John Harbaugh has an impressive record with the Baltimore Ravens. Where does the purple and black’s head coach rank among active NFL coaches?
The National Football League has the most intense and intelligent coaches in the sports world. Every conceivable detail is picked up and scrutinized in preparation for each week’s game. Football games are often compared to chess matches, in that there is so much strategy in the game. Preparing for a football game is an intense endeavor and the NFL coaches have it down to a science. Who does it the best?
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There are seven active coaches in the NFL who have won a Super Bowl. Bill Belichick has won four Super Bowls; he sits on top the unreachable throne. After Belichick is where the debate gets really interesting. Belichick is the only active head coach with multiple Super Bowl wins.
The NFL is a results oriented business. So wins and losses matter, in a big way, to this conversation. But if no other coaches have more than one Super Bowl ring, how do you rank them? Consistency, playoff wins and longevity are the three components to my ranking formula. There may be no right or wrong answers, but a sports writers, job is to fuel the conversation. With that in mind here is my list:
- Bill Belichick
- John Harbaugh
- Mike McCarthy
- Pete Carroll
- Mike Tomlin
- Sean Peyton
- Gary Kubiak
Why Harbaugh Is Second:
Harbaugh is going into his ninth season as the Ravens head coach. In eight years he has been to the playoffs six times. It’s all to easy to forget how good this era has been after a 5-11 2015 season. That being said it has been incredible. Harbaugh has a 77-49 record in the regular season. That’s pretty good, but it’s his playoff record of 10-5 that puts him at number two.
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Other than Belichick nobody has a playoff record comparable to Harbaugh. Mike McCarthy is perhaps the closest, with an 8-7 mark in the postseason. In each of the Ravens six trips to the playoffs they have won at least won game. The Ravens would have been to the Super Bowl twice if it were not for Lee Evans and Billy Cundiff (Not at all Harbaugh’s fault). Name me another coach that has been able to go up to Foxboro and push the Patriots out-of-the-way… you can’t.
Every coach has their faults. Harbaugh’s is game management. The timeout before the challenge is about the most frustrating sequence in sports. Harbaugh makes some decisions that show he is not perfect. But overall, Harbaugh is as good as there is in the NFL. He ranks at number two on this list. But knowing the kind of man he is, Harbaugh will be determined to climb all the way to the top.
Why Mike McCarthy is Ahead Of Pete Carroll
Longevity and consistency are two things that McCarthy has going for him. He has been the Green Bay Packers coach for a while. He’s won a Super Bowl, he had a 15-1 season and he’s made offensive play-calling an absolute art. McCarthy has a regular season record of 104-55-1. He is the greatest Packers coach not named Vince Lombardi. He has won five division titles. If it weren’t for a couple of quick exits in the playoffs, he’d have Harbaugh beat.
Why Pete Carroll is ahead of Mike Tomlin
If the Seahawks offensive coordinator gave Marshawn Lynch the football on the one yard line, Carroll would have two Super Bowl rings. He took the Seattle Seahawks from a championship free franchise looking for an identity to a franchise looking for another championship. Pete Carroll is the hotter commodity right now, in comparison to Tomlin. That’s a compliment and an honor to Carroll, not a blemish on Tomlin. Carroll is the man of the hour in the football world. He found a way, to make a smash mouth and nasty style of football, joyful fun.
Why Tomlin Is Ahead Of Sean Payton
Since the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009 they have not been as good. The Saints are coming off back to back 7-9 seasons. The Saints were also 7-9 in 2012. Meanwhile the Steelers have remained one of the most competitive teams in football throughout Tomlin’s career. Tomlin has a 92-52 regular season record. He’s been to two Super Bowls and is 6-5 in the playoffs. The Steelers have not had a losing record since their Super Bowl win in 2008. Yet three losses in the wild card round don’t help Tomlin’s cause.
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Why Tomlin Is Ahead Of Gary Kubiak
Kubiak has only been with the Broncos for one season and he won a Super Bowl. Kubiak had a long run as the coach of the Houston Texans, but he had little playoff success with them. Kubiak’s experienced more losing than the rest of the people on this list. Though his 5-2 playoff record is pretty shiny. With a good Broncos team, Kubiak has a chance to go up this list. But a 73-68 record is hard to rank above the guy we’ve already talked about. I’m a big Kubiak fan. I think he is a great coach. It would not surprise me if he climbs this list.
Guys like Bruce Arians and Ron Rivera get an honorable mention. I focused on Super Bowl winning coaches, because that’s the most elite group of coaches.