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Skinny
10-16-2007, 09:13 PM
Pressure poll: Ranking the NFL's top coaches

The Sporting News
October 16, 2007

Every NFL head coach walks a tightrope, one key injury or losing streak away from crisis.

Even the best get fired, all of them are regularly second-guessed and none can ever escape the spotlight. Sometimes they do strange things. Already this season we've seen Bill Belichick's version of Candid Camera and Eric Mangini in the role of undercover informant. We've seen formerly hot coaches such as Sean Payton of the Saints cool off, replaced by such new hot guys as Mike Tomlin of the Steelers. Fortunes change quickly, competition is ferocious and parity makes it hard for coaches to maintain their sanity.

Coaching in the NFL can make a tough guy such as Nick Saban run back to college, a fiery guy such as Bill Cowher take a break and a successful guy such as Bill Parcells walk away. There's a fine line between the red zone and the pink slip, but that pressure is part of what makes the job so intoxicating to those highstrung guys wearing the headsets on the sideline.

Almost any NFL owner will tell you his most important decision is to name the right head coach. That person is usually the face of the franchise, he deals with the media more than anybody else and he makes split-second decisions every game that can determine the difference between winning and losing. Picking the right coach can set up your franchise for quick success. Picking the wrong one will doom your team to failure and leave you searching for another coach to put on the hot seat.

We've ranked the current 32 head coaches after considering a combination of criteria, including what they've done, how they're doing and how we think they'll do in the future. Read it, enjoy it, argue about it and remember this: It's hard for any coach just to make this list. And it's even harder to stay on it.

1. Bill Belichick, Patriots. His spy techniques need work, but his three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots speak for themselves.

2. Tony Dungy, Colts. He is consistent, confident and unflappable, and he demands excellence without demeaning his players.

3. Mike Shanahan, Broncos. His resume shows one losing season in the past 12 years, but after an ugly home loss two weeks ago, we'll see if he still has it.

4. Mike Holmgren, Seahawks. An excellent teacher and a creative offensive mind, he has built solid programs with two franchises.

5. Jeff Fisher, Titans. His teams never underachieve, and with Vince Young the Titans' future is in good hands.

6. Joe Gibbs, Redskins. He's proving he's still a winner. Even more impressive, he's one of the few coaches who can deal with Daniel Snyder.

7. Lovie Smith, Bears. The Bears stunk before he arrived. He needs a quarterback, but it's hard to find a better defensive coach.

8. Andy Reid, Eagles. A struggling team and family issues present tough challenges, but he is a strong leader who never panics.

9. Wade Phillips, Cowboys. Finally coaching a team with serious talent, he might lead Dallas to the Super Bowl.

10. Mike Tomlin, Steelers. The Steelers know how to pick coaches. Already impressing players and peers, Tomlin has a bright future.



Coaches on the hot seat
1. Scott Linehan, Rams
2. Brad Childress, Vikings
3. Norv Turner, Chargers
4. Tom Coughlin, Giants
5. Marvin Lewis, Bengals

Best and mosts
Best on game day: Bill Belichick, Patriots
Best at halftime adjustments: Tony Dungy, Colts
Best with the media: Herm Edwards, Chiefs
Best with the fans: Sean Payton, Saints
Best dresser: Mike Nolan, 49ers
Best facial expressions: Jon Gruden, Bucs
Best houseguest: Romeo Crennel, Browns
Best friends: Lovie Smith, Bears, Edwards, Dungy
Most overrated: Marvin Lewis, Bengals
Most underrated: Jeff Fisher, Titans


All 32 coaches listed
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=290564

Uncle Buck
10-16-2007, 09:40 PM
Pressure poll: Ranking the NFL's top coaches





The Sporting News
October 16, 2007


Every NFL head coach walks a tightrope, one key injury or losing streak away from crisis.


Even the best get fired, all of them are regularly second-guessed and none can ever escape the spotlight. Sometimes they do strange things. Already this season we've seen Bill Belichick's version of Candid Camera and Eric Mangini in the role of undercover informant. We've seen formerly hot coaches such as Sean Payton of the Saints cool off, replaced by such new hot guys as Mike Tomlin of the Steelers. Fortunes change quickly, competition is ferocious and parity makes it hard for coaches to maintain their sanity.


