Over the past few months, I've seen seemingly 31 NFL head coaches get savaged for their roster-building, in-game tactics, and a wide range of other things. But it's both silly and a bit boring to sit around and say "
Everybody sucks but Belichick!" So let's see your ranking of "top 5 NFL coaches", other than BB, since involving him doesn't really enhance the conversation.
My picks:
1. Andy Reid. Laugh at his clock management all you like, the man has an incredible track record of performance. Rex Ryan's loins ache for Reid's 4 straight CCGs. Alex Smith's career was considered dead and buried until Reid traded for him as basically his first act as KC HC, and cut his INT% in half. He hasn't had unbridled success or anything, but his teams have made the playoffs 11 of his 18 years, an incredible run. Who else could last 14 years in the Philly sports environment, even as maligned as he was?
2. Jim Harbaugh. As the
only active coach to have a higher Win% than the sainted BB, the performance of SF before and after his tenure should strongly suggest his skills. Whether those skills wither with increasing time in CFB, I can't say, but right now I'd want him as my HC over nearly any other. The complaints about him ("players get tired of him!", etc) seem like small beer indeed.
3. Pete Carroll. 44 years in coaching, 24 in the NFL, 9 as HC of USC, 3 above-average years as HC of the Bledsoe-led Patriots, and now 7 highly successful years as HC of Seattle. Consistently aggressive and surprising, with few head-scratchers, and his teams are always ready to play. Tough to allocate credit for their recent strong drafts, but he surely deserves some.
4. Sean Payton. Loved by football stat-heads for his EV-maximizing gambles on things like 4th down and kicking, he has a very creative offensive style that has gotten the most out of Drew Brees's gunslinging. Probably deserves a lot of the credit for what success Parcells had in Dallas, too.
5. Mike McCarthy. 21-11 with Favre, 93-50 (65.0%) with Rodgers, and got rid of Favre at the right time too. Mocked for some questionable tactical decisions in particular playoff games, he has nevertheless made the playoffs every year but Rodgers' first, with a perennial top-10 offense. His 2000-04 Saints teams had a top-half offense basically every year too, even with the immortal Aaron Brooks at QB.
#5 was a tough choice between him, John Fox, Wade Philips and Bruce Arians. Decided Tom Coughlin was retired rather than merely unemployed, but you hear rumors every so often.
