I think that when you look at head coaches, you're looking for a few different things:
- Teams that always seem to have a strategic advantage against their opponent.
- Teams that can take advantage of the other teams weaknesses on both offense and defense.
- Teams that consistently play above their perceived talent level.
- Teams that handle distractions well.
Given that above, the 5 coaches that meet that criteria the best are:
1.) Bill Belichick
2.) Andy Reid
3.) Mike McCarthy
4.) Mike Smith
5.) Mike Tomlin
I think Belichick and Reid are by far and away the best coaches, with McCarthy a distant 3rd. Then there's a couple of 2nd tier guys in Mike Smith and Mike Tomlin, who fit the criteria, but not nearly as good as the top 3.
From there, I think you have some honorable mentions: Sean Payton, Tom Coughlin. I think both Payton and Coughlin can perform at that level, but don't do it very consistently. Jeff Fisher also could be an honorable mention, but in my mind he's pretty far from Payton and Coughlin.
Next, is the up-and-comers who have the same consistency problem but haven't proved it as much as the last two: John Harbaugh and Rex Ryan.
Up next, a potentially decent coach without a body of work: Todd Haley.
After that, I think you have Jim Schwartz. I love what I see from this guy, and I think he could be an amazing NFL head coach if he had a better team. Still, he's getting the Lions going in the right direction, but he's punished for not winning more.
You've got a whole bunch of coaches lumped together after that. Some pretty good coaches who have been up and down (Lovie Smith, John Fox, Ken Wisenhunt), and some "who the hell knows" coaches like Raheem Morris and Jack Del Rio. Those guys seem like good coaches once in a while, but suck the rest of the time.
Finally, you get down to the 2010 retard division:
In second place, finishing with the silver medal in coaching retardation, the great Mike Singletary! This guy completely botched the QB situation over the past couple of years, and in one of his first games as head coach, dropped trou. His teams have had talent, and he floundered it. Seriously dude?!
In first place, finishing with the gold medal in retardation, Jim Caldwell! Okay, while he might not be as bad as some coaches, that team practically runs itself (thanks to Tom Moore, Peyton Manning, and Tony Dungy). Also, he managed to lose not just one, but TWO games by calling foolish timeouts, one to lose in overtime. I've got the feeling he doesn't totally get the NFL rules.
To be fair, I really shouldn't have put Jim Caldwell as the Gold Retard. If I could have used coaches who were fired, I probably would have put Josh McDaniels there, for coming in and singlehandedly destroying a franchise in two years.