Coaching in the NFL can make a tough guy such as Nick Saban run back to college, a fiery guy such as Bill Cowher take a break and a successful guy such as Bill Parcells walk away. There's a fine line between the red zone and the pink slip, but that pressure is part of what makes the job so intoxicating to those highstrung guys wearing the headsets on the sideline.


Almost any NFL owner will tell you his most important decision is to name the right head coach. That person is usually the face of the franchise, he deals with the media more than anybody else and he makes split-second decisions every game that can determine the difference between winning and losing. Picking the right coach can set up your franchise for quick success. Picking the wrong one will doom your team to failure and leave you searching for another coach to put on the hot seat.


We've ranked the current 32 head coaches after considering a combination of criteria, including what they've done, how they're doing and how we think they'll do in the future. Read it, enjoy it, argue about it and remember this: It's hard for any coach just to make this list. And it's even harder to stay on it.


1. Bill Belichick, Patriots. His spy techniques need work, but his three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots speak for themselves.


2. Tony Dungy, Colts. He is consistent, confident and unflappable, and he demands excellence without demeaning his players.


3. Mike Shanahan, Broncos. His resume shows one losing season in the past 12 years, but after an ugly home loss two weeks ago, we'll see if he still has it.


4. Mike Holmgren, Seahawks. An excellent teacher and a creative offensive mind, he has built solid programs with two franchises.


5. Jeff Fisher, Titans. His teams never underachieve, and with Vince Young the Titans' future is in good hands.


6. Joe Gibbs, Redskins. He's proving he's still a winner. Even more impressive, he's one of the few coaches who can deal with Daniel Snyder.


7. Lovie Smith, Bears. The Bears stunk before he arrived. He needs a quarterback, but it's hard to find a better defensive coach.


8. Andy Reid, Eagles. A struggling team and family issues present tough challenges, but he is a strong leader who never panics.


9. Wade Phillips, Cowboys. Finally coaching a team with serious talent, he might lead Dallas to the Super Bowl.


10. Mike Tomlin, Steelers. The Steelers know how to pick coaches. Already impressing players and peers, Tomlin has a bright future.




Coaches on the hot seat
1. Scott Linehan, Rams
2. Brad Childress, Vikings
3. Norv Turner, Chargers
4. Tom Coughlin, Giants
5. Marvin Lewis, Bengals


Best and mosts
Best on game day: Bill Belichick, Patriots
Best at halftime adjustments: Tony Dungy, Colts
Best with the media: Herm Edwards, Chiefs
Best with the fans: Sean Payton, Saints
Best dresser: Mike Nolan, 49ers
Best facial expressions: Jon Gruden, Bucs
Best houseguest: Romeo Crennel, Browns
Best friends: Lovie Smith, Bears, Edwards, Dungy
Most overrated: Marvin Lewis, Bengals
Most underrated: Jeff Fisher, Titans



All 32 coaches listed


http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=290564


Thanks for the post, skinny, and nice to see that someone is still givin' Shanny some love. Their rankings seem fair enough on the surface, but who really knows?

Peyton--and the team built around him--will make anyone look good. On the other hand, our SB seasons would make any coach look good. (And I miss those days when Shanny's eyes would nearly turn red with *fire*!)

I guess the same could be said for Belichick, re Manning and the Colts vis-a-vis Brady and the Pats. Yet, in Shanny's court, he's done quite well with Offensive schemes when he didn't have as much to work with as his top-rated rivals.

IMHO, what the Broncos' management needs to work on is more on developing what they have--plus doing the same with even newer talent--as opposed to hoping for season savers in mid-range talent acquired from other teams.

Just look at those Rockies!

DenBronx
10-16-2007, 10:17 PM
i still think shanny is one of the best coaches. you cant blame the coach when he has had only ONE losing season.

lex
10-16-2007, 10:24 PM
i still think shanny is one of the best coaches. you cant blame the coach when he has had only ONE losing season.

