NFL's Winningest Coach-QB Tandems

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
May 20, 2013

NFL's Winningest Coach-QB Tandems

136 wins

As Tom Brady prepares for the 2013 season, he says he's never felt better throwing the football. He and Bill Belichick already sit atop the list of the winningest quarterback-coach tandems since the AFC/NFC merger in 1970. Here's a gallery of the others.

116 wins

Before Belichick and Brady there was Shula and Marino -- who previously held the record over the next winningest duo by nine victories. The tandem never won a Super Bowl together, but dominated the regular season during their 13-year marriage in Miami. Shula holds the record for most career victories by a coach with 347, while Marino's 147 ranks third all time amongst quarterbacks.

107 wins

No coach-QB tandem won more Super Bowls than Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Noll in their days with the Steelers in the 1970s. Pittsburgh won four Super Bowls under Bradshaw and Noll, who also totaled 107 regular-season victories over their six-year partnership.

99 wins

Jim Kelly and Marv Levy came up short in four consecutive Super Bowls, but they did win 99 regular-season games together along with four AFC titles. While Kelly and Levy may be remembered for their painful losses, both are in the Hall of Fame, thanks in part to Kelly's command of the K-Gun, one of the fastest and most prolific attacks in NFL history.

92 wins

The Eagles and Andy Reid made Donovan McNabb the No. 2 overall pick in the 1999 draft and were rewarded with one of the winningest decades in NFL history. Over the next 10 years, Reid and McNabb combined to win 92 games, but are often remembered for their on-again, off-again relationship. The tandem reached its peak in 2004 when the Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl. But Philly lost to New England in the title game and never made it back. After numerous controversies, Reid and McNabb parted ways in 2010 following the reemergence of Michael Vick.

89 wins

After a trade from Baltimore brought him to Denver, John Elway quarterbacked under Dan Reeves for the first nine years of his career, winning 89 games and three AFC titles. The coach-QB tandem never won a Super Bowl together, but Elway did go on to win two championships with the Broncos towards the end of his career. Ironically, the second title came against Reeves' Falcons in 1999.

84 wins

The Cowboys became "America's Team" thanks to the work of Tom Landry and Roger Staubach. The legendary Landry did his greatest work with Staubach under center, winning 84 regular-season games over 10 years and teaming up to win two Super Bowls. The tandem helped Dallas become one of the NFL's greatest dynasties and carried the Cowboys to nine of the franchise's record 20 consecutive winning seasons.

82 wins

Dan Marino wasn't the only legendary quarterback to play under Don Shula. Before his 107 wins with Marino, Shula totaled 82 with Griese in the 70's. The coach-QB tandem went undefeated in the Dolphins' historic 1972 season and won back-to-back Super Bowls that season and the next. Griese's career was eventually derailed by injuries, but the duo still stands as one of the NFL's greatest to date.

76 wins

Jeff Fisher and the Houston Oilers drafted Steve McNair with the No. 3 pick in 1995, but "Air McNair" didn't crack the starting lineup until 1997 when the team moved to Tennessee. From that point on, Fisher and McNair won 76 games together and morphed into an AFC powerhouse. They memorably came one yard short of winning the Super Bowl in 1999.

75 wins

They rank 10th on this list, but Bill Walsh and Joe Montana are among the greatest coach-QB tandems to ever play the game. In their 10 years together, the two won three Super Bowls and reached the playoffs seven times. They won 75 games during the regular season and helped popularize the West Coat offense.

74 wins

For seven years, Mike Holmgren coached Brett Favre and the Packers never missed the playoffs. Green Bay won the Super Bowl in 1996 with Favre at QB and Holmgren on the sidelines, but came up short in the title game during their repeat effort in '97. Holmgren is often acknowledged as taming the quarterback known as the "Gunslinger" and helping mold him into one of the greatest to ever play the game.

73 wins

Few have dominated the regular season like Peyton Manning. During his six seasons under Tony Dungy, Manning went an incredible 73-24 (.752) with the Colts, winning 10-plus games each season. Manning even snapped his postseason curse under Dungy, teaming up to beat the Bears in Super Bowl XLI.