Who are your 4 favorite current NFL head coaches?

[TheFunPolice]

This Bills coaching search has got me thinking about the coaches I really like and the types of qualities I hope the next Bills coach has. These 4 guys are very different, and I like them for different reasons.

 

Mine are (in order):

 

1) Mike Tomlin

 

Tough, very intelligent, great leader. Lets his coordinators do their jobs. Has a badass persona that his team takes on. Has shown he is adaptable in making over the Steelers offense into a passing offense.

 

2) Andy Reid

 

Detail oriented, tough guy who doesn't have the reputation for being tough (which is a +), great teacher, consistently wins year in and year out. I would love to see him win a SB ring with KC. For a guy with his track record he always seems to be a bit under the radar.

 

3) Bruce Arians

 

Extremely sharp, great X's and O's guy, a bit eccentric, more of the teacher type of coach. Players love the guy everywhere he has been.

 

4) Pete Caroll

 

Great leader. Perfect balance of "player's coach" and commanding respect. Always seems to have great coordinators. Has that edge that you love if it's your team. I like the way he is aggressive and will put it to teams when he can. Players feed off of that.

 

 

[GunnerBill]

1) John Harbaugh - Fantastic leader. When the Ravens talent was high in his first 5 years he made the play-offs every year the Championship game three times and won a Superbowl. As they have lost veteran talent and rebuilt he has had just one losing year in 4 (and that was an injury ravaged year where they were within 1 score in all but 1 game) and has kept them competitive. Not a guy married to schemes or individuals.... puts his talent in the best position to make plays.

 

2) Mike Tomlin - Much as above.... 7 play-off years out of 10, 8 winning seasons, 2 Superbowl appearances, 1 Lombardi, 0 losing seasons...... did not come in and insist on running his Tampa 2... let LeBeau alone and then when things needed freshening up made a change. One thing that has Harabugh higher than Tomlin for me is the Ravens always seem to play the Patriots tougher than the Steelers can manage to. Let's hope that's about to change in the playoffs.

 

3) Mike Zimmer - Just a great football coach.... straight down the line guy. Had a difficult year but I still believe he is an excellent coach. Waited too long for his HC shot.

 

4) Bruce Arians - No risk it, no biscuit. He insists on an aggressive style of football on both sides of the ball. Throw it down the field on offense, attack the line of scrimmage on defense and get the QB on the ground whenever possible. That's how I like to see the game played. Like Zimmer had to wait too long for his shot.

 

 

--------------

 

I don't necessarily think they are the best 4 but Belichick and Carroll miss this list because you asked for my favourite.... and I don't like either (as great as they are).

[TheFunPolice]

Zimmer and Harbaugh were right there on my list too.

 

Zimmer is an awesome defensive mind and also a great guy. That "mutiny" the DBs pulled was complete BS.

[plenzmd1]

Starts and ends with the Hoodie

[eball]

Arians, John Harbaugh, Belichick, Tomlin.

 

Of all the reported HC candidates for the Bills, Goodwin has moved up the most in my mind because of his long-term affiliation with Arians.

[jr1]

I like Del Rio

[ndirish1978]

I'm shocked. I didn't think people on this board knew there WERE any coaches other than Bill Cowher as much as his name comes up here for no reason.

[dulles]

Arians, John Harbaugh, Belichick, Tomlin.

 

Of all the reported HC candidates for the Bills, Goodwin has moved up the most in my mind because of his long-term affiliation with Arians.

One thing to like about Goodwin is that the Cardinals have consistently found ways to get their best players the ball. I think that we'll love the Sammy pick if we start using him like they use Fitzgerald in AZ. They are also pretty good at getting RB's involved in multiple ways. I like Lynn because he's shown ability with the current roster, but I'd love to have Goodwin. One concern about first time HC's is how they construct their staff. Who would be their DC? I'd like an established DC with a clear philosophy if I was going to hire a young HC.

[BuffaloHokie13]

Belichick, Harbaugh, O'Brien, Arians

[dave mcbride]

Belichick, Carroll, Reid, Tomlin/Harbaugh (tied)

[sodbuster]

Del Rio, Harbaugh, Caldwell, Quinn.

[Manther]

Top 5 in order of best to 5th...

 

Belichick, Carroll, Reid, McCarthy, Harbaugh

Edited January 6, 2017 by Manther

[Mr. WEO]

Bellichick

 

Carroll

 

Arians

 

Harbaugh

 

BB and Carroll are an order of magnitude better than any other. Reid is a clown come the playoffs, where he squanders all of those regular season wins. I would put Kubiak in there had he not retired (he was the guy I wanted the Bills to hire, but there was zero chance). I don't know if Tomlin's a coach in the usual sense of the word.

[Alphadawg7]

EDIT: I thought this was best, not favorite...so removed my shock comment about BB not being on some lists. My bad. My list below remains unchanged still.

