Ranking the NFC North’s Head Coaches
Great head coaches in the NFL are difficult to come by these days.
Even though most who get to the top of the coaching food chain are top-notch coordinators, it doesn’t always mean they will be good head coaches.
Gone are the times where general managers would stick with one individual leading their team through thick and thin.
In today’s NFL, it’s not uncommon for a coach to be fired after one season. Even solid coaches like Andy Reid get let go if they can’t continuously improve.
All things considered, it is sometimes very difficult to gauge just how good a coach is when overall talent levels from team to team can widely vary.
Obviously, a highly-talented roster usually yields more checks in the win column.
A team with mostly below average players won’t make a head coach's job easy.
You know you have a good coach when he can get his team to overachieve, relative to the roster talent.
Now, the long-tenured coaches have a bit more of a track record to evaluate.
Some coaches will come right in and take a team to the playoffs, whereas it could take a couple of years in another situation.
Here are my current rankings of the NFC North's head coaches:
1.) Mike Zimmer – Minnesota Vikings
Regular season record: 57-38-1 (.599)
Postseason record: 2-3 (.400)
The only head coach in the NFC North not named Matt, Mike Zimmer is the most proven of the group.
In his six years in Minnesota, the Vikings have consistently been a threat.
Some years have been a little better than others, but they haven’t ever gone through any real low points -- typically a sign of a good coach.
Only one time has Zimmer not at least finished .500, and that was his first season.
Heavily relying upon the defense, the Vikings have been in the top 10 in points allowed each of the past five seasons.
The Vikings also won the North in both 2015 and 2017, while making the playoffs in 2019 as well.
It’s been a real nice run for the Vikings under Zimmer’s leadership so far.
2.) Matt LaFleur – Green Bay Packers
Regular season record: 13-3 (.813)
Postseason record: 1-1 (.500)
In LaFleur’s rookie season as a head coach, he won 13 games -- quite impressive.
LaFleur would likely be first on the list if he can continue his early success.
In saying this, despite only three losses in 2019, the Packers had their fair share of struggles here and there -- they just always seemed to find a way to win.
I personally feel that last year will be difficult to replicate.
Overall, I am still very skeptical that the Packers' success was solely due to coaching, more so than the talent. But, we will find out in the near future.
After drafting Jordan Love, the future successor to Aaron Rodgers in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, LaFleur might not have the luxury of relying on a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Rodgers to run the show on offense for much longer.
Oddly enough, LaFleur probably had a decent amount of say in drafting Jordan Love, so maybe having more control is exactly what he wants.
3.) Matt Nagy – Chicago Bears
Regular season record: 20-12 (.625)
Postseason record: 0-1 (.000)
The 2018 PFWA and AP Coach of the Year came into the league on fire.
Much like LaFleur, Nagy had instant success.
Even with poor quarterback play, he was able to make an offense adequate, and the Bears' elite defense took over games in 2018. The shine didn’t last for long -- only one season to be exact.
In 2019, things started to fall apart. With a roster filled with great talents, the offense became too stagnant. Even with a solid defense, the Bears were a middle-of-the-road team.
It is still to be determined how high of a ceiling Nagy has as a coach, but he has at least shown some promise.
Full disclosure, recency bias is probably the sole factor as to why I currently have LaFleur rated above Nagy.
4.) Matt Patricia – Detroit Lions
Regular season record: 9–22–1 (.297)
Unfortunately, there is not a lot of bright spots with Patricia's career in Detroit.
Outside of beating the New England Patriots, the best bullet point on his Lions resume is almost beating a couple of good teams while giving other teams a blueprint on how to slow down high-powered offenses.
For a defensive-minded coach, having one of the worst defenses in the league last year is a big concern.
Taking over a nine-win team and then only winning a combined nine games in two seasons is not considered successful in any way, shape or form, either.
There is a reason Patricia is on the hot seat in 2020, and he has a lot to prove if he wants to stick around beyond the upcoming season.
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