Evaluating The NFL's Rookie Head Coaches From 2013

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7. Rob Chudzinski, Cleveland Browns

Ed Mulholland - USATODAY Sports

Since he got fired after one season, things obviously didn’t go well for Chudzinski in 2013. In his defense, the Browns made a rash move by firing him after one season. Of course, Chudzinski does deserve a great deal of the blame as Cleveland lost their final seven games of the season and 10 of their last 11, which didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the head coach. Chudzinski didn’t walk into a great situation at quarterback and trading Trent Richardson early in the season didn’t help, but the Browns were involved in plenty of close games and they usually found ways to lose them. This reflects poorly on the head coach and justifies the Browns firing him to a certain extent.

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6. Gus Bradley, Jacksonville Jaguars

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Bradley didn’t inherit a great team in Jacksonville, and that was clear when the team lost its first eight games. However, six of those games were against playoff teams. The team started to get it together the second half of the season and won four of their final eight games, although all four wins came against below-.500 teams. The numbers for the Jaguars this season weren’t pretty, but Bradley had his team playing hard throughout the second half of the season when they were far out of contention, and he does deserve some credit for that and for giving the Jaguars a glimmer of hope heading into 2014.

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5. Doug Marrone, Buffalo Bills

Brian Spurlock - USATODAY Sports

The final record is what fans are used to seeing in Buffalo, but Marrone did a fine job coaching a team that had a rookie or a practice-squad player at quarterback the entire season. The Bills had some bleak moments this season, but they went 3-3 against their division and they put together some impressive drives late in games to win. They also almost always responded well to a loss. With better personnel, Marrone is a good enough coach to win games on a regular basis in the NFL, and he’s the biggest reason why the future could be bright in Buffalo.

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4. Marc Trestman, Chicago Bears

Andrew Weber - USATODAY Sports

Trestman survived a lengthy injury to his starting quarterback in addition to a horrible defense, and he still had his team in a position to make the playoffs heading into Week 17. An 8-8 record was not what the fans in Chicago wanted to see, but Trestman orchestrated an offense that was awfully impressive at times, even when he was relying on his backup quarterback. The Bears aren’t where they want to be just yet, but Trestman did enough in his first year to make you think he can get them there.

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3. Chip Kelly, Philadelphia Eagles

Geoff Burke - USATODAY Sports

We knew the Eagles would be interesting to watch this year with Kelly as the new head coach and we figured they would score points, but few could have foreseen a 10-win season and a division title in Kelly’s first year in the NFL. Philadelphia survived a 3-5 start and won seven of their final eight games behind an explosive offense despite not having a mobile quarterback, which we thought was a prerequisite for Kelly’s offense. The performance of Nick Foles this season is all you need to know about the coaching job Kelly did and what he’s capable of doing in the NFL as he made a great first impression on the league.

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2. Bruce Arians, Arizona Cardinals

Howard Smith - USATODAY Sports

Arians cheated a little bit on his rookie eligibility by being the interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts for 12 games in 2012, but there’s no denying that leading the Cardinals to a 10-6 record was one of the most impressive coaching jobs in the league this season even if Arizona missed the playoffs. Arians was able to win 10 games while playing in the toughest division in football and doing so with a quarterback that was past his prime. Five of Arizona’s six losses came against playoff teams, and just two of those losses came at home. There’s a strong argument that the Cardinals are the best non-playoff team in the NFL, and that’s a reflection of the coaching job Arians did this year.

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1. Mike McCoy, San Diego Chargers

Danny Medley - USATODAY Sports

A year ago, it looked like Philip Rivers was on the back end of his career, but Mike McCoy did wonders to breathe new life into Rivers' career and give San Diego one of the top passing attacks in the NFL. This ultimately led them to the postseason, and makes McCoy the top rookie head coach in the league this season.