RANKING EVERY 2023 NFC HEAD COACH

BY ADAM GREENE

As I wrote in my AFC Head Coaches article, my criteria for picking the best head coach in each conference is simple. If my team’s current head coach retired and every other head coach in the league was available, who would I want them to hire?

And that’s it. Here’s the NFC list.

1. SEAN MCVAY, LOS ANGELES RAMS

Record: 60-38

Playoff Record: 7-3

Super Bowl Titles: 1

Conference Titles: 2

Coach of the Year Odds: +4000

Regardless of the 5-12 finish last season, the first losing campaign of McVay’s short career, he remains the gold standard in the NFC and one of the Top 2/3 head coaches in the NFL. No other coach in the NFC has a higher playoff winning percentage than McVay and in the four times his teams got to the postseason, they’ve made it to the Super Bowl twice. Only Pete Carroll, in the NFC, can match McVay’s Super Bowl record and he’s just one of three head coaches in this conference to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy. His coaching tree is dominating the NFL, with Zac Taylor, Matt LaFleur, Kevin O’Connell and Brandon Staley all getting their jobs after coaching under McVay.

2. KYLE SHANAHAN, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

Record: 52-46

Playoff Record: 6-3

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 1

Coach of the Year Odds: +2800

While Shanahan has yet to hoist a Lombardi as a head coach, he’s taken his team to the Super Bowl once and made the NFC Championship game in three of his five seasons at the helm. He also has a significant, head-to-head, advantage over McVay, which is a pretty big deal as the Rams, 49ers and Eagles are three of the four teams to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl since the 2017-18 season. Shanahan has some QB issues to solve with San Fran this season, but lucky for him he’s developed an offensive scheme that doesn’t require elite quarterback play to be successful.

3. NICK SIRIANNI, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Record: 23-11

Playoff Record: 2-2

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 1

Coach of the Year Odds: +5000

Nick Sirianni is currently on the Sean McVay track. He got his team in the playoffs as a surprise team in his first season, then made it all the way to the Super Bowl and lost in his second. What happens now will determine how much higher on this list Sirianni can go. Philadelphia remains loaded, and the only team in the NFL that can compare to them, roster-wise, is coached by the guy ranked right above him. The Eagles are the favorites to win the NFC and make it back to the Super Bowl this season and should be.

4. BRIAN DABOLL, NEW YORK GIANTS

Record: 9-7-1

Playoff Record: 1-1

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 0

Coach of the Year Odds: +5000

The dust hasn’t even settled on the Coach of the Year Award in Daboll’s mancave and here he is, already considered a Top 5 head coach in his conference. Daboll not only flipped the script on the Giants as a franchise, once they got into the playoffs, they won. And they beat a team with a superior roster in the Minnesota Vikings, playing at home, in front of some of the loudest fans in the league.

5. KEVIN O’CONNELL, MINNESOTA VIKINGS

Record: 13-4

Playoff Record: 0-1

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 0

Coach of the Year Odds: +3300

Speaking of the Vikings, in his first season in command of the Minnesota Skols, O’Connell unleashed one of the best offenses in the NFL and finished with 13 wins. The knock? That playoff loss to Daboll’s Giants when Minny should have had them overmatched, roster-wise, from the opening whistle. Since the Netflix Quarterback show debuted, we all love Kirk Cousins now, but his issues with Prime Time and Playoff games remain. And, really, the only thing O’Connell can do to fix that is draft and develop another quarterback.

6. MATT LAFLEUR, GREEN BAY PACKERS

Record: 47-19

Playoff Record: 2-3

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 0

Coach of the Year Odds: +1100

LaFleur has the highest winning percentage of any active head coach in the NFL and is currently ranked No. 5 all-time on that same list. It’s quite the accomplishment, but one LaFleur has not translated to playoff success. And for his last four seasons he’s had Aaron Rodgers. That won’t be the case this time, so LaFleur will not remain at this spot next season. He’ll either rise of the list, proving he can coach a winning franchise with Jordan Love at quarterback or he’ll move down, if the Packers faceplant as many of us expect.

7. PETE CARROLL, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Record: 161-112-1

Playoff Record: 11-11

Super Bowl Titles: 1

Conference Titles: 2

Coach of the Year Odds: +2500

Before the Seahawks play their second game of the season, Pete Carroll will be 72 years old. At an age when most of us are testing out fresh New Balance mowing shoes and picking out a vest to greet people walking into Walmart, Carroll remains at the top of the coaching game. Last season, willing Seattle to the playoffs in a year where they should have been vying for the No. 1 pick, probably deserved some serious Coach of the Year consideration. It was a real vindication for Carroll, who watched his former quarterback fall headfirst into a pile of manure in Denver while Carroll had his team playing in the second half of January. How much longer can Carroll go? No idea, but he’ll apparently be the one to decide when he steps down.

8. DAN CAMPBELL, DETROIT LIONS

Record: 17-28-1

Playoff Record: 0-0

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 0

Coach of the Year Odds: +1600

Everybody loves Dan Campbell and we, as a civilization, are all hoping the Lions work their way into the postseason this year. They should have broken that seal last season and would have, if not for the worst refereeing job in the NFL in Rams vs Seahawks game in Week 18. It was so bad, the NFL had to publicly acknowledge it the next day. Detroit can make up for it this year and, if Campbell can claim an NFC North title in the process, he could easily land the Coach of the Year trophy.

9. RON RIVERA, WASHINGTON COMMANDERS

Record: 98-90-2

Playoff Record: 3-5

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 1

Coach of the Year Odds: +2500

Ron Rivera has yet to coach a good team in Washington and worked for not only the worst owner in the NFL, but probably the worst owner in professional sports. Still, he’s never led the Commanders to less than seven wins in a regular season, in spite of one of the worst quarterback situations in the league, and even got them to the playoffs in his first season on the sideline. That’s not going to change this season and the tank is on in Washington, but the Commanders new ownership would be fools to fire him. Let him pick his quarterback and build a team, with these owners, where players want to play.

10. FRANK REICH, CAROLINA PANTHERS

Record: 40-33-1

Playoff Record: 1-2

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 0

Coach of the Year Odds: +2500

There was a thought out there, after Frank Reich was relieved of his duties midway through last season, that he might take a year off, work as an offensive coordinator for a team, then make his triumphant return in 2024. Instead, the Carolina Panthers called and Reich immediately answered. Reich is a better coach than the man Indy fired in 2022, but you need a quarterback to win in the NFL and after Andrew Luck retired, Reich just couldn’t find a band aid to cover that up. That won’t be the issue in Carolina with Bryce Young, so it’ll be fun to see how far up this list Reich goes with his new potential franchise quarterback.

11. JONATHAN GANNON, ARIZONA CARDINALS

Record: 0-0

Playoff Record: 0-0

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 0

Coach of the Year Odds: +5000

Why do I rank Jonathan Gannon above other men who’ve coached in the league? Because he was a Super Bowl defensive coordinator and nearly won the game. Frankly, you can’t hold it against him that he didn’t, since he was matching wits with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. The Cardinals, like the Commanders, are in the tank this season and expectations are beneath the floor, so there’s no chance he’ll move up the list. But next year, with a healthy Kyler Murray (or Caleb Williams?) it’ll be interesting to see what he can do.

12. MATT EBERFLUS, CHICAGO BEARS

Record: 3-14

Playoff Record: 0-0

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 0

Coach of the Year Odds: +1400

While there are no expectations for Gannon and the Cardinals, there are plenty for the Chicago Bears. I don’t feel good about it. Eberflus and the Bears could be significantly better this season and still just win six games. I like what I saw out of the first-year head coach a year ago, especially as he allowed Justin Fields and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy develop an offense that uses the young QBs talents. What will bump him up the list? Winning eight games. I just can’t see it happening.

13. ARTHUR SMITH, ATLANTA FALCONS

Record: 14-20

Playoff Record: 0-0

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 0

Coach of the Year Odds: +800

Smith is actually the favorite in the Coach of the Year odds for reasons I don’t understand. He’s yet to lead the team to a winning record in an NFC South division that did not have a single team finish with a winning record last year. I like Bijan Robinson as much as anybody, but I don’t think he’s going to push this team to double-digit wins and a division title. Not only do I not think Smith should be the favorite for Coach of the Year, I think he might be the first head coach fired.

14. MIKE MCCARTHY, DALLAS COWBOYS

Record: 155-97-2

Playoff Record: 11-10

Super Bowl Titles: 1

Conference Titles: 1

Coach of the Year Odds: +3300

Of all the dumb things that Jerry Jones has done, including replacing his face with a handful of melted Ken dolls, hiring Mike McCarthy to coach a team this talented remains the dumbest. Especially when Ron Rivera was available at the same time it was obvious Dallas would be making a coaching change. Yes, McCarthy won a Super Bowl, but I feel that had a lot more to do with fielding one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history and very little to do with McCarthy, a man that same QB, Aaron Rodgers, once said had the least football knowledge of any human he’d ever worked with. The sooner that Jones gives McCarthy the boot, the better the Cowboys will be.

15. DENNIS ALLEN, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Record: 15-38

Playoff Record: 0-0

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 0

Coach of the Year Odds: +1500

No one was excited to hear Dennis Allen named as the successor to Sean Payton and nothing last year changed that opinion. The stage is set now, in New Orleans, for what should be an NFC South title. Yes, that will come with a quick playoff exit in the Wild Card round to the Lions, Rams, 49ers or Cowboys, but it’s there for the taking. If he doesn’t get into the postseason, Allen will be looking for a new job while still suffering from his New Year’s hangover.

16. TODD BOWLES, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

Record: 34-50

Playoff Record: 0-1

Super Bowl Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 0

Coach of the Year Odds: +7500

Fun fact: There are two head coaches currently tied atop the odds as the first head coach fired. And those two men are Mike McCarthy and Todd Bowles. Both Bowles and McCarthy are +600 to find their way into the unemployment line by season’s end and, I have to be honest, they’re both pretty good bets. Bowles could not have been worse last season, wasting Tom Brady’s final year under center with a forgettable 8-9 campaign. Bowles is a fine defensive coordinator and that’s nothing to be ashamed about. Not everyone is cut out to be a head coach. The only thing that could save him in 2023 is that no one, and I mean not a single person on the planet, expects anything good out of Tampa Bay this year.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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