About NFL Coaches

The coaches in the National Football League are under intense pressure to win, with impatient fans and team owners unwilling in most cases to grant them any leeway. NFL coaches often learn their craft under a mentor and then earn a shot at a head-coaching job. Some of the most successful NFL coaches over the decades include the likes of George Halas, Paul Brown, Bill Belichick, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, Bill Parcells, Vince Lombardi and Don Shula.

  1. Significance

    • Any discussion of NFL coaches begins with Vince Lombardi, the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s. Under Lombardi, the Packers turned from a laughing stock into a powerhouse, winning a total of five NFL titles, including the first two Super Bowls. Lombardi's record in his ten seasons as an NFL coach was 96-34-6, with an incredible 9-1 record in the post-season. Lombardi had a reputation as a stern disciplinarian and great motivator of players. The winner of the Super Bowl receives a trophy named after him.

    Size

    • As of 2008, the man with the most wins as an NFL coach is Don Shula, who recorded a total of 328 triumphs in his 33 years as coach of the Baltimore Colts and then Miami Dolphins--with 19 more wins in the playoffs. Shula also won a pair of titles, including an undefeated season in 1972. George Halas, the long-time coach of the Chicago Bears, is second on the all-time coaching victories list with his 318 wins over 40 seasons.

    Effects

    • The NFL has had a history of coaches learning under other head coaches and then getting their own shot at running a team. This began in the 1950s, as NFL teams began adding more coaches to their staffs, eventually leading to the term "coaching tree." These coaches would run a specific part of the team before finally being recognized for their skills and moving on to other teams as the head man. For example, the New York Giants had a head coach named Jim Lee Howell, who had as his assistants in the late 1950s men such as Lombardi and Tom Landry. Lombardi went to the Packers and Landry was the Dallas Cowboys' highly successful coach for over two decades. An example of a NFL coaching tree would be one with former Giants, Jets, Patriots and Cowboys coach Bill Parcells at the top, with assistants such as Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, Sean Payton and Tony Sparano having served under him and gotten their own head-coaching chances. These men have had assistants that worked under them that went on to garner NFL head-coaching positions.

    Considerations

    • Some NFL coaches had highly successful runs with their teams but failed to win a title. The Minnesota Vikings' coach for many years, Bud Grant, had a regular season record of 158-96-5 over 18 seasons and went to four Super Bowls, but lost them all. Dan Reeves, who coached the Broncos and Falcons, won almost 200 games but lost in the title game four times as well. Marty Schottenheimer led teams such as the Browns and Chargers to the playoffs year after year and accumulated exactly 200 regular season wins, but had a 5-13 mark in 18 playoff contests and never won a championship.

    Expert Insight

    • Of all the NFL coaches that have won at least 100 games the one with the best winning percentage, as of 2008, is John Madden. Madden had a ten-year period from 1969 to 1978 when he went 103-32-7 for the Oakland Raiders--a winning percentage of .763. The most losses by any NFL coach belong to Dan Reeves, who lost 165 contests as opposed to 190 wins. By far, the most ties as a coach goes to George Halas; his Bears were involved in 31 deadlocks.