The Best Assistant Coach in the History of Every NFL Franchise

Most NFL coaches do not break into the game as a head coach.  They usually get their start as a position coach then move up to a coordinator before getting their break as a head coach.  That is not the case for every single guy, but it is the case more often than not.

Here is a list of each NFL team's best assistant coach.

Kansas City Chiefs

Once upon a time, Mike McCarthy was the quarterbacks coach with the Kansas City Chiefs.  He coached players like Rich Gannon and Elvis Grbac during his days there.

McCarthy had a stint with the Saints and 49ers before becoming the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.  The Chiefs probably wish they would have given McCarthy more of a chance instead of letting him go to the Packers.

Detroit Lions

Today Bill Belichick is arguably the best coach in the NFL.  In 1976 and 1977, Belichck was an assistant coach with the Detroit Lions.  

Belichick took a long road to get to where he is today.  He coached for six different teams in 25 years before becoming the head coach of the Patriots.

Philadelphia Eagles

John Harbaugh has been a huge success as the coach of the Baltimore Ravens.  His team is a perennial power in the AFC North.

Some were surprised when the Ravens hired Harbaugh after nine years with the Philadelphia Eagles because he had never been a coordinator.  The leap of faith by the Ravens sure paid off on this one.

Oakland Raiders

Jim Harbaugh has accomplished the impossible this season.  He took the 49ers, who most people thought would be in the hunt for the first pick of the draft, and turned them into a team that is playing for the NFC Championship.

Harbaugh came to San Francisco from Stanford, but before he went to Stanford he was the quarterbacks coach in Oakland from 2002-2003.

Denver Broncos

Mike Shanahan is not enjoying much success as a head coach in Washington, but he won two Super Bowls as the head coach in Denver.

Shanahan had two stints in Denver as an offensive assistant before heading to San Francisco to the offensive coordinator for three years.  His success with the 49ers was what earned him the head job in Denver in 1995.

Cleveland Browns

Bill Cowher compiled a 149-90-1 record as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Before becoming the head coach of the Steelers, Bill Cowher was an assistant with the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs.

It is still a bit of a mystery why Cowher is not coaching in the NFL today.  With all of the head coaches who get a second chance, you would think Cowher, who has a Super Bowl ring, would be at the top of every coaching wish list.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mike Tomlin is one of the best coaches in the NFL.  Before he got his big break as the head coach of the Steelers, he was the defensive backs coach in Tampa Bay for four years.

Most people thought Tomlin was a long shot to get the Pittsburgh job when it was announced he was interviewing.  The Steelers' organization sure is glad that they decided to pull the trigger and give Tomlin the job.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Dick LeBeau did not find success as an NFL head coach, but there is no doubt he is one of the greatest defensive coordinators in the history of the league.  He is most well-known for inventing the zone blitz which has been copied by a lot of teams in the league.

LeBeau's defenses are perennially among the toughest to gain yards against the NFL.  There will be a place in Canton for him eventually.

New York Giants

You do not get the Super Bowl trophy named after you without being one of the best coaches ever.  Vince Lombardi is most well-known for being the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.  Before he got that job, he was the offensive backfield coach for the New York Giants from 1954-1958.

Lombardi transitioned from being the head coach of the Packers to the general manager of the Packers in 1968.  That lasted for a year before he became the head coach of the Washington Redskins in 1969.

Cincinnati Bengals

Bill Walsh is one of the most innovative minds in NFL history.  He became famous as the coach of the San Francisco 49ers, but his first job was with the Cincinnati Bengals.  Walsh was an assistant coach with the Bengals from 1968-1975.  Cincinnati was still a member of the AFL when Walsh joined them.

Walsh is also famous for his coaching tree.  There are a whole host of guys who had success as coaches in the NFL who either learned directly from Walsh or from someone who worked for Walsh.

New England Patriots

Bill Parcells is one of the most successful and well-known coaches in the history of the NFL.  Before he got his first head coaching gig, he was the linebackers coach for the New England Patriots in 1980.

Parcells is another guy that is pretty well known for his coaching tree.  Obviously the best "branch" of that tree is Bill Belichick. 

Tennessee Titans

Jim Schwartz was the defensive coordinator in Tennessee from 2001 to 2008 before becoming the head coach of the Lions.  The 2008 version of the Titans defense was dominant.  That was the unit that got him the interview in Detroit.

What he has done in Detroit has been nothing short of a miracle.  He took a team that was 0-16 in 2009 and turned them into a playoff squad in 2011.

San Diego Chargers

Chuck Noll is the only coach in the history of the NFL with four Super Bowl titles.  His career started in 1960 when he was the defensive line coach for the San Diego Chargers.

The Chargers would have been much better off giving him their head coaching job than anyone they have hired in the last 50 years.

Chicago Bears

Jeff Fisher just got his second head coaching job after holding the Rams and Dolphins hostage for almost two weeks.  He had a good run in Tennessee, but his first coaching job was with the Chicago Bears.

Fisher worked for the Bears as a defensive assistant in 1985.  The Bears won the Super Bowl that year.

It will be interesting to see if he can turn the Rams around after a miserable season.

Minnesota Vikings

Brian Billick did not turn out to be the offensive guru that he was billed to be in Baltimore, but you do have to give him credit for adjusting his style for the personnel he had with the Ravens.  He played a run the ball first offense because he had so much talent on defense while he was there.

