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The Five Best Actve NFL Coaches Without a Super Bowl Ring

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Championships.

It's the standard by which all coaches are measured. Everyone remembers winners.

Along with the quarterback, the head coach is regarded by many to be the most important and influential member of an NFL team.

NFL history will always look favorably upon coaches like Don Shula, Chuck Knoll, Tom Landry, Bill Walsh, and others because they were champions.

There's a reason the most coveted trophy in the NFL is named after Vince Lombardi. He won five NFL championships during a seven-year span.

There are only five current NFL head coaches who have won the Lombardi trophy (Belichick, Coughlin, Dungy, Gruden, and Holmgren).

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30 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. James Williamson 6 months ago

    Only five coaches have won it as a head coach Paul, but as assistants or players, the number is huge!

    Jeff Fisher, Mike Tomlin, Jack Del Rio, Mike Singletary, Norv Turner, Andy Reid, Eric Mangini, Marvin Lewis, Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Smith, and Gary Kubiak have won at least one ring. Mangini has 5 of them

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  2. Paul Augustin, Jr. 6 months ago

    I know. I was trying to word my article so that my audience was aware that I knew that many have won as players or assistants. Just a few, though, have won as head coaches. Guess I should have done a better job. thanks for the comment.

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    • James Williamson 6 months ago

      Well, I wrote my comment a bit too quick. You mentioned Norv Turner's success, but on Del Rio and Reid, I don't think you did.

      How many guys is that?

      11 plus the five you mentioned at the beginning. so 16 aka half of the NFL's head coaches have rings.

      Romeo Crennel, Rod Marinelli, and Mike Shanahan are three of the most recently fired guys and have rings.

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    • Paul Augustin, Jr. 6 months ago

      You are correct but I think you are missing the point of the article. It wasn't to say that there are "only" 5 head coaches with rings, it was to point out the good coaches who haven't won rings as head coach.

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    • Reuben Cohen 5 months ago

      Well you said "only five current NFL head coaches who have won the Lombardi trophy"

      I think that's pretty clear
      I don't think you have anything to apologize for

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  3. robert allred 6 months ago

    Norv Turner does not belong on this list... at all. He was a great assistant but a terrible head coach. His team does not even belong in the playoffs this year.

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    • Paul Augustin, Jr. 5 months ago

      And many said that Arizona didn't belong in the playoffs. Then they went and beat Atlanta and are currently laying the wood to Carolina.

      If you look at the good active coaches who have not won as head coaches besides the ones that I mentioned, you have Tomlin, Payton, and Kubiak. None of those coaches have the longevity that Turner has and of that bunch only Payton has a playoff win.

      Maybe in a few years one of those guys will surpass Turner or come off this list completely with a Super Bowl win. Who would you put in Turner's spot?

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    • Eric Quackenbush 5 months ago

      ...And neither do the Cardinals, lol.

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    • robert allred 5 months ago

      I would have had your honorable mention Del Rio in the top 5 over Turner.

      If Turner wins a couple more playoff games this year, then I might give him a little credit. It would still not change the fact that his team shouldnt have been in there in the first place.

      I just think that Turner, like Phillips in Dallas, had a super talented team, and just completely SUCKED this year. If Wade isn't going to get a pass (and I don't think he deserves one), then why should Turner?

      Overall, this was a well done list. I just disagree with Turner being in there. Thats all

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  4. T.W. Krems 5 months ago

    Heres something you should have put for Lovie: In the 4 years Smith has been Head Coach, the Bears are one of only 2 NFC teams to have 40 or more wins, Bears (40) Giants (41).

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  5. T.W. Krems 5 months ago

    I love this photo of Reid and Fox. It looks like they are getting ready to duke it out.

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  6. Angel Navedo 5 months ago

    What hurts is that guys on your list all have to wait another year before they get a shot again. The Panthers are surprising the hell out of me right now. Regardless, it was said above, but I'll re-iterate. Norv Turner is not a "best" in any category.

    Maybe coach with the best players to carry him into the playoffs.

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    • Paul Augustin, Jr. 5 months ago

      I am shocked about the Panthers as well. Five Picks!!! Everyone on ESPN radio today, except Larry Fitzgerald, said that a Cardinals victory would be the biggest surprise of the weekend and I had to agree. Andy Reid does get a chance tomorrow. I picked the Eagles but I'm about to go 0-2 for the weekend on my picks. Darn Titan's goal line fumble.

