Tag: NFL head coaches

Ranking all 32 head coaches around the NFL going into 2023

So, how does Pete compare to the competition?

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is far from perfect. He’s entirely too interested in the run game – both on the field and in the draft room – and sometimes his conservative instincts can drive us up the wall on fourth down. That said, Carroll has long been one of the most successful coaches in the NFL and he’s now managed to make the playoffs with several different roster cores since he took over back in 2010. So, how does Pete compare to the competition? Let’s find out.

Here’s how we rank all 32 head coaches around the league going into the 2023 season.

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Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy entering very rare air among all-time NFL head coaches

With 155 regular-season wins, the Cowboys coach is set to possibly surpass several legitimate legends during the 2023 campaign. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Quick, without Googling it, where does Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy rank among NFL head coaches in all-time regular-season wins?

The answer, despite the rumblings from some corners of the fanbase that have called for his dismissal after every one of his three seasons thus far in Dallas, may come as quite a surprise.

Entering his 17th season as a head coach, McCarthy’s regular-season record is 155-97-2.

Those 155 wins place him 20th all-time.

Seriously.

And, barring an utter catastrophe, the 59-year-old will likely move past a massive legend or two at some point during the 2023 season.

With three more wins, McCarthy will tie Bud Grant, the longtime Vikings coach who led Minnesota to four Super Bowl appearances.

Six victories will put him alongside Mike Holmgren, who is enshrined in both the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor.

If the Cowboys can get to 11 wins this upcoming season, McCarthy will move into 15th place beside the legendary Paul Brown, a coach so enmeshed within the fabric of the NFL that he has a team named after him… as well as another team’s home stadium.

Of the 19 head coaches ahead of McCarthy on the all-time wins list, eight already have a bust in Canton.

It’s rarefied air indeed.

But his ascension to the Top 20 has seen McCarthy pass many coaching greats along the way, even if it happened somewhat unceremoniously.

He overtook Joe Gibbs, Bill Cowher, and Marv Levy just last season; all three are Hall of Famers.

And McCarthy had already blown by the likes of Tony Dungy, Hank Stram, Mike Ditka, Dick Vermeil, Don Coryell, John Madden, Bill Walsh, and a guy named Vince Lombardi.

Of course, coaching wins are a longevity record more than a pure measure of prowess, with the men who manage to stay on the sidelines for the most seasons rising to the top of the list. But not all NFL seasons throughout history are created equal. In Lombardi’s first season in Green Bay, a regular season was just 12 games. So yes, McCarthy and his contemporaries are currently getting five extra shots per season to notch an additional W.

With regular-season wins piling up at a faster clip for today’s coaches, it’s perhaps no surprise that so many of the names around McCarthy on the all-time list are current. He, Pete Carroll, and Mike Tomlin are all within eight victories of one another. Sean Payton and John Harbaugh both trail McCarthy by three and eight wins, respectively.

The Cowboys have fallen painfully short of the ultimate goal the past two seasons, and that’s ultimately how teams and coaches are judged and remembered. McCarthy would be the first to agree. But walking off the field a winner 155 times is no small feat, and as McCarthy keeps adding to that total in 2023, he’ll put himself in increasingly exclusive company.

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Seahawks OC Shane Waldron named among 2023 head coach candidates

Waldron has made a list of potential 2023 head coaches at NFL.com.

The Seahawks have taken everybody by surprise this year. At the bye, they’re in the thick of the playoff race and have already matched their projected win total for their entire season.

A lot of people deserve credit for the team’s unexpected success this year. One name we haven’t heard much of is Shane Waldron, the offensive coordinator who’s helped turn Geno Smith into a fringe MVP candidate. Folks are taking notice, though.

Waldron has made a list of potential 2023 head coaches at NFL.com. Here’s what Tom Pelissero had to say about Waldron’s candidacy.

“Waldron first appeared on this list in 2018, just before he interviewed for the Bengals job that went to Rams staff-mate Zac Taylor instead. Since then, Waldron has gotten more experience at the front of the room, and Year 2 in the Seahawks’ offense — really the first year with a QB running Waldron’s system, as opposed to the mishmash of concepts Russell Wilson liked in 2021 — has been a big step forward.”

The numbers certainly support Waldron’s case. Heading into Week 11, Seattle’s offense ranks No. 7 in DVOA and No. 5 in scoring.

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Recent winning rookie head coaches and their 2nd season results

Kevin Stefanski had a great season as a rookie head coach for the Browns but what does history tell us about second-year expectations?

The Cleveland Browns seemed to have hit a home run with the head coaching hire of Kevin Stefanski. The 2020 season was nothing but success with an 11 – 5 record, a playoff appearance and a playoff victory.

The Browns even took the Kansas City Chiefs to the brink before a helmet-to-helmet hit, that wasn’t called a penalty, and a Chad Henne scamble took the game away. (In fairness, Patrick Mahomes missing a big chunk of the game due to injury must also be mentioned.)

While expectations are through the roof for Stefanski and the Browns, it is important to note that it can be hard to replicate success in the NFL. Teams start to study tendencies, creativity wanes, loss of talented players (free agency or injury) or any other of the numerous variables that lead to NFL success could change.

On the other hand, those numerous variables could also lead to even more success for the coach and the team. While success, or failure, is rarely linear, success can grow rapidly if put in the right set of situations.

To get an idea of what could be expected from Stefanski and the Browns, we are taking a look back and rookie head coaches who had winning seasons and what happened the following year. Given the ebbs and flows of the NFL, we will just be looking back to hires starting in 2017. There are currently only seven head coaches who have been in their current position since before 2017.

