10 Best Coaches in the Game

It is time for me to finally start a regular feature here on 27pitches, my top 10 lists, which will run the gamut from current to historical. I personally love these lists becaue they are fun to write, fun to read, and they are always a good source of debate. I decided to start with the best coaches currently in the game because we’ve already seen Dick Jauron ousted in Buffalo and the hot seat talk is only starting to heat up and by the end of December it will be boiling over. The funny thing is when I started to compile this list I didn’t realize how few excellent, experienced coaches are in the league. There are some bright young minds and potential great ones, but until we see a little more out of them it is hard to rank them. Oddly enough, maybe for the first time in history, there are more Super Bowl winning coaches waiting on the sideline for a new gig or in the booth than there are currently coaching. With that, you’ll notice a theme at the top: there are only three guys who are currently coaching that have won a ring as the head man, and they compose the top three spots. It’s simple reasoning: bad coaches don’t win Super Bowls.

10. Ken Whisenhunt, Arizona. I’m not sure many people realize how tough it is to go into a job with the daunting task of completely changing the culture. Many had tried before Whisenhunt, and all of them failed to make the Cardinals a contender. That is exactly what Whisenhunt did in leading the Cardinals to the Super Bowl last year. They are no longer losers.

9. John Fox, Carolina. I know he has yet to record back-to-back winning seasons, but every other year he has the Panthers in the playoff hunt and often as one of the best teams in the NFC. He has led them to one Super Bowl and a 5-3 playoff record. His name is often brought up in hot-seat conversation, but it’s hard to argue with what he’s done in Carolina.
 
8. Andy Reid, Philadelphia. I listen to Philly talk radio everyday and Eagles fans despise the guy and I understand why. It’s tough to deal with a guy who believes he the smartest but has nothing to show for it. He puts together brilliant game plans and prepares his team very well, but come game day he suffers more brain farts than Corky working on differential equations. He is a terrible game manager and doesn’t understand the value of time, but it is extremely hard to argue with his .618 regular season win percentage and 10-7 postseason record, with not a single loss in the first round. I hate the guy too, but I’m glad he’s still in Philly. (And when I found out today that we share a birthday, the day became a little less special.)

Yes, I just took my final timeout with 3 minutes to go in the third quarter! (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

7. Tony Sparano, Miami. A lot of you are probably thinking I’m crazy, but I honestly would rather have this guy roaming the sideline than the other 25 guys behind him. He took a 1-15 team and led them the AFC East crown and this year, even with a pretty wide talent-gap between the Dolphins and many of their opponents, has kept them extremely competitive. His game planning is excellent and he is beloved by his players. It also doesn’t hurt to have the Tuna in a suite looking over him, either.

6. Mike Smith, Atlanta. Similar to Sparano, what Smith has done in Atlanta is remarkable. He took a team that was reeling after the Michael Vick saga and the gutless resignation of former coach Bobby Petrino and made them a surprising wild card team last year. This year he has continued to build what should be a formidable Falcons team for the next decade of so, with him and Matt Ryan connected at the hip. He and general manager Thomas Dimitroff hauled in an excellent first draft class that should serve as the backbone of this team for the next few years and followed it up with a decent one this year. He has the look of a guy with a ring in his future.

5. Jeff Fisher, Tennessee. Andy Reid supporters will probably scoff at Fisher being ranked ahead of him because they are both in similar situations. Both are long-tenured coaches who have yet win the big one. Reid has a better winning percentage and Fisher has a losing record in the playoffs. But Fisher isn’t a pompous ass whose fans hate him and call for his ouster seemingly every year. And in my opinion, the Titans haven’t lost an important game because of Fisher, whereas the Eagles have lost quite a few to poor coaching decisions. I believe he’ll eventually win a championship, whether it’s with the Titans or not, because he truly is a very, very good football coach. If he doesn’t, it’ll be a shame, putting him right up there with Marv Levy as the greatest coaches never to win a Super Bowl. 
 
4. Sean Payton, New Orleans. It’s not just the undefeated start to this season. He has been one of the brightest young offensive minds in the league for quite some time now and this year it is all finally coming to fruition. You also have to give a guy credit who saw that it was the defense holding the team back and he gave a few hundred thousand dollars of his own money to help secure the acquisition of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who has turned the defense around, making them viable Super Bowl contenders for perhaps the first time in franchise history.

Sorry bro, but I'm a far better coach than you are. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants. Much-maligned heading into the 2007 season, Coughlin is now revered not only in New York, but across the league. But that’s what happens when you win all three playoff games on the road and then complete what may be the biggest upset in the game’s history, ending the Patriots’ bid for perfection. His Giants teams have been remarkably good on the road and always have a knack from bouncing back from losses. That’s a sign of a good coach. Since he took over the Giants in 2004, they have missed the playoffs only in his first season as they were breaking in franchise quarterback Eli Manning. And let’s not forget the magic he worked while leading the expansion Jaguars.
 
2. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh. I am more impressed with him the more I watch the Steelers. His quiet demeanor demands respect and he is a player’s coach, without being soft, which is almost impossible to accomplish. Not to mention that in his second season he hoisted the Lombardi trophy and will probably do so again in next couple of years. He did inherit a very good football team, but there were large shoes to fill and he came in and commanded the respect of his players immediately, even though quite a few were older than him. He’s a superstar in the profession.

1. Bill Belichick, New England. Forget the gutsy or stupid call (depending which side you take against the Colts last week. A coach with his stature is the only one who could do something like that anyway. What he has accomplished is nothing short of remarkable, and even more than that but I can’t think of the appropriate word. His defensive configurations are genius, Troy Brown at corner anyone?, and he always has his team prepared; when was the last time the Pats got blown out? Throw in his two rings as coordinator for the Giants to his three as head man and his track record is virtually untouchable. Not only is he the best now, he could be the best ever.

Keep your head up Billy, one dumb call doesn't define your career. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

I know many of you will disagree with this list as is bound to be the case with any rankings system and I invite all arguments and omissions in the comments section below.