During the final offseason doldrums before training camp in July 2019, NFL.com writer Elliot Harrison released his coaches power rankings. Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien was No. 19, which was the lowest among any of the playoff-winning coaches on the list. Harrison provided a thought-out explanation:
Bill O’Brien is a good coach. How good of a coach is he? Well, his detractors will say he’s good enough to get ya beat in the playoffs. Then again, O’Brien has helped the Texans post a winning season in four out of his five years with the team. That’s after taking over a squad that went 2-14 the year before he got there. The complaints about O’Brien often center around an inconsistent offense and his in-game management. Of course, much of a head coach’s job performance centers around things fans don’t see. That includes the culture around the team from Monday through Saturday, communication with the players, and the ability to keep a team focused. Without the latter, there is no way Houston wins over 40 games in five years. The struggle for O’Brien this season will be to squeeze better play out of the offensive line, as well as get Deshaun Watson to avoid creating his own pressure by holding the ball for too long.
Three weeks into the 2019 season, there were eight coaches better than O’Brien on the list who had worse records than the Texans. Now, with wild-card weekend in the books, there are 14 coaches who missed the playoffs, got bounced from the playoffs, or were no longer employed by their original team by the end of the season. Here are the 14 coaches:
1. doug marrone
There was a rumor heading into Week 17 that the Jacksonville Jaguars could fire Marrone and go in a different direction after the club fired Tom Coughlin as their executive vice president of football operations. Marrone did the best he could with free agent quarterback Nick Foles going down in Week 1 with a collarbone injury and riding Minshew Mania with rookie sixth-rounder Gardner Minshew as far as it could take the Jaguars. Jacksonville finished 6-10 and it appears Marrone will be back in 2020.
Fun fact: since Jacksonville won the AFC South in 2017, O’Brien has beaten Marrone four straight times.
2. jason garrett
With Super Bowl expectations coming off of a playoff win, Dallas was supposed to at least repeat as NFC East champions. Instead, the Cowboys failed to win close games, had three wins against teams with winning records, and Garrett posted his fourth 8-8 season. The Cowboys parted ways with Garrett on Jan. 5.
Fun fact: O’Brien now has the same playoff record as Garrett at 2-3.
3. bruce arians
It didn’t help Arians’ cause that starting quarterback Jameis Winston threw 30 interceptions on the season. The Buccaneers finished 7-9, an improvement over their two straight 5-11 seasons under Dirk Koetter.
Fun fact: O’Brien is 2-0 against Arians in his career.
4. jon gruden
The Raiders looked like they were probably going to get things turned around and have a legitimate shot at the playoffs that didn’t involved tiebreaker alchemy. They were 6-4 heading into Week 11, but took it on the chin 34-3 at the New York Jets and never recovered, finishing 7-9 on the year.
Fun fact: since Gruden won Super Bowl XXXVII with Tampa Bay, he’s not won a playoff game.
5. matt nagy
The Bears’ 8-8 finish may have had more to do with quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s growing pains than Nagy’s actual coaching abilities. Nonetheless, the Bears weren’t able to capitalize on their 12-4 finish and NFC North title from 2018. It looked like they could finish the season with a winning record after beating Dallas 31-24, but they dropped two of their final three.
6. ron rivera
The Panthers actually beat the Texans 16-10 in Week 4 and the Houston sports world was coming to an end. Rivera looked like he was rallying Carolina around backup quarterback Kyle Allen as starter Cam Newton was lost for the season. The Panthers were 5-3 with a backup quarterback by the halfway point, but they never won another game and Rivera was fired when the team dropped to 5-7.
Fun fact: Rivera is now in Washington, the last team he coached against before getting fired.
7. frank reich
The Indianapolis Colts coach deserved to be lauded after leading the Colts to a 10-6 finish and a playoff win in 2018 after starting 1-5. However, quarterback Andrew Luck retired in preseason, and Jacoby Brissett wasn’t exactly the guy as Indianapolis finished 7-9. Reich wasn’t able to coach the Colts back into the playoffs, even after possessing the AFC South halfway through the season.
8. dan quinn
The Falcons have had a case of Super Bowl loss hangover that the organization just hasn’t been able to shake off. The expiration date on Quinn may be approaching. The Falcons started out a disastrous 1-7, but did manage to win six of their last eight games to look respectable at 7-9. Nonetheless, it’s been two straight seasons without playoff qualification in Atlanta.
9. mike tomlin
Tomlin was a genius for having the Pittsburgh Steelers at 8-5 with backup quarterbacks in Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges. However, the Steelers dropped a Sunday night game at home to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15 and succumbed to the New York Jets in Week 16 to doom their playoff chances. They were candidates for playoff alchemy in Week 17, but the Tennessee Titans ended those hopes with a win over the Texans.
Fun fact: Bill O’Brien went 9-7 and made the playoffs in 2015 with Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, T.J. Yates, and Brandon Weeden at quarterback.
10. anthony lynn
The wheels were coming off the wagon quickly for the Chargers. Though the Chiefs weren’t exactly running away with the division, the Chargers’ 2-5 record doomed their postseason efforts. Los Angeles wasn’t able to capitalize on their playoff win in Baltimore from 2018 and make a serious run at dethroning Kansas City for the division.
11. sean mcvay
Again, another club that had trouble getting over a Super Bowl loss. The Los Angeles Rams were in a dogfight from Opening Day as, by the midway point, the San Francisco 49ers were 8-0, the Seattle Seahawks were 6-2, and the Rams were 5-3. They made an aggressive move and traded for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, but they couldn’t recapture the magic that led to their playoff runs the past two seasons.
12. doug pederson
The NFC East was a trash bin in 2019, and Pederson does deserve credit for rallying Philadelphia from a 5-7 record and snapping a three-game winning streak to win the division for the second time in three seasons. However, they shouldn’t have fallen two games under .500 to begin with, and their early playoff exit proves how vulnerable the Eagles were this season.
13. sean payton
While the NFC South was a tire fire between the Buccaneers, Panthers, and Falcons, the Saints did their job and posted a 13-3 record, which would be good enough in some seasons to outright own home-field advantage. That loss to San Francisco in Week 14 looms large. New Orleans fell down 20-10 to the Minnesota Vikings to start the fourth quarter at home and ultimately lost in overtime 26-20 — to Kirk Cousins.
14. bill belichick
The Patriots defense was dominant in 2019 with just 14.1 points per game surrendered, the best in the league. New England even jumped out to a 10-1 record. However, that 28-22 loss to the Texans started to unravel the Patriots, who dropped a home game to the Kansas City Chiefs the next week. The morning star to trouble with New England came in the form of a 27-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins at home with a first-round bye on the line. That setup the Patriots to be ripe for the picking as the Tennessee Titans upset them 20-13.
Fun fact: Bill O’Brien is the most successful Bill Belichick assistant with a 2-3 playoff record and four division titles.
