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Lance looks at the 10 greatest NFL head coaches of all time. Where do successful coaches such as Bill Belichick rank? Read the breakdown here.
Football is undeniably a team sport. All 11 players on one side must work together to do their part in securing a victory. On the flip side, it can spell doom if a player fails to execute his role in one play. Therefore, sideline mentors need to get everyone on the same page.
But while there are coaches for every position and coordinators for offense and defense, the head coach has the final say. They have the final approval of which plays to run and who should be on the field. Unfortunately, they also get much criticism for questionable play calls.
In contrast, having more hits than misses builds their reputation as winners. Their coaching wizardry helped teams win games, conference championships, and Super Bowls. While over 500 individuals have become head coaches throughout NFL history, 10 legends are considered the best and have a lasting impact on the game.
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10. Bill Parcells
While he is also known as “The Big Tuna,” there is nothing fishy about Parcells’ credentials. He has won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants and two AP NFL Coach of the Year honors. Aside from the Giants, he also coached for the New England Patriots, the New York Jets, and the Dallas Cowboys. He is the only coach to lead four teams to the playoffs and three franchises to the conference championship.
After his final coaching stint with Dallas, Parcells served as Vice President of Football Operations for the Miami Dolphins from 2008 to 2010. He became a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in 2013 and had an NFL head coaching record of 183-138-1. His coaching tree includes Sean Payton, Tom Coughlin, and Bill Belichick.
9. Chuck Noll
While Noll only had one head coaching stint at any level, he undeniably made the most of it. He was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ mentor from 1969 to 1991 and won four Super Bowls in the 1970s with the Steel Curtain defense. He was also the 1972 UPI AFC Coach of the Year and the 1989 Maxwell Club NFL Coach of the Year.
The Dayton alumnus is also a part of the NFL All-Decade Team of the 1970s and 1980s. He was also named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He did not coach again after leaving the Steelers in 1991 and got inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Noll has a career coaching record of 209-156-1, and his coaching tree includes John Fox and Tony Dungy.
8. Tom Landry
The man in the fedora hat coached the Dallas Cowboys for 29 seasons, an NFL record. However, the innovations he introduced to the sport started during his stint as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator. He created the 4-3 defensive formation and the flex defense made famous by his Cowboys teams. The United States Army veteran also had 20 consecutive winning seasons.
Under his leadership, the Cowboys made it to 10-of-13 NFC Championship games from 1970 to 1982. Landry won two Super Bowls with the Cowboys and was the 1966 NFL Coach of the Year. He became a Hall of Famer in 1990 and had a career coaching record of 270-178-6. His coaching tree includes Dick Nolan, Dan Reeves, Mike Ditka, Raymond Berry, and Ron Meyer.
7. George Halas
“Papa Bear” already deserves to be on this list for being one of the founding American Professional Football Association members, eventually becoming the National Football League. But his achievements make him one of the league’s all-time best coaches. He coached the Chicago Bears and its previous iterations for 40 seasons and won AP NFL Coach of the Year honors twice.
Halas has eight NFL championships under his belt, winning at least one in four separate decades. That distinction includes four from 1940 to 1946. He became one of the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees in 1963 and had a career coaching record of 324-151-31. Halas only had six losing seasons throughout his career.
6. Paul Brown
Putting aside his awards and records for now, Brown deserves to be on this list because of his innovations in football operations. Aside from being the first coach to use film in scouting, he also hired full-time assistants and created the practice squad. Brown also discovered the draw play by accident with the help of Otto Graham and Marion Motley.
He helped expand the NFL as the founder of the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals. But his legacy also includes three NFL championships and one AP NFL Coach of the Year award. Brown also has four championships from the All-America Football Conference and has a career coaching record of 159-80-5. Brown became a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1967.
5. Joe Gibbs
Younger sports fans and motor racing enthusiasts in particular might know him as the owner of the NASCAR-competing team. But before he became a legend on the tracks, Gibbs became an accomplished NFL head coach with the then-Washington Redskins. In his second stint with the franchise, Gibbs led the team to two Wild Card berths in four years.
However, it was his first run with the Redskins that made him a coaching legend. He won three Super Bowl titles with three different starting quarterbacks (Joe Theismann, Doug Williams, and Mark Rypien). Gibbs also has two NFL Coach of the Year awards and has a career record of 171-101. He is the only individual to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and NASCAR Hall of Fame.
4. Don Shula
Shula holds the record for most career victories at 347. He had 33 years of NFL head coaching experience, seven of which were with the Baltimore Colts. But it was with the Miami Dolphins that this John Carroll alumnus stamped his class over the opposition. He won two Super Bowls with the squad, including a perfect 17-0 season in 1972.
He won four AP NFL Coach of the Year awards and also won an NFL championship in 1968. Shula only had two losing records in 33 seasons. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997 and was the first coach to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls. Shula has a career coaching record of 347-173-6.
3. Bill Walsh
Walsh was the head coach of the Stanford Cardinal before taking over the San Francisco 49ers. He turned the Niners into an elite franchise, leading them to three Super Bowl titles in the 1980s. He was also the 1981 NFL Coach of the Year and two-time 101 Awards NFC Coach of the Year. The San Jose State alumnus is also a member of the 1980s All-Decade Team and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Beyond his achievements, Walsh’s NFL legacy won’t wither because of the West Coast offense, which prioritizes passing more than running. He devised the system when he was the Bengals’ quarterbacks coach and brought it to San Francisco. Walsh has an NFL career coaching record of 102-63-1 and became a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1993.
2. Vince Lombardi
Lombardi deserves to have the Super Bowl championship trophy named after him because of his lasting impact with the Green Bay Packers. He led that team to two Super Bowl titles and five NFL championships, including three straight from 1965 to 1967. Lombardi also took home NFL Coach of the Year honors twice. He additionally served as general manager during his years with the Packers and in 1968 for the Redskins.
Lombardi was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970 after his untimely death. He racked up a career coaching record of 105-35-6. Beyond the records and accolades, he was also a staunch advocate against the league’s color barrier. He fielded the Packers’ best players regardless of race and would banish players, coaches, or personnel who demonstrated racism.
1. Bill Belichick
Belichick is the only active NFL head coach on this list. But it’s hard to beat his accomplishments with the New England Patriots. He guided the team to six Super Bowl titles, the most in the league. Belichick also holds the record for most Super Bowl appearances as a head coach with nine. The Patriots also made 13 appearances in the AFC Championship Game under his leadership.
The Wesleyan alumnus also led the Browns to one playoff appearance in four seasons. Belichick is a three-time NFL Coach of the Year and a member of the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. The Pro Football Writers Association also named him Executive of the Year in 2021. As of the 2022 NFL season, he has a coaching record of 329-165.
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