 

1. Belichick - Already stated why.

 

2. Pete Carrol - This guy is one of the rare dominant coaches in both college and the NFL. Even the fabled throw on the goal line in the Super Bowl was a play I liked very much. People in an uproar over Lynch not getting the ball also didn't realize Lynch and the Seahawks had a poor coversion rate on 3rd and 1's all year as their O-Line wasnt that great. Catch them sleeping was a good choice IMO, but the DB made a phenomenal play...those guys are paid to make plays too, but I don't hate the call and I was even yelling for a play action play there before the snap.

 

3. Bruce Arians - This guys luster may be tarnished a bit with the rough season the Cardinals had, but overall I have been very impressed with him and he is a heck of a coach.

 

4. Andy Reid - I had a hard time choosing between Reid and Harbaugh here and I wouldn't disagree if someone plugged Harbaugh in here. I ultimately chose Andy because this guy has always seemed to get the most out of his teams. In Philly, almost his entire time there he never had any WR's to go with McNabb, and the one year he did they went to the Super Bowl with TO before he self sabotaged himself in Philly. In KC, he has that team reminding of the Pats teams that won 3 in 4 years where there wasn't an extreme about of playmaker on the offense, yet with a good D and a balanced and calculated attack on offense just kept winning. I wouldn't be surprised if KC won the SB this year, and I was one of their doubters earlier in the year.

 

5. Honorable Mention: Harbaugh...see above.

 

Overrated:

 

Tomlin - Has anyone ever watched this guy manage a game? He makes questionable mistakes all the time. The Steelers seem to be a perennial hot and cold team every year and struggle to make the playoffs regularly. By struggle, I mean they have made them but struggled to get in most seasons because they kept losing games they should win. That offense is capable of destroying a team and also capable of coming out and laying a dud. I don't think he's terrible, but he is pretty overrated IMO. His record there has more to do with Big Ben and the talent he was blessed with early on with the D and now with the O. But as a coach, I feel this team under achieves and makes too many game day coaching mistakes for him to crack my top 5.

 

O'Brien - This guy apparently is seen as over rated by his own FO as well given he is apparently on the hot seat if they don't get out of the first round. Im not impressed with squeaking in the playoffs twice because your division sucks. But when people talk about him, they don't talk about his record which is barely better than Rex's while he was in Buffalo, they just say 2 playoff births. But if the Texans played in ANY other division, not only would they not be in the playoffs either year, they would have a worse record because they would play in a tougher division.

Edited January 6, 2017 by Alphadawg7

[dave mcbride]

Ok any list that doesn't have Bill Belichick on it, the greatest HC of our generation and probably all time is just drivel. I get you need to hate him...but point blank the dude is the man and its not even remotely debatable. One of the most brilliant, if not the most brilliant, minds in NFL history.

 

1. Belichick - Already stated why.

 

2. Pete Carrol - This guy is one of the rare dominant coaches in both college and the NFL. Even the fabled throw on the goal line in the Super Bowl was a play I liked very much. People in an uproar over Lynch not getting the ball also didn't realize Lynch and the Seahawks had a poor coversion rate on 3rd and 1's all year as their O-Line wasnt that great. Catch them sleeping was a good choice IMO, but the DB made a phenomenal play...those guys are paid to make plays too, but I don't hate the call and I was even yelling for a play action play there before the snap.

 

3. Bruce Arians - This guys luster may be tarnished a bit with the rough season the Cardinals had, but overall I have been very impressed with him and he is a heck of a coach.

 

4. Andy Reid - I had a hard time choosing between Reid and Harbaugh here and I wouldn't disagree if someone plugged Harbaugh in here. I ultimately chose Andy because this guy has always seemed to get the most out of his teams. In Philly, almost his entire time there he never had any WR's to go with McNabb, and the one year he did they went to the Super Bowl with TO before he self sabotaged himself in Philly. In KC, he has that team reminding of the Pats teams that won 3 in 4 years where there wasn't an extreme about of playmaker on the offense, yet with a good D and a balanced and calculated attack on offense just kept winning. I wouldn't be surprised if KC won the SB this year, and I was one of their doubters earlier in the year.

 

5. Honorable Mention: Harbaugh...see above.

 

Overrated:

 

Tomlin - Has anyone ever watched this guy manage a game? He makes questionable mistakes all the time. The Steelers seem to be a perennial hot and cold team every year and struggle to make the playoffs regularly. That offense is capable of destroying a team and also capable of coming out and laying a dud. I don't think he's terrible, but he is pretty overrated IMO.

 

O'Brien - This guy apparently is seen as over rated by his own FO as well given he is apparently on the hot seat if they don't get out of the first round. Im not impressed with squeaking in the playoffs twice because your division sucks. But when people talk about him, they don't talk about his record which is barely better than Rex's while he was in Buffalo, they just say 2 playoff births. But if the Texans played in ANY other division, not only would they not be in the playoffs either year, they would have a worse record because they would play in a tougher division.

