Now that Week 9 has been wrapped up with a Jets-Chargers showdown on Monday Night Football, let’s take a look around the league and rank how every team’s head coach has stood up to his peers.
32. Arizona Cardinals Jonathan Gannon (Last Week #31)
Things are starting to get ugly for Jonathan Gannon and the Cardinals. His decision to move away from Joshua Dobbs has already been a nightmare based on what we’ve seen from Clayton Tune in one start.
31. New York Giants Brian Daboll (Last Week #25)
Some of the Giants issues have been out of Daboll’s control, but their second-year head coach continues to make questionable decisions. Like having their quarterback, who is fresh off a neck injury QB sneak.
Beyond that—when you lose to a first-time coach on a short week the way Daboll and New York did to Antonio Pierce and the Raiders—the bottom of the rankings is where you belong.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Todd Bowles (Last Week #26)
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The Buccaneers actually have a fairly solid squad talent-wise; the problem continues to be coaching. They always end up looking disorganized and out of system at critical points in the game—and that falls back on Bowles.
29. Carolina Panthers Frank Reich (Last Week #27)
Whelp, the thrill of victory was short-lived for Panthers fans. Frank Reich was back to his losing ways this week, as his Panthers laid an egg against the Colts scoring 13 points and looked completely out of sorts on offense.
28. Los Angeles Rams Sean McVay (Last Week #18)
The chips were stacked against McVay this week with Stafford out, but things have really started to unravel for him this year in L.A.
27. Washington Commanders Ron Rivera (Last Week #30)
This was a big week for Ron Rivera, considering his team could’ve very easily quit on him this week after trades the front office made ahead of the deadline. Credit to ‘ol River Boat Ron for getting his guys rallied up and back in the win column.
26. Chicago Bears Matt Eberflus (Last Week #24)
Yes, he still has Tyson Bagent under center, but this week was another poor showing from Eberflus. The Bears often look like a college team amongst pros.
25. Green Bay Packers Matt LaFleur (Last Week #32)
Matt LeFleur certainly hasn’t done much to prove his worth as a coach without Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback this year, but Week 9 was at least a step in the right direction as his team was able to play competent enough football to knock off the Bears.
24. Los Angeles Chargers Brandon Staley (Last Week #29)
The Chargers definitely didn’t play the cleanest game of football this week, despite the win, but were mostly the beneficiaries of gross incompetence from the Jets offense. And for Staley that is a big improvement.
23. New England Patriots Bill Belichick (Last Week #23)
New England looked okay this week, albeit in a loss to the Commanders, who just traded two of their best defensive players at the deadline—I might add. Let’s face it, this team and maybe even, this coach, is cooked.
22. Las Vegas Raiders Antonio Pierce (Last Week N/A)
What a showing from Antonio Pierce in his head coaching debut, as the Raiders blew out his former team, the New York Giants, at home. That said, we will still have to see how he and his team perform on an ongoing basis. We’ve seen one-hit wonders before—a la Jeff Saturday.
21. Atlanta Falcons Arthur Smith (Last Week #15)
This was a tough week for the Falcons. They were unable to contain Joshua Dobbs despite him having only been on the Vikings for a couple of days and hardly knowing any of his teammates’ names.
20. Buffalo Bills Sean McDermott (Last Week #17)
The Bills are still routinely talked about as a serious contender but at some point, they are going to have to start proving that. McDermott was completely outcoached during their most recent loss to the Bengals.
19. Indianapolis Colts Shane Steichen (Last Week #20)
Finally, Indianapolis got back on track this week. Steichen deployed a nice defensive scheme against Carolina that seemed to give Bryce Young trouble in terms of identifying coverages and finding his receivers downfield.
18. Tennessee Titans Mike Vrabel (Last Week #18)
Tennessee may have lost this week, but Vrabel had his guys playing well considering it was Will Levis’s second career start and it came on a short week against the Steelers.
