinforcements added across the board this offseason, the Bills could sniff their first Super Bowl berth under his watch in 2022.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (Mike Tomlin)

In 15 years with the Steelers, Tomlin has posted a .643 winning percentage and has never had a losing season. Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl in Tomlin’s second season, beating Arizona 27-23 in a thriller, then lost the Super Bowl two years later, Falling to Green Bay 31-25 when the Steelers were stopped on their final drive. Tomlin has been getting it done for years, and he’s probably going to end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada has his critics, but it’s hard to issue a definitive verdict on his play-calling when Canada spent his first season as the Steelers’ OC scheming around Big Ben’s limitations.

7. San Francisco 49ers (Kyle Shanahan)

Kyle Shanahan’s offensive prowess is well known. In his 14 seasons directing NFL offenses across five different organizations, he’s logged eight top-ten finishes in total yards while also sporting four inside the top ten in total points. San Francisco has ten or more wins in two of the last three seasons with one Super Bowl appearance. Backed by a run defense that’s among the league’s best and a strong pass coverage unit, his offense doesn’t have to blow out opponents for the team to rack up the wins in 2022. The 49ers are poised to remain among the NFC’s top-shelf franchises for the near and foreseeable future.

8. Tennessee Titans (Mike Vrabel)

Vrabel has put together a .631 winning percentage in his first four seasons, with his best performance last year. The team dealt with the departure of Arthur Smith, injuries to integral skill position players like Derrick Henry, Julio Jones, and A.J. Brown, and a rotating cast of characters in the secondary. Despite all of this, the team posted 12 wins and finished 12th overall in total team DVOA.

9. Green Bay Packers (Matt LaFleur)

The Packers have won 13 games in each of his three years as head coach after winning just 10, seven and six in the three preceding seasons. Under LaFleur, QB Aaron Rodgers has regained his MVP form, and the defense has improved following LaFleur’s dismissal of coordinator Mike Pettine, whom he inherited from the previous regime. It helps having Rodgers, but LaFleur has quickly proven himself to be a strong coach.

10. Indianapolis Colts (Frank Reich)

Reich has posted a 37-28 record in four seasons in Indianapolis and has gone 1-2 in the playoffs. The Colts haven’t won the AFC South in Reich’s tenure but have finished second three times. I don’t blame Reich for failing to rekindle Wentz’s flame; I do blame him for being slow to fully unleash Jonathan Taylor in Taylor’s rookie season, and for under-utilizing Taylor early in a catastrophic overtime loss to the Titans on Halloween. Reich is a solid coach, but his play-calling can be puzzling at times. New Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley should be a solid addition to the staff.

11. Los Angeles Chargers (Brondon Staley)

Brandon Staley concluded his first season as the Chargers’ head honcho with only nine wins, but the team’s outlook couldn’t be brighter under his watchful eye. The offense is locked and loaded after ranking fourth in offensive DVOA (per Football Outsiders) and top 13 in total yards and points. The defense is where Staley can have the biggest effect entering his sophomore season. He left his defensive coordinator position for the Rams after authoring one of the finest defensive seasons for a franchise in 2020. Los Angeles was top four in total yards, points, and takeaways. The Bolts have that type of shutdown upside in 2022. Staley’s SoCal warriors could be Super Bowl bound this year.

12. Cleveland Browns (Kevin Stefanski)

The Browns’ 8-9 record last season was a big disappointment after they were touted as a potential Super Bowl contender, but head coach Kevin Stefanski isn’t getting much blame for a season that was mostly undone by injuries up and down the roster. Stefanski’s credentials as a savvy offensive architect are well-established. Defensive coordinator Joe Woods’ unit has been solid in each of his two seasons in Cleveland.

13. Cincinnati Bengals (Zac Taylor)

Zac Taylor went from being the betting favorite to be the first coach in the NFL fired to the Super Bowl in 2021. He obviously deserves recognition for the success the Bengals had – hence the above average overall rank – but having Joe Burrow and company made life easy for him. Don’t completely overlook his ignorance to overly establish the run-on 1st down and generate a below league average EPA.