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  7. Bryan Hollister 5 months ago

    Paul, don't feel bad, I'm sitting at 0-2 myself for picks. I NEVER saw Arizona out-playing the Panthers like they did, and the Titans game was just a heart breaker.

    As to your coaches, Sean Payton belongs in your top five. He has taken the New Orleans 'Aints and turned them into the New Orleans "We might actually be a contender in the near future"'s. Turner's regular season record hurts him in my eyes.

    Like the old saying goes, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. Turner's playoff appearances are more a product of the law of averages than any particular game planning.

    Fisher and Smith should have been the top two; I believe their regular AND post season records are better than Reid's.

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    • Paul Augustin, Jr. 5 months ago

      I considered Payton. It was either him or Del Rio for honorable mention. As for Fisher and Smith, they do not have better records than Andy Reid no matter how you dice it.

      Reid has coached 160 regular season games and has won just about 61 percent. He has coached 15 post season games and won 60 percent of them.

      Fisher has coached 230 regular season games and has won just under 57 percent of them. With tonight's loss, he is 5-6 n the playoffs.

      Smith is 45-35 in the regular season. That is also just under 57 percent. He is 2-2 in the playoffs.

      I wasn't going strictly by record, but if I was, Reid would be on top.

      I also factored in longevity, which is a major reason Norv Turner made my list.

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    • Bryan Hollister 5 months ago

      I was going off memory on the records; and I thought Lovie had been there longer than that (don't follow the Bears, though).

      Gonna play Devil's Advocate on ya and invoke the longevity factor: Fisher has 70 more games as a head coach, plus came within 33 inches of actually winning the Super Bowl in 2000.

      And yes, I'm a part-time Titans fan —live in Nashville—so personal preference is playing a little bit.

      If it was me, I'd have had to keep flipping the coin until Payton won the toss against Del Rio. Dunno what it is, but something about him just bugs me.

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  8. Eric Quackenbush 5 months ago

    This is a respectable, well thought out, well put together list. I have to agree that Reid should be number one, considering the amount of regular season and post season success he's had.

    I wouldn't mind any of these five coaches being the head coach of my Panthers, Fox included. I still say he can keep his job with Carolina. We just got beat by the better team last night, and played horribly. Keep Jake, too. I love his fire; everyone's entitled to a bad game, unfortunately, this one just came at the wrong time for us.

    Norv Turner, I'd have to go against everyone else and say that I can agree with that pick too. Two consecutive seasons he's brought the Chargers to the playoffs as their coach. Why must we always take away from him? What about when Schottenheimer was there? Always in the playoffs, but never in the big dance, but that's for another time.

    Five stars, POTD.

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  9. Andrew Mason 5 months ago

    Good list! However Andy should not be number one in my opinon.

    While it is nearly impossible to say Andy Reid is a bad coach i mean completely turning this team around going from 5-11 in his first year to 11-5 the next is remarkable. Andy is an AMAZING regular season coach. However though I think Andy can only get you so far in the playoffs. Dont let the trips to the NFC championship game fool you. All four years only the Atlanta game in which they won did truly play well. Carolina and Tampa were not even close being outscored 41-13. Then the St. Louis game although the score was close St. Louis dominated the 2nd half allowing Marshall Faulk to rack up 159 yards rushing and let the rams control the ball for 12:50 in the third quarter alone! Then all four years to get to the NFC championship game they played some chump team who got lucky (Chicago with Jim Miller at QB) or needed a miracle (4th and 26) to get there. While it was not Andy who executed poorly he has had a tendency to call bad plays in his career.

    IE Tampa Bay game just 10 yards out. Instead of being normal and running the ball or calling some sort of pass play where it would hard for the CB to jump the route he calls a flat route for the WRs while the CBs were in zone and Ronde Barber jumped it and returned it 92 yards for the game sealing TD. During that run it was completely silent I remember because I was there and everyone was just in shock.

    Despite though you do back everyone up you have picked so 5 Stars!

