Rating every Super Bowl coach

Is Andy Reid among the greatest?

Welcome to the MVP Chase, where I look for, or chase, the best objective criteria in determining greatness without personal bias.

Photo credit: Torsten Bolten

Yesterday I ranked every Super Bowl quarterback. Today, I’m ranking every Super Bowl coach.

It is based on winning percentage, conference/league titles, and Super Bowl wins. I break the rankings into four categories:

• Short careers (1–7 years). For one reason or another, the coach did not last long. For instance: Don McCafferty inherited Don Shula’s monster Colts team in 1970 and won a Super Bowl. He was fired less than two years later for refusing to bench aging star Johnny Unitas. He then led the Lions to a 6–7–1 record before dying of a heart attack. Others in this group may have just been poor head coaches who caught lightning in a bottle but whose services were not in demand long after. Also, several active coaches are on this list; it’s no reflection on Zac Taylor that he ranks low now, but he has time to move up.
• Established careers (8–14 years). Coaches who had time to really prove themselves.
• Long careers (15–21 years). These coaches were often entrenched in one team for a long time because they won a lot of games.