Being a head coach in the NFL is a plum job. That said, you had better deliver otherwise you will be looking for another gig. Take a look at how many changes were made as the coaching carousel spun round and round in this decade.
Arizona Cardinals
Not a shock the Cardinals have had a quartet of coaches. They started with Ken Whisenhunt, who was 45-51 in six seasons before leaving in 2012. Next up was the popular Bruce Arians, who coached for five seasons with a lot of success, going 49-30-1. He was followed by Steve Wilks, who had a disastrous season at 3-13 before being fired in favor of Kliff Kingsbury.
Atlanta Falcons
Dan Quinn was so close to bringing the Falcons their first Super Bowl. Oops. The Falcons had two head coaches — Quinn and Mike Smith. Mike Smith was 66-46 from 2008-14. A solid run. Quinn is 36-28 in four seasons. The upcoming one is a big one as Atlanta is coming off a 7-9 year.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have had one coach in this decade. John Harbaugh has led the team since taking over from Brian Billick in 2008. Harbaugh is 104-72 in the regular season and 10-6 in the playoffs, including one Super Bowl.
Buffalo Bills
Sean McDermott is the fourth head coach of the Bills since 2010. For this exercise only permanent head coaches are considered, not interim. Chan Gailey lasted three seasons, going 16-32. Next up was Doug Marrone, who exited after two seasons and a 15-17 mark. That was followed by the colorful and controversial Rex Ryan, who lasted nearly two seasons, going 15-16. Sean McDermott is the current head coach and he has gone 15-17 in two campaigns.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers’ head-coaching position has been fairly stable. John Fox finished out his run in 2010, going 73-71 overall. He was replaced by Ron Rivera, who has been in charge since 2011, going 71-56-1 but only 3-4 in the playoffs. Like Dan Quinn in Atlanta, Rivera looks to right the ship in 2019.
Chicago Bears
Matt Nagy had a great first season with Chicago, going 12-4. He took over for John Fox, who was a rough 14-34 in three seasons. Prior to Fox, Marc Trestman was 13-19 in two seasons. Lovie Smith coached through 2012, winding up 81-63.
Cincinnati Bengals
Marvin Lewis spent 16 years as head coach in Cincinnati. At some point it seemed as if he would never leave. His overall record was 131-122-3, something that could surprise people. The big issue was his playoff record, going winless in seven appearances. He has been replaced by Zac Taylor for the 2019 season.
Cleveland Browns
Freddie Kitchens makes a half-dozen head coaches — and that doesn’t include Gregg Williams, who went 5-3 over a half-season in 2018. Williams stepped in for the disaster that was Hue Jackson, who compiled an astonishingly awful 3-36-1 mark. Before that. Mike Pettine was 10-22. He succeeded Rob Chudzinski, who was 4-12. The coach before that was Pat Shurmur, who was 9-23. Eric Mangini bridged the decades going 10-22 over 2009-10. Simply hard to believe one franchise could have been so putrid.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys had two head coaches, Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett. Phillips exited after a 1-7 start in 2010. He was 34-22 overall with the Cowboys. Since, Garrett has been in charge. He’s gone 77-59 and is 2-3 in five playoff games.
Denver Broncos
Vic Fangio will be the Broncos’ fifth head coach this decade. Going backward, Fangio replaces Vance Joseph, who was 11-21. Gary Kubiak spent two seasons in charge, going a solid 21-11, with a Super Bowl championship. He replaced John Fox, who was 46-18 in four seasons. The decade started with Josh McDaniels in charge. He was gone after 2010 with an 11-17 mark. McDaniels, um, found success and jewelry elsewhere.
Detroit Lions
It feels as if there has been more turnover in Detroit than there has. Matt Patricia is only the third Lions coach this decade. Jim Schwartz went 29-51 in five seasons and was followed by Jim Caldwell, who went 36-28 before being shown the exit.
Green Bay Packers
Mike McCarthy almost lasted the entire decade. He started as GB coach in 2006 and made it through most of last season, going 125-77-2. Matt Lafleur steps into the shoes at the Frozen Tundra. He’s got a winning tradition to follow.
Houston Texans
The Texans have had two fulltime head coaches in the “10s.” Gary Kubiak, came on board in 2006 and went 61-64. He was followed by Bill O’Brien in 2014. O’Brien is 42-38 in five seasons. He’s 1-3 in the playoffs.
Indianapolis Colts
Another team with a trio of head coaches. Frank Reich had a double-digit win season in 2018, going 10-6 after replacing Chuck Pagano, who was 53-43 from 2012-17. Pagano replaced Jim Caldwell, who was 26-22 in his three seasons with Indy. Caldwell was let go by two different teams in the decade despite having a better than .500 win percentage with each.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars are on their fourth head coach this decade. If current head coach Doug Marrone doesn’t shape the team up, it could be five before the end of the regular season. Marrone’s 16-18 mark looks blissful compared to the 14-48 record compiled by Gus Bradley from 2013-2016. Before that Mike Mularkey went 2-14 in a season after he took over from Jack Del Rio, who was 68-71 in eight-plus seasons.
