When you think of the greatest NFL head coaches who never won a ring, a few names immediately jump out: Marv Levy, Bud Grant, Marty Schottenheimer, George Allen, and Paul Brown, among others.
On the bright side, some of the NFL’s best head coaches that never won a Super Bowl actually won it all as a player way-back-when. And if some were lucky, they were in the exclusive club of guys who won a ring as a player AND LATER a coach.
So without further ado, let’s dive into 10 NFL coaches you have no idea actually won a Super Bowl ring as a player.
Ron Rivera
Few NFL coaches have gone through more postseason heartbreak without a ring than “Riverboat Ron.” He was the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears’ team that lost to the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl 41.
Rivera spent one year as the linebackers coach for the San Diego Chargers in 2007, where they fell to the mighty New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. And of course, Rivera was the head coach for the Carolina Panthers from 2011 to 2019 — which included a tough loss to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.
Rivera is an easy guy to root for, and it’s a darn shame he’s yet to win a ring as a head coach or assistant. But cry not, Riverboat Ron admirers, because the man actually won football’s ultimate prize decades ago.
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Rivera spent his entire playing career with the Bears, which spanned from 1984 to 1992. He was a linebacker and special teams player, winning a championship ring on the legendary ‘85 Bears team that crushed the Patriots in Super Bowl 20.
Tony Dungy
In Dungy’s 13 seasons as an NFL head coach, his team only missed the postseason on two occasions.
Dungy turned the longtime struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers into a juggernaut in 1997 — his second year on the job. Even though he was dismissed after the 2001 season, Dungy’s fingerprints — not Jon Gruden’s — were all over the 2002 Buccaneers’ team that won Super Bowl 37. Pure and simple.
Dungy took over as the Indianapolis Colts’ head coach in 2002, forming a dream combo with the great Peyton Manning. In his fifth year with the Colts, Dungy led the franchise to a Super Bowl 41 championship — his lone ring as a coach.
Now trivia time: Guess which team Dungy won a Super Bowl ring with decades before climbing the mountain top as a coach?
That would be the Pittsburgh Steelers, who signed the ex-Minnesota defensive back as an undrafted free agent in 1977. A year later, Dungy emerged as a star in the “Steel Curtain” defense and helped the Steelers to a Super Bowl 13 championship in his sophomore season.
Dungy spent the 1979 season with the San Francisco 49ers but ultimately decided to retire in 1980. He joined the Steelers’ coaching staff as an assistant in 1981 and waited 25 long years to complete the special feat of winning a ring as both a player and a coach.
Jeff Fisher
Fisher is one of the most highly-scrutinized head coaches in NFL history, and understandably so. Nobody can understand how Rams ownership became infatuated with the master of 7-and-9 seasons — keeping Fisher for five years before finally cutting ties with him late in the 2016 season.
But for you kids who are too young to remember, Fisher was among the NFL’s top head coaches during his run with the Tennessee Titans. He coached Tennessee to six playoff appearances, including a trip to Super Bowl 34 that culminated in a heartbreaking loss to Kurt Warner’s St. Louis Rams.
Fisher is among the rare group of head coaches with at least 150 wins who never won a Super Bowl. On the bright side, he did capture football’s ultimate prize with Ron Rivera and those very ‘85 Chicago Bears.
Fisher was a defensive back and special teams returner for the Bears, but a gruesome leg fracture suffered in the 1983 season cut his career short. Fisher remained on the Bears’ roster despite not playing a game in 1985, winning a ring on Mike Ditka’s legendary squad.
Immediately after his playing career, Fisher went into coaching and started out as the Philadelphia Eagles ‘defensive backs coach in 1986.
Leslie Frazier
Frazier’s tenure as a football coach spans nearly 40 years, beginning with a nine-year run as the Trinity International University head coach from 1988 to ‘96.
Frazier got his first big break in the NFL when he served as the Eagles’ defensive backs coach under Andy Reid. Frazier has since bounced around aplenty in the league, most notably as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2011 to 2013 and as the Buffalo Bills’ DC from 2017 to 2022.
Frazier was also a defensive assistant under Tony Dungy on the aforementioned 2006 Colts team that won Super Bowl 41. But that was NOT Frazier’s first Super Bowl championship ring, folks. It came 21 years earlier.
Frazier signed with the Chicago Bears in 1981 as an undrafted free agent and stood out as a defensive back and special teams returner under Mike Ditka. Sadly, Frazier suffered a scary knee injury in Super Bowl 20 against the Patriots that abruptly ended his career.
Frazier did at least get to go out as champion, winning a ring alongside future NFL coaches in Mr. Fisher and Mr. Rivera. Man, what a stacked team that Bears squad was in terms of Hall of Fame talent and pure football IQ.
Kliff Kingsbury
Three years after using a sixth-round pick on future NFL GOAT Tom Brady, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick used his 2003 sixth-round pick on another QB in Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury.
Unfortunately, an arm injury sidelined Kingsbury for his entire 2003 season, preventing him from winning the Patriots’ backup job. Though he didn’t get to play a single snap, Kingsbury was awarded a Super Bowl 38 ring after the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers in the big dance.
Kingsbury bounced around the NFL on several practice squads before giving the CFL a shot. When that didn’t work out, Kingsbury started out his coaching career as an assistant on the Houston Cougars in 2008.
Kingsbury landed the Texas Tech Red Raiders’ head coaching job in 2013, mentoring future NFL superstar and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Kingsbury’s success there led to him earning the Arizona Cardinals’ head coaching position in 2019 — pairing Kingsbury with first overall pick Kyler Murray.
Kingsbury compiled a disappointing 28-37-1 record over his four seasons as Arizona’s head coach – featuring only one playoff appearance. After getting fired by Arizona, he went to USC to serve as an offensive assistant under Lincoln Riley.
