NFL Power Rankings, Week 9

Last year, rookie head coaches in the NFL were all the rage, as three of the four first-time hires took over last-place programs and immediately turned them into playoff teams. The Dolphins, Ravens and Falcons were a combined 10-38 in 2007, but all three went 11-5 and made the postseason last year, thanks in large part to the work of Tony Sparano, John Harbaugh and Mike Smith.

But where are the Sparano-, Harbaugh- and Smith-like turnarounds this year? Nowhere in sight. Of the whopping 11 new head coaches, only two have teams with winning records: Jim Caldwell's Colts are 7-0, and Josh McDaniels' Broncos are 6-1. Nice work, but not exactly a worst-to-first story given that Indianapolis was 12-4 and a playoff team last season and Denver was 8-8, blowing a three-game lead in the AFC West with three weeks to go.

Here's the rest of the new coaches' report card after Week 8, and it's not pretty: Rex Ryan's Jets are 4-4 after going 9-7 last season; Mike Singletary's 49ers 3-4 after a 7-9 finish in 2008; Jim Mora's Seahawks 2-5 after last year's 4-12; Tom Cable's Raiders 2-6 after 5-11 last season; Eric Mangini's Browns 1-7 coming off a 4-12 mark; Todd Haley's Chiefs 1-6 after their 2-14 finish; Steve Spagnuolo's Rams 1-7 after going 2-14 in '08; Jim Schwartz's Lions 1-6 on the heels of their historic 0-16 last year; and Raheem Morris's 0-7 Bucs already have matched their 2008 loss total.

That's a paltry .346 combined winning percentage (28-53) for the 11 new head coaches, and a dismal .224 clip (15-52) for the nine not coaching the Colts and Broncos. No big turnarounds here. Last year, those 11 teams won at a slightly higher .352 rate (62-114), which dropped to .292 (42-102) when you subtracted Indy and Denver (20-12, .625).

Bottom line? Makes you appreciate all the more what Sparano, Harbaugh and Smith accomplished a year ago. On to the rankings... (Send comments to siwriters@simail.com)

NFL Power Rankings

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