(We are looking at team record because team record and coaching are forever linked despite, as noted, the vast number of variables that go into winning.)

Ravens OC Greg Roman focused on Ravens, not other head-coaching jobs

Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman says he has too much to do to focus on potential head-coaching gigs

The Baltimore Ravens sit at 13-2 and look to be the best team in the league, largely thanks to their prolific offense. It’s a unit that has utilized quarterback Lamar Jackson to his fullest — making him the frontrunner for the NFL’s MVP award — and a rushing attack that has eyes on an NFL record in Week 17. So it should come as no surprise that the guy responsible for the scheme is considered a hot head-coaching candidate already.

Ahead of the final regular-season game of 2019 and with several teams really beginning their search for their next coach, Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman fielded questions about his future with the team.

Roman essentially deflected, focusing on the task at hand and his current job, rather than adding fuel to the kindling rumor fire.

As much as I’d love Roman to stick around for another year, the Ravens don’t really have a good track record of keeping any coordinators who’ve been rumored targets for head coaching jobs, let alone offensive ones.

The last time the Ravens had a stellar season offensively, spurred by one of the best performances a quarterback wearing black and purple has had, that coordinator promptly fled to Denver where he won a Super Bowl. I’m, of course, speaking of Gary Kubiak, whose playcalling and stewardship of the offense led to Joe Flacco’s best season (statistically) as well as a playoff berth and run.

Overall, we’ve seen some of Baltimore’s best coordinators depart for greener pastures (i.e. lucrative head coaching roles) after some of the team’s best seasons. Aside from Kubiak, Jim Caldwell left for Detroit after helping the Ravens offense win Super Bowl XLVII. On the defensive side of the ball, Marvin Lewis, Rex Ryan, and Chuck Pagano all left for head coaching roles after noteworthy seasons.

So if history is any indicator, the likelihood of Roman remaining with the Ravens after Lamar Jackson’s performance this season, and subsequently one of Baltimore’s best seasons offensively, is pretty slim.

But there may be an x-factor here which keeps Roman in Baltimore. The Ravens’ offense is unlike anything this league has seen or even capable of being run by any other team right now. It’s plausible that other teams shy away from Roman while they try to work with prior draft picks and existing players that don’t fit the scheme that has developed in Baltimore.

Now, that might change as teams try to capture their own magic by copying the Ravens’ formula this season. It’s possible that owners and general managers see Roman as a catalyst that could spark some new creativity for teams that are looking for a rebuild and rebrand of sorts.

Either way, the Ravens have proven one thing this year: Doing things differently, taking risks and unconventional approaches can take the league by storm. The team currently has the best record in the NFL, home-field advantage in the playoffs and the best odds to win the Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, those factors undoubtedly make Roman a worthy target as opponents look to be the next Ravens . . . if it’s even possible.

What happens after the season is anyone’s guess, but Baltimore’s brass should do whatever they can to keep this unprecedented momentum moving forward.

Honestly, fans can only hope that Roman chooses to stay with the Ravens, especially with the prospect of being able to recapture and even build upon what this team has accomplished this season… if it’s even possible. Keeping Roman gives them as good a chance as any to make the possible a reality.

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Ravens DC Don Mardinale: It would take a dream job for me to leave

Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator won’t leave for just any head-coaching job, it’ll take a place where he can build a winning culture.

With the Baltimore Ravens’ defense performing at a high level and the 2019 regular season nearly over, defensive coordinator Don Martindale is being considered a coaching candidate to watch. But when asked if he’s paying any attention to those lists and his thoughts about potentially leaving, Martindale set up a return to Baltimore.

“We love this city. We love our organization here,” Martindale said. “It would have to be a dream-type job to take. Where you know you can build the winning culture we have here.”

There are some coaching jobs already open and a bunch more expected to become open as early as Sunday evening. Baltimore’s defense currently ranks third in points allowed and fifth in yards allowed this season. Martindale’s defense ranked second and first respectively in 2018, his first season as the team’s defensive coordinator.

In spite of not having a true star pass rusher on the roster and injuries on top of that, Martindale has been masterful at scheming quarterback pressure this season. Though it hasn’t resulted in a ton of sacks, all you need to do is watch film from Week 5 and beyond to see how Baltimore’s defense has been able to confuse and batter opposing quarterbacks with unique blitzes and packages.

While much of that falls on Martindale’s shoulders, he was quick to point it all back at his players.

“It goes back to the game has been and always will be about the players — and that’s how you get on those lists, because our guys have done a great job this year,” Martindale continued.

Every time Martindale is up at the podium, you know you’re in for a treat. Martindale has not been one to hold back both praise and some headline-worthy slights in his time in Baltimore. But regardless of what he says, you know he’s telling you exactly how he feels and not giving you a fluff answer.

The Ravens’ defensive players have spoken highly of Martindale since before he was promoted to the defensive coordinator job. And continuing to put their efforts above his own, in spite of a potential dream job opening, speaks volumes about why the players love him so much.

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Ranking the first- and second-year head coaches

Coaching in the NFL is rough. It isn’t easy to try and turn teams around. A look at how first- and second-year coaches have done.

Fourteen NFL head coaches are either finishing their first or second year in the current position. Only one, Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur, is definitely postseason bound after Week 17 of the 2019 regular season. Ranking the jobs the 14 have done so far.

14. Pat Shurmur

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Ben McAdoo was 13-15 in slightly less than two seasons as coach of the New York Giants. Pat Shurmur has followed and gone 9-22 heading into Week 17. He’s had a second overall pick (Saquon Barkley), a sixth overall pick (Daniel Jones) and two other first-rounders. The results do not breed confidence for Shurmur being around in 2020.

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