Kansas City Chiefs
Andy Reid brings a 65-31 mark into his seventh season as coach in KC. Reid replaced Romeo Crennel, who was 4-15 in little more than a season. Todd Haley was 19-26 during his tenure with the Chiefs.
Los Angeles Chargers
Another team that is on its third coach in the decade is the Chargers. Anthony Lynn is a sharp 21-11 in his first two seasons as the boss. He replaced Mike McCoy, who was 27-37 after following Norv Turner, who bridged decades and was 56-40 in six seasons.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams have had three coaches this decade, too, despite it seems as if Jeff Fisher coached them forever. Steve Spanuolo started out and was 10-38 before being asked to leave in 2011. Fisher coached 77 games between St. Louis and LA, going 31-45-1. Sean McVay came on in 2017 and has been scintillating, going 24-8 and getting the Rams to the Super Bowl in his second season.
Miami Dolphins
Brian Flores is Miami’s fourth head coach. Dan Campbell was an interim, but a long one, going 5-7 after taking over for Joe Philbin (24-28) in 2015. Otherwise, Tony Sparano was 29-32 as he, too, bridged decades, and Adam Gase was 23-25 in three seasons.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings, too, are on their third head coach of the decade. Becoming a familiar script. Brad Childress coached through 2010. He was replaced by Leslie Frazier, who went 21-32-1. Mike Zimmer has gone a solid 47-32-1 in five seasons. He is 1-2 in the playoffs.
New England Patriots
Only one, Bill Belichick and he is not done. In fact, Belichick is the only coach New England has had in this century.
New Orleans Saints
New Orleans has an asterisk, of course. Sean Payton has been in charge since 2006, going 118-74. However, he missed the 2012 season when suspended due to Bountygate. Aaron Kromer and Joe Vitt combined to go 7-9 that season.
New York Giants
Tom Coughlin was the man in New York from 2004-15. The Giants have not been successful in replacing him. Ben McAdoo went 13-15 before being shown the exit in the 2017 season. Pat Shurmur has one year in as Big Blue Boss and is 5-11.
New York Jets
Another team that feels like it has had more turnover at head coach than it has. Rex Ryan was 46-50 in six seasons. He also was 4-2 in the playoffs, failing to reach the Super Bowl with AFC Championship Game losses. He was replaced by Todd Bowles, who went 24-40. Up now is Adam Gase after an unsuccessful stint in Miami.
Oakland Raiders
The Raiders are on their fifth head coach in Jon Gruden. They also had one long interim one as Tony Sparano coached 12 games in 2014 after Dennis Allen was booted for winning eight games in 36 tries. Tom Cable was 17-27. Hue Jackson actually won eight games in his lone season coaching the Silver and Black. Jack Del Rio was 25-23 from 2015-2017.
Philadelphia Eagles
Another team with three head coaches. Andy Reid started the decade and Doug Pederson is finishing it. However, who could forget the 26-21 mark Chip Kelly had in nearly three seasons from 2013-2015?
Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Tomlin heads into his 13th season as head coach in Pittsburgh with a mark of 125-66-1. His regular-season win percentage is actually better than that of both Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. The Steelers’ last three head coaches have 32 playoff wins between them.
San Francisco 49ers
A big five names have held the head coaching job for San Francisco in this decade. Mike Singletary was coach when the decade started. He did not make it through the 2010 season. Jim Harbaugh was then a strong 44-19-1 in four years before going to Michigan. That was followed by Jim Tomsula (5-11) and Chip Kelly (2-14). Kyle Shanahan is 10-22 in his first two seasons. He needs to turn things around soon in SF.
Seattle Seahawks
Pete Carroll is the only coach for the Seahawks this decade. He has gone a stellar 89-54-1.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bruce Arians steps out of the broadcast booth and back onto the sidelines as Tampa Bay’s fifth coach this decade. Raheem Morris went 17-31 as he bridged the turn. Greg Schiano went 11-21 and Lovie Smith was 8-24. Dirk Koetter just finished going 19-29 in three seasons. The bar is low on the success rate for Arians to follow.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans are on their fifth head coach in Mike Vrabel, too. Jeff Fisher finished his run in Tennessee — and Houston — in 2010. Fisher was 142-120 overall. The trio that followed — Mike Munchak, Ken Whisenhunt and Mike Mularkey — combined to go 45-67. Vrabel shows more hope as he went 9-7 in his first season.
Washington Redskins
Surprisingly, Washington has had two head coaches this decade. Mike Shanahan was 24-40 in his four seasons before Jay Gruden took over. Gruden is 35-44-1 in five seasons with one playoff loss. This feels like a must-win season.