Hey, whatever happens to Kingsbury from here on out as a coach — he can take comfort in knowing that he climbed football’s mountaintop as a 24-year-old back in 2003. Most NFL coaches and players can’t say they did that.
Todd Bowles
Long before he started up a stellar coaching career that has lasted almost three decades now, Bowles was a standout defensive back for Joe Gibbs’ powerhouse Washington NFL franchise.
Bowles signed with Washington as an undrafted free agent out of Temple in 1986 and converted from cornerback to safety. By his second year, Bowles was a starter on Washington’s star-studded defense.
Bowles helped Washington to a Super Bowl 22 blowout win over John Elway and the Denver Broncos by a final score of 42-10. That would be the second of three Super Bowls for Washington in the Gibbs-led dynasty.
Bowles wrapped up his playing career in 1993 and moved into the Green Bay Packers’ front office, working under legendary executive Ron Wolf. Bowles would win his second Super Bowl ring as a player personnel staffer with the Packers in the 1996 season.
Bowles landed his first NFL coaching job in 2000, serving as the New York Jets’ secondary coach. Bowles finished the 2011 season as the Miami Dolphins’ interim head coach and later got the head gig with the Jets in 2015.
Bowles would win his first Super Bowl ring as a coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 — where he served as the defensive coordinator under head coach Bruce Arians. In 2022, Bowles was promoted to the Bucs’ head coaching position following Arians’ retirement.
Dan Reeves
As a player and coach, the late Dan Reeves appeared in nine Super Bowls. Four of those were as a head coach — all of which culminated in losses.
Reeves was the head coach of the Denver Broncos from 1981 to ‘92, overseeing John Elway’s rise to greatness. Unfortunately, those Broncos never got over the hump and lost all three of their Super Bowl appearances under Reeves’ leadership.
Reeves later coached the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons. He led Atlanta to a surprise Super Bowl 33 appearance in 1998 — where they lost to none other than Mr. Elway and the Broncos.
Fear not for Reeves though, folks. Long before his Super Bowl heartbreak as a coach piled up, Reeves already had two championship rings in his back pocket.
Reeves won his first Super Bowl ring as a standout running back on the Dallas Cowboys under legendary head coach Tom Landry. The Cowboys crushed the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl 6 to secure the franchise’s first ever Lombardi Trophy.
Reeves’ playing career ended after the 1972 season, and he moved into an assistant coach role under Landry in 1974. Reeves would win his lone ring as a coach as Landry’s assistant in Super Bowl 12 — where the Cowboys crushed the Broncos.
He never got over the Super Bowl roadblock as a head coach, but two rings as a player slash assistant is certainly nothing to be sad about, either.
Tom Flores
Long before his illustrious Hall of Fame coaching career, Flores was a star quarterback for the Oakland Raiders in the AFL. He was a one-time All-Star who led the AFL in passer rating and completion percentage during the 1960 season.
Flores split his final season as a pro football quarterback in 1969 with the Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
It was with the Chiefs where Flores would ring a Super Bowl 4 ring as a backup to Kansas City legend Len Dawson. From the sidelines, Flores watched KC upset the powerhouse Minnesota Vikings 23-7 — in a game where the Chiefs entered as giant 13.5-point underdogs.
This would also just be the first of four Super Bowl rings for Flores. He would win his first as a coach — and second overall — as the wide receivers coach under John Madden in the 1976 season — when Oakland beat Minnesota in Super Bowl 11.
Flores succeeded Madden as the head coach of the silver and black in 1979, coaching the Raiders to Super Bowl 15 and 18 championships.
Player, assistant or head coach — Flores was born to be a winner, alright.
Mike Ditka
Everyone knows that “Iron Mike” was the head coach of the ‘85 Bears team that cakewalked their way to a Super Bowl 20 championship.
And many of you also know that Ditka is one of the greatest tight ends to ever live — earning five Pro Bowl nods and two first-team all-pro selections — all with the Bears. Ditka also helped the Bears to a 1963 NFL Championship Game victory over the New York Giants.
Most of you probably had no idea that Ditka actually played his final four years for the Cowboys in 1969 to ‘72. Not that we blame you, because he was way past his prime at that point — not to mention that everybody simply synonymizes Iron Mike with the Bears.
Well folks, Ditka was actually on the aforementioned Cowboys team that won Super Bowl 6 — along with future head coach Dan Reeves. Ditka had two receptions for 28 yards in that game — including a seven-yard TD reception from Roger Staubach that iced the game in the fourth quarter.
Ditka remained with the Cowboys after his playing career as an assistant coach and special teams coordinator under Landry. Ditka won his first ring as a coach when Dallas defeated Denver in Super Bowl 12.
He finally won lucky No. 3 as head coach of the Bears in 1985 — cementing himself as one of the NFL’s all-time greats.
Doug Pederson
Pederson asserted his place in NFL lore when he coached the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl 52 championship with backup quarterback Nick Foles in the 2017 season.
For those who were curious as to why Pederson looked so casual and calm after his Eagles stunned the Patriots for the franchise’s first Super Bowl? We have a theory. The theory is simple: Perhaps it’s because Pederson had already been there, done that.
You see folks, the former Northeast Louisiana star was once a journeyman NFL backup quarterback who had stints with the Dolphins, Packers, Panthers, Eagles and Cleveland Browns.
Speaking of those very Packers? Yes, Pederson was a backup to Brett Favre on the ‘96 Packers team that made easy work of the Patriots in Super Bowl 31.
Fast forward 21 years later, and DP made it 2-0 against New England in the Super Bowl. So Eli Manning wasn’t the Patriots’ only Kryptonite in the big game, huh?!
Which other NFL coaches won a Super Bowl ring as a player?