Honestly too, if we would have played Brister in 1999, we would have likely finished no worse than 8-8. So the losing season was kind of an arbitrary choice to build for the future by playing the younger QB...plus Shanahan wasnt exactly fond of Brister and his squirreliness. But anyway, yeah, of the top three which one hasnt had an elite QB since 1998? Im actually more and more thinking wed be better in the long run (ie beginning next year) if we simply played the young guys and see where that takes us. Let Jay air it out. Let the younger linemen play. Try someone besides Gold at LB. Its like we havent really started taking the draft seriously until 3 years ago and since then its actually something to look forward to and put faith in.

Cleveland Rocks
10-16-2007, 10:26 PM
Best houseguest? What the heck is that supposed to mean?

omac
10-17-2007, 12:21 AM
Very nice article, columbiaskinny, thanks. :cheers:

I pretty much agree with their assesment. Some other stuff:

15. Jack del Rio, Jaguars: Wow, this guy made a controversial decision by not only going with David Garrard after saying Byron Leftwich was his starter, but cutting Leftwich instead of just benching him. At the time, it sure looked like just a personal grudge, but as it turns out, he knew exactly what he was doing. Garrard's been pretty good orchestrating their new, well-balanced offense. Add to that their great defense, and it's no wonder they've been winning.

17. Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals: the offense was sputtering under Leinart, so he decided to introduce offensive "packages" for Warner to run, and their offense has been much better. Leinart's injury might've actually helped the offense, but unfortunately, Warner got injured too. The Cardinals are playing solid football.

22. Lane Kiffin, Raiders: Not only has he made the Raiders a far better offense than they were last season, he's changed the culture and mindset of this team ... and now they really are a team.

23. Gary Kubiak, Texans: People may not agree, but I'll come out and say it; By what I saw, the Texans were a playoff-bound team ... until they hit a snag of ridiculous amounts of injuries to key personnel. Their offense, defense, and special teams were playing great. Despite the injuries, they managed to be competitive with the Colts. Kubes is doing a great job here.

omac
10-17-2007, 12:24 AM
Best houseguest? What the heck is that supposed to mean?

Initially, it sounded funny, but I think it's a knock against him; probably means he's doing a good enough job until the "real" coach comes to town. It's not his house, he's just visiting.

Skinny
10-17-2007, 05:37 AM
Try someone besides Gold at LB. Gold is not whom their looking to replace. Seen this in TSN's team report by Lee Rasizer;
Denver's porous run defense has had myriad issues in terms of gap responsibility and tackling, and one personnel move is imminent. If strong-side linebacker Nate Webster doesn't become more consistent, he could lose his job to Jamie Winborn. Webster is an all-out player who can make the big hit, but his aggressiveness can be used against him when teams get him to bite hard on fakes. Winborn has impressed coaches in practices and is not a dropoff from Webster in terms of athleticism or experience....

Cleveland Rocks
10-17-2007, 08:00 AM
Initially, it sounded funny, but I think it's a knock against him; probably means he's doing a good enough job until the "real" coach comes to town. It's not his house, he's just visiting.

I figured that's what it meant. But wasn't going to say anything along those lines just in case.

Crennell keeps winning like he is and he's not going anywhere, by calling him a "housguest" they make it seem that no matter what happens Crennel is being replaced.

Medford Bronco
10-17-2007, 10:18 AM
I figured that's what it meant. But wasn't going to say anything along those lines just in case.

Crennell keeps winning like he is and he's not going anywhere, by calling him a "housguest" they make it seem that no matter what happens Crennel is being replaced.

which is sad because I like Crennel and I think he has done a good job
this year and the Browns are headed in the right direction :salute:

SM19
10-17-2007, 12:49 PM
John Fox has fallen pretty far. His job won't be in danger, but the jobs of his coordinators probably should be.

Medford Bronco
10-17-2007, 05:43 PM
John Fox has fallen pretty far. His job won't be in danger, but the jobs of his coordinators probably should be.

unfortunatley for him he lost his starting QB for the season
it is hard to win with a 44 year old backup, Nothing against Vinny but
this is a very hard thing for any backup QB much less him.

bengaaaaals1688
10-17-2007, 06:09 PM
Marvin isn't on the hot seat. We are playing like crap, but he is not on the hot seat.

Lonestar
10-17-2007, 11:02 PM
I suspect that mikey will be in the hot seat after this year perhaps he should give up his GM duties and concentrate on coaching.

sneakers
10-18-2007, 05:56 AM
Shanahan should be #1...............................of all time that is. :first: