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2014 NFL Coaches Rankings

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Andy

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This year’s rankings with last year ranking in brackets.


 


1.  Bill Belicheck – New England Patriots (1)


Belicheck remains at the top of these rankings thanks to another great season. Belicheck is a genius and he always puts together the best gameplans and knows how to shut down top players. 


2. Jim Harbaugh – San Francisco 49ers (2)


Jim Harbaugh is an aggressive coach who knows how to get the best out of his players. Harbaugh was nearly traded in the offseason for a reported “boatload of picks”. He’s invaluable to his team.


3. Sean Payton – New Orleans Saints (3)


Payton is an important figure for the Saints. Without him, they’re average; with him, they’re a Super Bowl contender. There is tangible proof behind that statement too. Payton makes his team and that’s why he’s in the top 3. 


4. John Harbaugh – Baltimore Ravens (4)


John Harbuagh had a tough year last season after losing a lot of his best players, but still managed to field a respectable team. He’s a great coach who like his brother can get the best out of his players. He’s important going forward for the Ravens.


5. Mike McCarthy – Green Bay Packers (7)


Mike McCarthy moves up a couple of spots from last year after being able to keep his team in the playoff hunt without Aaron Rodgers. He’s an offensive genius and despite all the injuries he had on his team, the Packers made the playoffs 


6. Tom Coughlin – New York Giants (5)


Coughlin and the Giants had a rough year, but Coughlin remains one of the best coaches with his 2 recent Super Bowl wins. His 2 rings in the last 7 seasons is better than any other coach. Coughlin looks to succeed this year with more pieces in place.


7. Pete Carroll – Seattle Seahawks (13)


Pete Caroll moves into the top 10 after winning it all last year. He’s only in 7th because despite the fact that Seattle was dominant this year, this was only the 2nd season where Seattle was a Super Bowl contender. Nevertheless, more good seasons from him and the Seahawks and he should continue to climb. 


8. John Fox – Denver Broncos (10)


John Fox had a lot of success in Carolina and now has had a lot of success with the Broncos. Unfortunately, he cannot get it done in the Super Bowl and it’s been holding it back for years in these rankings.


9. Mike Tomlin – Pittsburgh Steelers (6)


Mike Tomlin takes a step back this year, because the Steelers’ defense was relatively weak this year and Tomlin didn’t seem to have complete control over his team this year. The embarrassing on-field gaffe doesn’t help either. He needs to get back in the playoffs and rebuild his defense.


10. Jeff Fisher – St Louis Rams (8)


Jeff Fisher had Kellen Clemons as his starting quarterback for the last half of the season, yet the Rams still competed and won some games. He’s made some great strides with the Rams and they should only get better, but they need more consistency.


11. Andy Reid – Kansas City Chiefs (12)


Andy Reid made a great turnaround with the Chiefs this year and made them legit contenders, but they had an easy schedule. Reid has a good team on his hands, but let’s see if they can improve, make it further in the playoffs and avoid collapses.


12. Bruce Arians – Arizona Cardinals (18)


Bruce Arians continues to rise in the rankings. He may have had the greatest team to never make the playoffs. Arians is a great motivator and has managed to build a good defense as well as a consistent running game with a big play passing game. He must feel right at home.


13. Mike Smith – Atlanta Falcons (9)


Mike Smith had a terrible season with Atlanta last season as injuries played a big part in their demise. Smith is still a top notch coach and the Falcons should turn it around this year, but if they don’t, his ranking will drop and his seat will get a bit hotter.


14. Lovie Smith – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NR)


Lovie Smith is back in the NFL after a year off. He did a fantastic job with the Bears over the last several years and will have a new start with Tampa. The team is talented, especially on defense, and he will be the difference between them being playoff contenders or a below 500 team. 


15. Chuck Pagano – Indianapolis Colts (23)


Chuck Pagano proved himself in a big way last season. He took his team back to the playoffs and even got them a game further. He has great control over his team and everyone looks up to him. He just needs to be more consistent with his gameplans.


16. Rex Ryan – New York Jets (14)


It’s hard not to like Rex Ryan; all his players like him, he pumps up everyone and he and his team show up in big games. However, if they miss the playoffs this year, he’s as good as gone. There’s a lot of pressure on him to win this year.


17. Marvin Lewis – Cincinnati Bengals (15)


Marvin Lewis just cannot find a way to win in the playoffs. He has a talented roster with a lot of talented coaches, but they still exit the playoffs the earliest out of anyone. He needs to win a playoff game or he’ll be done in Cincinnati. 


18. Chip Kelly – Philadelphia Eagles (26)


Chip Kelly moves up a lot of spots in this ranking! He took the league by storm with his almost revolutionary offense. He was able to fire off more plays than any other team and he made the Eagles legitimate contenders down the stretch. 


