Leadership Lessons From Ranking The NFL’s Top 25 Coaches

 

There is no sport where leadership matters more than professional football.  With the season opening in the next two weeks, Xfinity Sports recently ranked the top coaches in the league.  First-year coaches were not included.

Whether you lead a sports team, business, church, non-profit, or some other type of organization, I wanted to make this list available because of the leadership lessons we can glean about what separates winning from losing.  Xfinity’s comments are in parenthesis.   For some coaches, I will provide additional comments.  Also, click on the hotlinks to read more about coaches I have written about previously.

1. Strategic Planning – New England Patriots Bill Belichick – “Easy choice. He’s the best game-planner year after year.”
2. Creativity – New Orleans Saints Sean Payton - “Offensive mastermind has overseen the top-ranked offense in the NFL three of the six years he’s been in New Orleans — and never have they ever been out of the top six.”
3. People Skills – Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin – “There may be no better manager of men in the business.”
4. Stability – Philadelphia Eagles Andy Reid – “He’s good for a playoff appearance two out of every three years. Only thing lacking from his resume is a Super Bowl.”
5. Winning – Green Bay Packers Mike McCarthy - “Sneaks into top five with a Super Bowl win.”  Sneaks!!!  Are you kidding me?
6. Maximizes Talent – New York Giants Tom Coughlin - “Always seems to get the most out of his teams.”
7. Results – New York Jets Rex Ryan – “He may be loud, boisterous and obnoxious, but the man can coach. Two AFC championship games in two years is indisputable.”
8. Courage – Baltimore Ravens John Harbaugh - “Love his stern command of the locker room.”
9. Washington Redskins Mike Shanahan – “It’s hard to imagine a two-time Super Bowl winner barely making the Top 10, but he has failed to make the playoffs in his last four seasons as a head coach.”  I disagree with this selection because of Shanahan’s record without John Elway.
10. 2nd Tier Leadership – Baltimore Colts Jim Caldwell – “It helps to have Peyton Manning co-coaching the team.”  See Mike Shanahan.
11. Potential – Tampa Bay Buccaneers Raheem Morris – “He was great at proving the doubters wrong in his first year in Tampa. Let’s see how good he is now at managing expectations.”  Rated about four spots too high at this point. 
12. Activity vs Accomplishment – Atlanta Falcons Mike Smith – “He’s 33-15 in the regular season. Excellent. But 0-2 in the postseason.”
13. Respect – Denver Broncos John Fox – “He’s had some good seasons, and would have a Super Bowl if not for Tom Brady.”
14. Consistency – Arizona Cardinals Ken Whisenhunt – “There’s been some good and some really bad in his four years in Arizona. Great coaches don’t have that much bad.”
15. Longevity – St Louis Rams Steve Spagnuolo – “Spags has a long way to go before proving he’s a legitimate head coach.”
16. Positive Change – Kansas City Chiefs Todd Haley – “Haley has done well turning around the Chiefs in two seasons.”
17. Seattle Seahawks Pete Carroll – “As a college coach, he’s among the best ever. As an NFL coach, he’s average, as evidenced by a 40-40 career record.”
18. Overcoming Adversity – Chicago Bears Lovie Smith – “His in-game moves are questionable at best.”  Completely disagree with this ranking.  I have Coach Smith rated #9.  He went to a Super Bowl with Rex Grossman at QB.  He went to last year’s NFC Championship with Jay Cutler.  This guy can coach.
19. Miami Dolphins Tony Sparano – “The Dolphins would have fired him if Jim Harbaugh didn’t rebuff their offers.”  Should have been rated #25.
20. Talent Matters – Detroit Lions Jim Schwartz  – “He could make a huge jump by this time next year. His energy is infectious.”
21. Character – Cincinnati Bengals Marvin Lewis – “Eight years and just two winning seasons. Lewis also has knack for compounding losses by taking shots at his players in the media.”
22. Play To Your Strengths – Jacksonville Jaguars Jack Del Rio - “Maybe the worst current game manager in the NFL.”  This list is supposed to rank coaches, not GMs.  Still, this is a lesson on how to prioritize your time and efforts.
23. Houston Texans Gary Kubiak – “His teams consistently underachieve.”
24. Buffalo Bills Chan Gailey – “There’s a reason he went 11 years between NFL head coaching jobs.”
25. Wasting Opportunity – San Diego Chargers Norv Turner – “Has wasted tons of talent in San Diego.”

Leaders, what did you learn from this list?  Anything you need to work on?

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