14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Todd Bowles)

Todd Bowles replaces Bruce Arians as the Bucs’ head coach after Arians stepped down to take a role in the front office. Bowles had been Tampa’s defensive coordinator for the past three seasons. His previous head-coaching experience came with the Jets in 2015-2018 and in a three-game interim stint with the Dolphins in 2011. Bowles’ 24-40 record with the Jets shouldn’t be held against him, as the Jets cycled through a series of below-average QBs during that stretch. Bowles has earned a reputation as a defensive wizard, and the Buccaneers will have continuity on the offensive side of the ball with the highly regarded Byron Leftwich returning as offensive coordinator. The Bucs appear to be in good hands as they begin the post-Arians era.

15. Detroit Lions (Dan Campbell)

It’s true that the Lions went only 3-13-1 last year, but Campbell’s perpetually underdog Lions were a plucky 11-6 against the spread in his first year (4-1 ATS vs. teams with winning records), routinely exceeding expectations and playing with what can best be described as “Motor City gumption.” OC Ben Johnson is a total unknown, but he almost certainly can’t be worse than former OC Anthony Lynn, whom Campbell was wise enough to dismiss after just one season on the job.

16. Seattle Seahawks (Pete Carroll)

Carroll has posted a .593 winning percentage in Seattle and has taken the Seahawks to the playoffs in 9 of his 12 seasons. He guided the Seahawks to consecutive Super Bowls in the 2013 and 2014 seasons, beating the Broncos in the first one but then losing to the Patriots in the second one when Russell Wilson threw a goal-line interception on a play that many people thought should have been a handoff to Marshawn Lynch. Pete is old-school, but his players seem to love him, and it’s hard to argue with his track record. The Seahawks are heading into a rebuild.

17. Las Vegas Raiders (Josh McDaniels)

In his only other head-coaching gig, McDaniels went 8-8 and 4-12 in two seasons with the Broncos. The Colts were ready to hire McDaniels in 2018, but he famously backed out of the job. It’s fair to praise him for his offensive acumen, but the 46-year-old McDaniels has yet to prove that he can be a successful helmsman. McDaniels has a promising defensive coordinator in Patrick Graham, who overachieved with the Giants the last two seasons.

18. Philadelphia Eagles (Nick Sirianni)

The Eagles surprisingly made the playoffs and have quickly built a foundation to build upon last year’s success. Philadelphia was 12th in offensive EPA per play and points scored last season. They added A.J. Brown to the mix with the rest of the depth chart entering their second season in the offensive system. While the defense wasn’t dominating, there are also reasons for optimism on that side of the ball. The Eagles allowed the eighth-lowest yards per play and manufactured the eighth-best hurry rate. Another successful campaign and Sirianni will find himself even higher on this list.

19. Washington Commanders (Ron Rivera)

Back-to-back seven-win seasons doesn’t sound like any great accomplishment, but it is when Taylor Heinicke, Alex Smith, Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen make up the team’s starting QB room. Ron Rivera had a top-5 defense in his first year with Washington that dragged his team into the postseason.

20. Jacksonville Jaguars (Doug Pederson)

Doug Pederson is one of the few active Super Bowl-winning coaches with a history of maximizing quarterback performance (Alex Smith, Carson Wentz, Nick Foles), and he has assembled a staff of veteran assistants to support his young coordinators in passing game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy and senior defensive assistant Bob Sutton. The Jaguars don’t have an above-average staff, but it’s not the tragicomedy it was under the previous regime.

21. Dallas Cowboys (Mike McCarthy)

Mike McCarthy is 142-83-1 with Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott but 11-18-1 with all other quarterbacks. McCarthy crumbles without elite quarterback play to bail him out, and he’s comically bad at situational decision making — but he might have the NFL’s best all-around staff with OC Kellen Moore, DC Dan Quinn, STC John Fassel and OL coach Joe Philbin. As bad as he is, McCarthy at least should get credit for surrounding himself with people who are good at their jobs.

22. Arizona Cardinals (Kliff Kingsbury)

The Cardinals went 11-6 last season and made the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season, yet head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s seat is warm. Kingsbury has a .500 record in three years in the desert, and while the Cardinals’ record has improved every year under Kingbury’s watch, the team completely collapsed late last season after a 10-2 start. Kingsbury earned a reputation of being an offensive guru during six seasons at Texas Tech, but the Cardinals have not become an offensive powerhouse during his tenure. Kingsbury has a talented roster, and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is a capable lieutenant. The Cardinals need to make some serious noise this season, or Kingsbury’s position is in trouble.

