NFL Power Rankings Week 13 – Clipboard Credentials

Week in and week out, we provide rankings based on what the players on the field are doing but what about the coaches? What about the guys making the ultimate decisions every game?

This week’s edition will feature a small little tidbit of each of the 32 NFL head coaches in the league. Their moves just as much as anybody else’s can determine the difference between a win or loss.

 

1. Baltimore Ravens (9-2)
John Harbaugh and Greg Roman do not get enough credit for putting an offense together that meshes perfectly with Lamar Jackson’s skills. Harbaugh also has a top five defense: why isn’t he mentioned as coach of the year?

 

2. Seattle Seahawks (9-2)
Pete Carroll’s season is going by almost unnoticed. Sure you hear about Russell Wilson and the offense but nobody is even mentioning him as the driving force behind it.

 

3. San Francisco 49ers (10-1)
Kyle Shanahan has channeled his inner Brian Billick, being a coach from the offensive side that’s excelling with a historic defense.

 

4. New England Patriots (10-1)
Bill Belichick’s genius is on full display this season. He has found different ways to cover up the emerging flaws of a quarterback in his 40s.

 

5. New Orleans Saints (9-2)
Seam Payton has been one of the best head coaches in the league during his tenure. He is one win away from having double digit wins in a season for the eighth time in his 13 seasons.

 

6. Minnesota Vikings (8-3)
Mike Zimmer only has one losing season since he took over as Vikings’ head coach in 2014. He’s one win away from keeping that his lone season doing so.

 

7. Kansas City Chiefs (7-4)
Andy Reid’s reputation as a quarterback whisperer is well deserved. We know how great Patrick Mahomes turned out but he’s played two games with Matt Moore at quarterback. They have two interceptions between them.

 

8. Buffalo Bills (8-3)
I don’t know who you have penciled in for coach of the year but my vote goes to Bills’ head coach Sean McDermott. Did you really think Buffalo would be this good?

 

9. Green Bay Packers (8-3)
Matt LeFleur’s first season as a head coach has been terrific so far. Sure he took over a talented team with a great quarterback but the Packers were coming off of two losing seasons when he took over.

 

10. Houston Texans (7-4)
Bill O’Brien is now in his sixth season as Houston’s head coach and he’s only suffered one losing season. He’s been to the playoffs three times and he’s looking to add to both numbers by seasons end.

 

11. Dallas Cowboys (6-5)
Every time Dallas is defeated the fans call for Jason Garrett’s head. As a matter of fact they want him fired after some of the wins too.

 

12. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
Mike Tomlin has a knack for motivating players that he needs to step in behind players that he trusts. No matter what side those players fall on, they play hard and he now has his team in a playoff position.

 

13. Indianapolis Colts (6-5)
Frank Reich has been thrown monkey wrench after monkey wrench when it comes to his offensive personnel. With all that being said, he has a fairly decent offense and an even better defense this year.

 

14. Tennessee Titans (6-5)
Mike Vrabel added a few more years on his coaching life by making the most obvious changes in recent history. Ryan Tannehill might not be the quarterback of the future but neither was Marcus Mariota.

 

15. Los Angeles Rams (6-5)
Sean McVay was the young, hot-shot head coach that saved Jared Goff’s career when he took over. Goff’s play this year isn’t helping McVay and the team to a playoff spot.

 

16. Oakland Raiders (6-5)
Jon Gruden’s Raiders in year two look way better than they did in year one. Can they consistently have good enough play to make the playoffs is the question.

 

17. Chicago Bears (5-6)
Matt Nagy would really like to have Jordan Howard back. The Bears are 24th in rushing attempts and they can’t keep defenses honest enough to keep them off his young quarterback.

 

18. Carolina Panthers (5-6)
Ron Rivera’s defense has taken a step back this season. They force enough turnovers which has helped them win some games but the defense gives up too many yards and overall points.

 

19. Cleveland Browns (5-6)
Freddie Kitchens’ offensive thoughts have taken a hit by being bombarded with full head coaching duties. Maybe he let’s his coordinators pick up some of the slack so he can focus more on development and player conduct.

 

20. Philadelphia Eagles (5-6)
Doug Pederson has made the playoffs twice and won a Superbowl in his three previous season as Philadelphia’s head coach. If the team doesn’t turn it around soon he will suffer his second losing season in four years.

 

21. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7)
Last season Doug Marrone was dealt a bad hand when it came to his quarterback position. He’s changed that this year and now all of a sudden he can’t seem to get the running game going.

 

22. Los Angeles Chargers (4-7)
Anthony Lynn has been the victim of some shoddy quarterback play and it could cost him his job. Nobody realizes how good his teams’ defense is or at least nobody talks about it.

 

23. New York Jets (4-7)
For all the flack Adam Gase has gotten over this season, the Jets might have turned a corner. They have won three straight games and they have scored exactly 34 points in each of them.

 

24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7)
The Bruce Arians’ offense still seems to work very well. They Bucs have scored 30 or more points in half of the games they’ve played. As matter of fact, the teams lowest point total of the season is 17.

 

25. Atlanta Falcons (3-8)
Dan Quinn is a former defensive coordinator turned head coach. He didn’t realize how hard it would be to get top notch players for his own team as opposed to coaching top players already on the team.

 

26. Arizona Cardinals (3-7-1)
Kliff Kingsbury’s offense has scored 20 or more points in seven of the ten games they have played. He’s good on that side but his imprint on the defense has not shown up yet.

 

27. Denver Broncos (3-8)
Viv Fangio’s defensive scheme is showing up all over the place on the field. They haven’t racked up the turnovers he would have thought but the team limits yards and stops opponents from scoring touchdowns.

 

28. Detroit Lions (3-7-1)
Matt Patricia’s defensive scheme hasn’t translated onto the field during his tenure as a head coach. He was fairly good in year one but this year his team’s defense has taken a nosedive.

 

29. Miami Dolphins (2-9)
Hopefully Brian Flores has some kind of agreement with the Dolphins to just disregard this first season. It would be a shame to lose a coach who the team is playing hard for.

 

30. Washington Redskins (2-9)
The next head coach of the Washington Redskins should be a guru at drafting and development. The team will have to use a ton of inexperienced players to get this going in the near future.

 

31. New York Giants (2-9)
Pat Shurmur wanted a fresh start when he made the move to rookie Daniel Jones. It might have been the right move for the future but it hasn’t reaped too many benefits in the present. In his defense he probably can’t open up the playbook with the Giants’ current personnel.

 

32. Cincinnati Bengals (0-11)
Head coach Zac Taylor says the team will go back to Andy Dalton as their starting quarterback. It kind of seems like he’s in a room somewhere flipping a coin and calling it in the air.