Re Tomlin, half of being a game day coach is inspiring people and getting to believe and play hard. The Steelers always do. The same situation existed with Cowher. Managing personalities is not easy. Both of those guys do it very, very well and don't get credit for it. It's why I always think Joe Torre is underrated, believe it or not - it's not easy managing a bunch of superstars (or superstars-in-their-minds) and getting them on the same page with little dissension year after year after year. Not easy at all.

[Guest K-GunJimKelly12]

I think Harbaugh is the closet thing to BB.

[BillsFan130]

Harbaugh, Andy Reid, Payton, Zimmer. I don't think tomlin is that ood personally. Think he is very overrated. Has been blessed with hall of fame coordinators and a hall of fame QB his whole career pretty much

[Reed83HOF]

The Hoodie and Harbaugh stand way above everyone else

[TheFunPolice]

Ok any list that doesn't have Bill Belichick on it, the greatest HC of our generation and probably all time is just drivel. I get you need to hate him...but point blank the dude is the man and its not even remotely debatable. One of the most brilliant, if not the most brilliant, minds in NFL history.

 

1. Belichick - Already stated why.

 

2. Pete Carrol - This guy is one of the rare dominant coaches in both college and the NFL. Even the fabled throw on the goal line in the Super Bowl was a play I liked very much. People in an uproar over Lynch not getting the ball also didn't realize Lynch and the Seahawks had a poor coversion rate on 3rd and 1's all year as their O-Line wasnt that great. Catch them sleeping was a good choice IMO, but the DB made a phenomenal play...those guys are paid to make plays too, but I don't hate the call and I was even yelling for a play action play there before the snap.

 

3. Bruce Arians - This guys luster may be tarnished a bit with the rough season the Cardinals had, but overall I have been very impressed with him and he is a heck of a coach.

 

4. Andy Reid - I had a hard time choosing between Reid and Harbaugh here and I wouldn't disagree if someone plugged Harbaugh in here. I ultimately chose Andy because this guy has always seemed to get the most out of his teams. In Philly, almost his entire time there he never had any WR's to go with McNabb, and the one year he did they went to the Super Bowl with TO before he self sabotaged himself in Philly. In KC, he has that team reminding of the Pats teams that won 3 in 4 years where there wasn't an extreme about of playmaker on the offense, yet with a good D and a balanced and calculated attack on offense just kept winning. I wouldn't be surprised if KC won the SB this year, and I was one of their doubters earlier in the year.

 

5. Honorable Mention: Harbaugh...see above.

 

Overrated:

 

Tomlin - Has anyone ever watched this guy manage a game? He makes questionable mistakes all the time. The Steelers seem to be a perennial hot and cold team every year and struggle to make the playoffs regularly. By struggle, I mean they have made them but struggled to get in most seasons because they kept losing games they should win. That offense is capable of destroying a team and also capable of coming out and laying a dud. I don't think he's terrible, but he is pretty overrated IMO. His record there has more to do with Big Ben and the talent he was blessed with early on with the D and now with the O. But as a coach, I feel this team under achieves and makes too many game day coaching mistakes for him to crack my top 5.

 

O'Brien - This guy apparently is seen as over rated by his own FO as well given he is apparently on the hot seat if they don't get out of the first round. Im not impressed with squeaking in the playoffs twice because your division sucks. But when people talk about him, they don't talk about his record which is barely better than Rex's while he was in Buffalo, they just say 2 playoff births. But if the Texans played in ANY other division, not only would they not be in the playoffs either year, they would have a worse record because they would play in a tougher division.

 

The question was "Who are your favorite current NFL head coaches?"

 

Favorite. Not who is the best. I think that's pretty clear given Belichick's record.

 

I agree on O'Brien. The Texans in general. They are the AFC's 3rd playoff bye.

Edited January 6, 2017 by TheFunPolice

[Alphadawg7]

 

The question was "Who are your favorite current NFL head coaches?"

 

Favorite. Not who is the best. I think that's pretty clear given Belichick's record.

 

I agree on O'Brien. The Texans in general. They are the AFC's 3rd playoff bye.

 

Ah, good point...I started reading responses and misunderstood the question, so my bad and I went back and edited my original post to reflect the change, thanks for pointing that out.

 

Personally, my list still stays unchanged, but I see why some would leave off BB. As a Bills fan it seems we are supposed to hate him and the Pats, but honestly, I love football and even though I hate losing to the Pats I am still impressed with what they do every week and every season.

 

HA, that is a great way to label the Texans...the AFC's third bye week.

 

Man I feel sorry for the Raiders and Carr...NEVER in my WILDEST dreams did I think I would ever say that as growing up and living in Cali I have grown to hate the Raiders more than anyone in our division just because I hate the fans so much here. But there is something different for me with this team, Carr and company have softened my hatred a bit and I just like to watch the kid play. Del Rio has done a heck of a job there too. They should be a force in these playoffs and they have been reduced to another bye week as well with Cook having to lead them.

Edited January 6, 2017 by Alphadawg7