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  10. daniel cox 5 months ago

    i dunno. the top three are right on the money.

    turner shouldn't be on here and del rio is certainly debatable.

    it's weird era, right now,for coaches. there's some older guys that haven't had a lot of sustained success. but there's some new head coaches that are rising. the rookies of course, tomlin is a star (and perhaps should be on the list...). i understand where you're coming from with the list though. it's tough to say guys like harbaugh and smith, maybe even tomlin, or "best active" coaches just yet...

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  11. James Turner 5 months ago

    I actually thought you were going to give us your opinion on who you feel were the five best coaches currently who haven't won a ring. Since you left it out in the open then I will give you mines.

    Norv Turner, of course since my recent article.

    Mike Tomlin, young fresh, black, and only 36 years old. His best years are yet to come.

    Andy Reid, have to give the man his due. Four straight NFC Championship games. And got his team back into the playoffs even after getting swept by my Redskins.

    Jeff Fisher, he really have build his team up despite the years of failing. He just has a winning element to him. Maybe he can finally win a Super Bowl ring before he retires. With his current team, he definitely can do it. He just needs Vince Young to finally become a man and lead this team. We all saw the college championship game against USC. If he can bring that winning element to the Titans, then Fisher will finally win his ring. Vince Young is a winner. Point blank.

    John Harbaugh, after this year's playoffs, he deserves this. Maybe at the end of the playoffs, he might have to be taken off this list. We'll just have to wait and see.

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  12. Ryan Callahan 5 months ago

    Andy Reid - one of the flabbergasted four tops the list? I need to find my challenge flag on that one.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQtbzkT4iQE

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  13. Austin Penny 5 months ago

    i like it--only i would have Fisher over Reid for the top spot. The fact that Fisher has been with the Titans/Oilers for 15 years is explanation enough of his greatness. He has coached the same team longer than any other coach by FAR and away! in today's world of firings and 'what have you done for me lately' type stuff, Fisher's longevity is outstanding.
    Being a Panthers fan, Fox belongs on this list. However, the qualities you listed as his best (commitment to the run and a strong defense) are two things that have kept him from earning that ring as a HC. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE our running game with a passion--but we continue to run when its not working and we run dives and guts when we have leads because we don't want to give away the momentum, thus going 3 and out a lot and punting to the other team giving them a chance to peck their way back into the game. fox's defense has always been strong but this current panthers team needs some MAJOR help in the secondary (as was so gracefully highlighted by one Larry Fitzgerald this weekend.)

    Good article though, man--thanks for the heads up

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    • Paul Augustin, Jr. 5 months ago

      As a Saints fan I wish we had half of your running game and defense. But I guess it's always greener on the other side.

      Thanks for the POTD!

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    • Austin Penny 5 months ago

      i can see your envy in the running game but on defense...we just sucked it up the last half of the year. we allowed 30+ points in five of our last seven games. you can't do that in the NFL.
      you saw it in week 17 when we played the saints...it was a shootout that we narrowly escaped with a win. now, yes, it WAS drew brees, but the fact remains the same: our soft zone pass defense got absolutley EXPOSED this year and we made no adjustments whatsoever.

      but that's not neccessarily all on Fox (who is the focal point of this conversation). that also falls a lot on the shoulders of Mike Trgovac, our def. coord.

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  14. Reuben Cohen 5 months ago

    I am shocked that you have Norv Turner and almost Jack Del Rio on that list. Turner I believe is not a good head coach at all, and Del Rio fell far in my eyes after this season.

    Fisher should be number 1, even though the current number 1 is my team's coach.
    I would put Tomlin on the list as well.

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    • Paul Augustin, Jr. 5 months ago

      I like Tomlin, but here's why I didn't put him on the list:

      He's only been a head coach for two years. Longevity factored in my list. With the team that he inherited, it hard to decide if he's really good or if he's like Don McCafferty (the guy who succeeded Don Shula in Baltimore and won a Super Bowl immediately and then did nothing).

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    • Reuben Cohen 5 months ago

      Or Bill Callahan, right?
      Took over from Jon Gruden and went to the Super Bowl, then lost to Gruden.
      I think Tomlin's proved he's not like that, because already he's gotten a lot of his own players as well as Cowher's

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    • by Paul Augustin, Jr. (Columnist)

    January 10, 2009

    466 reads

    30 comments

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