19. Mike McCoy – San Diego Chargers (29)


McCoy is our biggest mover this year, moving up 10 spots from last year’s ranking. McCoy did wonders with the Chargers and took them to the 2nd round of the playoffs only to lose to the Broncos by a small amount. McCoy turned around Phillip Rivers and that offense and they already had a great defense. Good things are ahead!


20. Ron Rivera – Carolina Panthers (29)


Rivera continues to progress in Carolina and turned that defense into one of the NFL’s best. However, many of last year’s members are gone, and can Rivera keep the good times going? If he can, he’ll keep moving up, if he can’t, he’ll slide down.


21. Marc Trestman – Chicago Bears (24)


Marc Trestman had a good year in Chicago turning the Bears offense into one of the NFL’s best, but now he needs to get that defense back to what it used to be. If they can’t, they won’t be contenders, but if they can, watch out!


22. Joe Philbin – Miami Dolphins (20)


Philbin is a good developer of young talent and is more of a methodical coach rather than a energetic one. He needs to motivate his players better and he needs to have a better control of the locker room, and he needs to put his foot down when there are situations arising. 


23. Jason Garrett – Dallas Cowboys (19)


It’s a bit surprising Garrett has lasted as long as he has in Dallas, but he is a good coach. Garrett is smart and understands the game very well, but when the pressure rises, he shrinks. He needs to build his defense back up and he and the Cowboys need to win big games!


24. Ken Whisenhunt – Tennessee Titans (NR)


Whisenhunt is a talented coach who has Super Bowl experience, and with the right pieces in place, he can make the Titans a playoff contender, but he needs to work closely on fixing up the major holes on the Titans’ offense. He’s talented, and maybe working one year solely as an offensive coordinator helped him overall. 


25. Jim Caldwell – Detroit Lions (NR)


Jim Caldwell didn’t have a happy ending in Indianapolis, but he is a smart offensive mind. He understands how to build up offenses and how to develop quarterbacks. Stafford will have better numbers this year, but will the defense improve. He needs to focus on that side of the ball even more than the offense.


26. Gus Bradley – Jacksonville Jaguars (28) 


Bradley is well respected in the Jaguars locker room and I was very impressed watching him coach and speak last year. He has control of that room and he is a smart defensive mind. He has some talent on his team and with him at the helm, the Jaguars could surprise some people.


27. Mike Zimmer – Minnesota Vikings (NR)


Mike Zimmer was very well respected in Cincinnati, but that was as a defensive coordinator. He now has to worry about the offense and special teams as a head coach. It will be interesting to see how he controls the team and if he can fix up some of the holes on offense and defense. He’s got a tough challenge ahead of him.


28. Doug Marrone – Buffalo Bills (30)


Doug Marrone continues to improve as a head coach, but with all the talent they have on defense and at their offensive skill positions, they should be performing better. Marrone needs to get the most out of his players in order for his team to succeed. Until then, they’ll be at the bottom of their division. 


29. Jay Gruden – Washington Redskins (NR)


Jay Gruden is a new head coach, but he’ll have his brother to lean on for advice. Gruden did a relatively good job with the Bengals and he will need to work hard to fix RG3’s game and to make the Redskins one of the best offenses in the NFL, because with all that talent they should be. It will be interesting to watch.


30. Bill O’Brien – Houston Texans (NR)


Bill O’Brien is a wildcard head coach. O’Brien has history as a head coach in college and did a great job turning around the Penn State program. O’Brien was also the offensive coordinator in the Patriots’ offense. O’Brien has the experience, and the Texans are talented enough. This relationship has a lot of potential.


31. Dennis Allen – Oakland Raiders (32)


Dennis Allen continues to stay at the bottom after another rough year with the Raiders. It always seems like he’s second-guessing his decisions and that he’s not utilizing all the talent out of his team. He needs to have more control over his team and he needs to start coming up with good gameplans. 


32. Mike Pettine – Cleveland Browns (NR)


Mike Pettine rounds out our rankings. Pettine was a successful defensive coordinator, but even as a coordinator, he had his flaws. As a head coach, he’ll need to handle Johnny Manziel, Josh Gordon and many other personalities. This is not an easy job to manage, and he will need to put his foot down early on and this team will be a disaster.


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Whisenhunt should be rated higher than Philbin and Garrett. He took a once perennially awful franchise to the Super Bowl. Who would have ever thought this would be possible with Bill Bidwill as the Cardinals' owner! Unlike Philbin and Garrett, he had control of his team. Yes, he botched the QB situation in his last year but he did not have any competent quarterbacks to work with.

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