23. New Orleans Saints (Dennis Allen)

Dennis Allen’s first opportunity as head coach didn’t go well with the Raiders (8-28). But his impact on the Saints defense – top-5 in fewest points allowed the last two seasons – should get New Orleans back into postseason contention. Pete Carmichael’s long tenure as offensive coordinator since 2019 should help mitigate the loss of Sean Payton. The offense posted top-three numbers without Payton in 2012.

24. New York Giants (Brian Daboll)

Daboll worked wonders with Buffalo’s offense the last four seasons, molding QB Josh Allen into an uber-weapon. Granted, Daboll has had less successful offensive coordinator tenures with other teams, but his willingness to adapt his system to the strengths and weaknesses of his players offers hopes that he can salvage the flagging career of QB Daniel Jones. Daboll will be working alongside well-regarded defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale, who’ll oversee an NYG defense that overachieved in 2021.

25. Denver Broncos (Nathaniel Hackett)

Nathaniel Hackett has helped fuel Aaron Rodgers to uber-efficient passing seasons since 2019, highlighted by the QB’s back-to-back MVP awards from 2020 to 2021. But there’s no doubt his greatest accomplishment was coaching a top-5 scoring offense with Blake Bortles at quarterback in 2017 with Jacksonville. Be excited about what he can orchestrate with Russell Wilson.

26. Atlanta Falcons (Arthur Smith)

Smith’s scheme in Atlanta was much less effective than it had been in Tennessee, where RB Derrick Henry and WR A.J. Brown compensated for and masked its blandness. On top of that, it’s possible that DC Dean Pees, who has had the lowest-ranked units of his career over his past two seasons, is no longer the aggressive visionary he used to be.

27. New York Jets (Robert Saleh)

Robert Saleh was hired in New York based on his background coaching elite defenses in San Franciso. In his first year as head coach, the Jets ranked 32nd in points allowed, 32nd in yards allowed, 32nd in rushing attempts faced and 32nd in rushing TDs allowed. Their defense was worse in 2021 than in 2020 under Gregg Williams.

28. Miami Dolphins (Mike McDaniel)

We don’t know how first-year HC Mike McDaniel and OC Frank Smith will do in Miami, but McDaniel oversaw excellent running games (2017-20) and coordinated an effective offense (2021) in his five years with the 49ers, and Smith coached RB Austin Ekeler to his best NFL season in his one year as the run game coordinator for the Chargers. McDaniel had the wisdom to retain DC Josh Boyer, whose unit ranked top-eight in takeaways in each of the past two years, and that coaching continuity should benefit the staff overall.

29. Minnesota Vikings (Kevin O’Connell)

HC Kevin O’Connell underwhelmed for the first five years of his coaching career, but he luckily spent the past two seasons working for Sean McVay — and now he’s in charge of an NFL team. Similarly, DC Ed Donatell failed to distinguish himself in his first three decades as a coach, but over the past 11 years he has ridden Vic Fangio’s coattails as his top assistant, and now he’s overseeing the Vikings defense on his own. Assistant HC Mike Pettine amassed a 10-22 record in his two years with the Browns. This staff has a lot to prove over the next 2-3 years.

30. Houston Texans (Lovie Smith)

Smith compiled an 81-63 record in nine years with the Bears, then went 8-24 in two disastrous seasons with the Buccaneers. He’s spent the last five years at the University of Illinois, where he had to deal with a severe talent deficit in the Big Ten and went 17-39 as a result. Smith’s offensive coordinator will be Pep Hamilton, who hasn’t had an OC gig since parting ways with the Colts after the 2015 season.

31. Chicago Bears (Matt Eberflus)

Matt Eberflus has been the Colts defensive coordinator since 2018. His defenses have ranked inside the top-10 thrice in points allowed and never worse 16th in yards allowed. But the concern is the unknown commodities on the offensive side of the ball, with Luke Getsy making his professional debut as offensive coordinator. He previously spent time as QBs coach/WRs coach/Offensive Quality Control in Green Bay.

32. Carolina Panthers (Matt Rhule)

Matt Rhule is on the hot seat in 2022 after going 10-23 in his first two seasons with the Panthers. Rhule and former Carolina offensive coordinator Joe Brady have thus far failed to pull Sam Darnold’s career out of a tailspin, and now Rhule is partnering with new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, who’s no one’s idea of a brilliant tactician. The odds are remote that Rhule will still be holding this job a year from now.

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