Top 15 Head Coaches in the NFL

Here are my top 15 head coaches in the NFL and why I rank them where they are.

15) Dan Campbell (Lions) - When Campbell was named the Lions head coach, he was made fun of for saying his team would fight so hard that they would bite off kneecaps if necessary. The Lions showed immediate progress. By the second year, they blasted onto the scene. The Lions have had terrible injury problems which have prevented them from progressing to the Super Bowl, but Campbell belongs on this list.

14) Kevin Stefanski (Falcons) - Stefanski guided the Browns to a playoff win over the Steelers. He had fair quarterback play at best with Baker Mayfield and did the best he could with a Cleveland team who would have been lost without him.

13) DeMeco Ryans (Texans) - I'm not saying Ryans is an offensive genius, but he is apparently a defensive genius. He rode that defense to being one of the final eight teams alive in the 2025 playoffs. His offense was so bad toward the end of the season that his defense had to carry the team. He pushed the right buttons during that process.

12) Mike McCarthy (Steelers) - McCarthy won a lot of games with the Packers, including a Super Bowl, then he went to the Cowboys and won a lot more despite the meddling of owner Jerry Jones. I see no reason why he can't keep the Steelers competitive.

11) Mike Vrabel (Patriots) - Vrabel took the Titans to great heights without good quarterback play. Now, he's with the Patriots and has a solid, developing quarterback in Drake Maye. When you take a team to the Super Bowl as fast as he did, you're doing a lot of things right. If he could make his personal life decisions as good as his football decisions, he wouldn't be in the mess he's been in with Diana Russini.

10) Jim Harbaugh (Chargers) - Jim Harbaugh has had a lot of success at the NFL level and in college with a national championship at Michigan. He has continued his success with the Chargers. The reason he's not higher on this list is his inability to win a playoff game so far with the Chargers. Let's see if he can get it done with a better offensive line this year.

9) John Harbaugh (Giants) - John Harbaugh has been the epitomy of consistency as long as his quarterback is healthy. He's not been able to elevate his team a ton when Lamar Jackson has not been healthy recently, but his defenses have been very good if not spectacular. He's often regarded more highly than I have him here. After all, he won a Super Bowl years ago. However, he needs to show me that he belongs in the top 5 before I put him there.

8) Mike Macdonald (Seahawks) - Macdonald had a lot of things to go his way in 2025, but it wasn't all smoke and mirrors. The Seattle defense was lights out, and his offense scored a lot of points, too. When you are the defending Super Bowl champion, you are easily in the top 10.

7) Ben Johnson (Bears) - I can hear it now. Draftman Rick, how can you put Johnson this high on the list when he's only been a head coach for a year? Well, the guy is an offensive genius. He proved that with the Lions and with the Bears last year. Add to that the way he relates to his players and his "take no prisoners" approach to coaching, and you have a great head coach.

6) Matt LaFleur (Packers) - LaFleur is another genius on the offensive side of the ball. He knows how to handle tough situations, and he wins a lot of games every year.

5) Kevin O'Connell (Vikings) - I have seen this guy string together win after win after win when he has even decent quarterback play. He was the offensive coordinator for the Rams when they won the Super Bowl in 2021. He's not just an offensive guy. He knows exactly how defenses are structured, how they disguise coverages, and how to systematically break them down.

4) Kyle Shanahan (49ers) - When Shanahan has a reasonably healthy team, he takes teams to the Super Bowl. Even when his teams have massive injuries, they do not fall off of a cliff. He holds them together and gets a much better win-loss record than almost any other head coach could.

3) Sean Payton (Broncos) - Oh yeah, Payton has a ego the size of the Pacific Ocean, but he backs it up. He won a Super Bowl with the Saints. He's good at calling plays, and he knows it. When other head coaches get conservative with a lead, he puts the hammer down and wins the game. He's had some horrible luck in the playoffs that has prevented him from going to more Super Bowls with the most recent being Bo Nix's broken ankle at the end of their playoff game with the Bills last year which, very clearly in my mind, prevented them from beating the Patriots.

2) Andy Reid (Chiefs) - What can I say about Reid that hasn't already been said? He's 4th all-time in coaching wins. He led the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance and a lot of wins, then he came to the Chiefs and has won three Super Bowls so far. He has had some of the most emotional players to ever play in the NFL, but he has been able to hold the teams together and have them succeed at the highest level when almost any other head coach would have had chaos reigning.

1) Sean McVay (Rams) - I just love the guy. He calls the right play at the right time. He's not a robot who goes for every 4th down. He knows the flow of the game, thus he knows when to go for it and when not to go for it. He manages the clock as well as anyone in the NFL. That is a very underrated part of coaching. He won a Super Bowl in 2021. He's still young and ascending. The players love him. The combination of all those traits has him number 1 on my list.

May God always be your number 1 draft pick!

Draftman Rick