17. BYE Denver Broncos Sean Payton (Last Week #19)
Sean Payton and the Broncos were on bye after a huge win against the Chiefs. Let’s see what the former Super Bowl-winning coach can cook up against Buffalo on Monday Night Football this week.
16. Seattle Seahawks Pete Carroll (Last Week #7)
Pete Carroll has done a really nice job with Seattle this year, but Week 9 was not pretty as the Seahawks were humiliated by the Ravens.
15. Cowboys Mike McCarthy (Last Week #13)
Mike McCarthy had his Cowboys playing great this week against a top-notch Eagles team, but the veteran head coach has to learn how to manage the clock better. Plain and simple.
14. Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin (Last Week #16)
Never count out Mike Tomlin’s Steelers. The veteran coach had his team fired up on the short week to knock off the Titans after a disheartening L to the Jaguars the week prior.
13. Houston Texans DeMeco Ryans (Last Week #21)
What a win for DeMeco Ryans’s young Texans team. Houston looked extremely poised down the stretch in their comeback against Tampa and the first-year head coach deserves a lot of credit for that.
12. New York Jets Robert Saleh (Last Week #4)
Saleh’s defense has continued to play unbelievable football, but as the head coach he has to find a way to make this offense competent. It isn’t just Zach Wilson, the entire unit looks completely disorganized lately.
11. New Orleans Saints Dennis Allen (Last Week #14)
The Saints didn’t look quite as sharp this week, but a win is a win—and if Dennis Allen can keep New Orleans doing that—they’ll have a strong chance at making the postseason in an unimpressive NFC South.
10. BYE San Francisco 49ers Kyle Shanahan (Last Week #1)
The bye couldn’t have come at a better time for Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers. San Fran retooled at the deadline and it will be interesting to see what he has cooked up for their return to action against the Jaguars Week 10.
8. Miami Dolphins Mike McDaniel (Last Week #12)
There’s always a chance for some chaos when a team has to fly across the pond for a game, but I’d have liked to see McDaniel get his squad off to a better start against a tough Chiefs side. He looked overmatched by Andy Reid in this one throughout most of the contest.
8. Minnesota Vikings Kevin O'Connell (Last Week #13)
Kevin O’Connell pulled off a master class in motivation this week, leading the Vikings to victory against the Falcons despite them being down to their third quarterback mid-game.
7. BYE Detroit Lions Dan Campbell (Last Week #10)
Lions were on bye this week, but there is no denying that Dan Campbell has done a fantastic job leading this squad all season long. They are set to travel west to face the Chargers Week 10.
6. Cleveland Browns Kevin Stefanski (Last Week #9)
Kevin Stefanski’s defensive unit looked dominant again this week, shutting out the admittedly weak Cardinals in embarrassing fashion. He’ll have to find a way to keep Cleveland winning because the AFC North is as competitive as they come this year.
5. Cincinnati Bengals Zac Taylor (Last Week #6)
Zac Taylor deserves a ton of credit for keeping this Bengals team relevant while they got healthy early in the season. Now, every button he’s pushing seems to be working, as evidenced by their convincing win over Buffalo this week.
4. Kansas City Chiefs Andy Reid (Last Week #5)
The Chiefs offense still needs some work, but it is hard to argue with the result of this Andy Reid-led team.
3. BYE Jacksonville Jaguars Doug Pederson (Last Week #2)
Doug Pederson slid back one spot while his team was on the bye, but he’ll have ample opportunity to prove otherwise next week as the Jaguars are set to square off with the 49ers at home.
2. Baltimore Ravens John Harbaugh (Last Week #3)
Another huge win for Harbaugh and the Raiders as they decimated a contending Seahawks team this week.
1. Philadelphia Eagles Nick Sirianni (Last Week #2)
Sirianni has the Eagles humming this year, but he needs to be more on top of their late-game situational awareness going forward, as Philly almost handed that game straight back to Dallas down the stretch.
