15 Greatest Head Coaches in NFL History
Top 15 NFL Coaches of All Time
There are a ton of great coaches in the history of the NFL and, like quarterbacks, they are very hard to rank in order of greatness. That's because everyone has their own way of doing it: overall championships, Super Bowls, win percentage, number of wins, number of winnings seasons, number of playoff appearances, playoff record and the list goes on and on. So we've taken a combination of these things and tired to compile the ultimate list that ranks the greatest coaches in the history of the NFL. It wasn't easy, but we think you'll enjoy.
Our list includes coaches who roamed the sidelines every decade from the 1920s to the 1990s. These fine men include ones from the good old days, when coaches were much more than figure heads and play-callers. Indeed, this list includes several patriarchs of the game and ones who had genuine impacts on the lives of not only their players, but every person in which they came in contact.
Some of the men on our list are so significant in the NFL's history that multiple staples of today's game are named after them. That probable gave some of them away, but if you're a true football fan, you probably can name all the ones on this list anyway. So be sure to let us know how you would rank them by commenting below when you're done!
15. Joe Gibbs
It seemed unlikely at the time, but Joe Gibbs made Redskins Nation forget about George Allen by taking Washington to four Super Bowls, winning three of them. He was already inducted into the Hall of Fame when he came back for a second run in 2004, but it ended pretty quietly. Gibbs finished his career with a record of 154-94.
14. Bill Parcells
Although his legacy is doubted by some, Bill Parcells took four different teams to the playoffs and two of those to the Super Bowl. Parcells won two rings with the Giants and came up short for a third with the Patriots thanks to the heroics of Desmond Howard and Brett Favre. Parcells even resurrected the lowly Cowboys in the early 2000s, although he didn't stick around long afterward.
13. Bud Grant
On the lists of greatest coaches who never won a Super Bowl, Grant is No. 1. However, the fact the never won a ring wasn't for a lack of effort; Grant took the Minnesota Vikings to all four of their franchise's Super Bowl appearances, but came up short each time. Minnesota was nothing before Grant, so to say he's a legend in Vikings history is an understatement.
12. Chuck Noll
His tenure with the Steelers got off to a rough start, but then took one of the most incredible turns in history as Noll led Pittsburgh to four Super Bowls in six years and won all of them. Under Noll, the Steelers became the first NFL team to win back-to-back Super Bowls two different times.
11. Don Shula
It was a tough task taking over for Weeb Ewbank in Baltimore in 1963, but Don Shula recorded a 71-23-4 record with the Colts in seven seasons. However, he didn't win a Super Bowl until he joined the Miami Dolphins in 1970 and then created his legacy by completing the only undefeated season in NFL history and winning two Super Bowls in five appearances. The Dolphins recorded 24 winnings seasons during Shula's 26-year tenure, a feat that helped Shula compile 328 career wins, a mark that will likely never be matched.
10. George Seifert
It's tough following a legend like Bill Walsh, but Seifert made it look easy by bringing two Super Bowls to San Francisco with two different Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Seifert actually topped Walsh in one department: he finished his tenure in San Francisco with NFL's all-time the highest winning percentage with one team.
9. George Halas
Back in the good old days, George Halas was an owner, player and coach of the Chicago Staleys, who later became the Chicago Bears. He remained an owner until his death in 1983, but his coaching tenure from for the better part of a half century resulted in five titles the second-most wins of any NFL coach ever.
8. Bill Walsh
It's hard to believe, but the 49ers were once a cellar dweller NFL team before Bill Walsh arrived in 1979. He led San Francisco to three Super Bowl titles during a span in which the team won double digit games seven times. Walsh is considered a founding father of the West Coast offense, which is still a thieving system in the NFL today.
7. Hank Stram
As the first coach of the AFL's Dallas Texans, Stram won an AFL title in 1962 and then again in 1966 after the team moved to Kansas City and took on its new name: the Chiefs. Stram and KC played in the first Super Bowl against Vince Lombardi's Packers and came up short, but returned two years later to win the franchise's first and only Super Bowl title. Stram stayed in Kansas City for seven more years before spending two forgetful season in New Orleans to finish his career.
6. Tom Landry
Tex Schramm recruited Tom Landry to be the first coach of the Cowboys after a very successful tenure as defensive coordinator of the Giants. Landry coached the Cowboys for 29 seasons, taking the team to five Super Bowls and winning two of them. Landry led Dallas to 20 straight winning seasons from 1966 to 1985, the longest such streak in NFL history.
5. Jimmy Johnson
He only coached the Cowboys for five seasons, but Jimmy Johnson took them from worst to first in just four seasons and then a second consecutive title. He was run out of town after the second Super Bowl win by Jerry Jones, but the team he built managed to win one more ring after his departure, so he really gets credit for all three championships in the four-year span. Had Jones allowed Johnson to stay as long as he liked, Dallas easily could have won four in a row and may have never slipped into the dark ages that still haunt the team to this day.
4. John Madden
He only has one ring, but John Madden is the lasting image of what went right during Al Davis' tenure as the head honcho in Oakland. Madden coached the Raiders for 10 years, winning seven division titles and that lone Super Bowl during that span. Perhaps the most impressive part of his career is his .759 winning percentage (not including playoffs), which is the highest in NFL history.
3. Curly Lambeau
The name says it all. Even before Lombardi, Curly Lambeau spent nearly 30 years as the head coach of the Packers, winning 226 total games and six titles in the process. Naturally, Green Bay named its stadium after their first iconic head coach who helped create one of the greatest franchises in the history of pro sports.
2. Paul Brown
Believe it or not, the Browns used to be a powerhouse. Paul Brown was the first head coach of the upstart franchise, which was named after him, and led Cleveland to seven championships during his 21-year tenure. Brown then spent nine seasons with the nearby Cincinnati Bengals, whose stadium is named after him to this day.
1. Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi only coached the Packers for nine seasons, but won five titles -- including two Super Bowls -- during that span. His combined regular season and playoff winning percentage is the best in NFL history and the Super Bowl trophy is named after him. The greatest part of Lombardi's legacy is not his accomplishments, but it's the lasting impact he had on his players and really everyone in which he came in contact.