Billick got the job in Baltimore because of the high-powered offense he ran in Minnesota.  It turned out that his offensive genius was due more to the talents of Randy Moss than anything Billick did.

San Francisco 49ers

George Seifert walked into a really good situation in San Francisco.  There is no doubt about that, but he should still get credit for the job he did with the 49ers.

He was the head coach of the Niners for 8 years.  In that time they only missed the playoffs once.  They won the Super Bowl twice and lost in the NFC Championship game three times.  That is a pretty good resume.

Green Bay Packers

There have been a lot of good coaches go through the Packers organization, but few of them have a resume as good as Andy Reid's.  Reid still has not been able to win a Super Bowl, but he is 136-90-1 in his time as a head coach.  That is nothing to sneeze at.

Reid will enter 2012 on the hot seat.  He will need a deep playoff run to save his job.

Dallas Cowboys

Mike Ditka is known for what he did with the Chicago Bears.  He was at the helm of the 1985 Bears team that is one of the most memorable teams in NFL history.

His first job in the NFL was as an assistant coach for the Dallas Cowboys.  

Ditka also moved on to coach the Saints after his career in Chicago, but that one did not go nearly as well.

Arizona Cardinals

Joe Gibbs was at the helm of three Super Bowl winners with the Washington Redskins.  He got his first shot in the NFL way back in 1973 with the then St. Louis Cardinals as the running backs coach.

Gibbs tried his hand again as the Redskins head coach in 2004 after sitting out for 12 years.  It appeared that the game had passed him by in his time away.

Miami Dolphins

It is amazing that Norv Turner still has his job in San Diego after the season they just had, but he really is a good football coach.  His 107 wins prove that.

Turner was the Dolphins offensive coordinator in 2002 and 2003 before moving on to be the coach of the Raiders.

Buffalo Bills

Ted Marchibroda won 87 games as an NFL head coach.  He was the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills from 1989 to 1991.

He went on from Buffalo to have decent success as the head coach of the Colts and Ravens.

Houston Texans

Wade Phillips is one of the best defensive coordinators in the history of the NFL.  You need to look no further than the job he has done this year with the Texans defense.  He took a defense that was one of the worst ever last year and made them one of the best in the league.

Phillips should remain a coordinator for the rest of his career because he is not a good head coach.

Baltimore Ravens

Marvin Lewis has had mixed success as a head coach.  He was really close to being fired last season, but saved his job this season after leading the Bengals to the playoffs.

There is no doubt that he was an excellent defensive coordinator.  He held that position with the Baltimore Ravens from 1996-2001.  He had some of the best defenses in NFL history during that time.

Atlanta Falcons

Art Shell got a raw deal in Oakland.  He was a much better coach than a lot of the guys that got more time with the Raiders.

Shell led the Raiders to three playoff appearances in four years from 1990-1993.  He went on to coach with Falcons after his first stint in Oakland.

St. Louis Rams

Mike Martz did not find success as a head coach or as the offensive coordinator of the Bears, but he put together "The Greatest Show on Turf" when he was the offensive coordinator in St. Louis.

Martz would have found more success as an NFL coach had he been willing to adjust his play calling or attitude later in his career.  This week he is rumored to have retired from coaching in the NFL.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Mike Smith has done a good job as the coach of the Falcons.  He made some questionable decisions at times this year, but overall his time in Atlanta has been a success.

It was his work as the defensive coordinator in Jacksonville that got him noticed for the Falcons job.  He was with the Jaguars from 2003-2007.

New Orleans Saints

Pete Carmichael, Jr. did a really good job with the Saints this season.  He took over as the play caller when Sean Payton had to be in the booth because a collision on the sideline tore up his knee.

Drew Brees has one of the greatest seasons in the history of the league with Carmichael Jr. calling his plays.  He will get his shot to be an NFL head coach very soon.

Indianapolis Colts

Tom Moore was the voice Peyton Manning heard in his ear for 11 seasons in Indianapolis.  Moore does not get the credit he deserves with those teams because most people give all of the credit for the success to Manning.

Of course Manning is one of the greatest of all time, but someone had to teach him an NFL offense when he first entered the league.  That someone was Tom Moore.

Carolina Panthers

Gil Haskell was the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers in in 1998 and 1999 under George Seifert.  His offense was 4th in points scored at 26.3 points per game in 1999 with Steve Buerlein at quarterback.

He moved on from the Panthers to coach the Seahawks after the 1999 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Monte Kiffin should go down in history as one of the greatest defensive coordinators in the history of the league.  Kiffin was with the Bucs from 1996-2008.  His defense ranked in the top 10 11 of the 13 years he was the coordinator.  He is the man responsible for the "Tampa 2."

It is just a shame that Kiffin decided to follow his son to the college ranks after the 2008 season.

Washington Redskins

The 1999 Washington Redskins had a very prolific offense.  It was the brain child of Norv Turner, but it was Terry Robiskie who worked as the passing game coordinator.  Brad Johnson threw for 4,005 yards and 24 touchdowns under the direction of Robiskie.

1999 was by far Johnson's best season.  He did have more touchdown passes in 2003 with the Buccaneers, but he threw for less yards and more interceptions that season.

Seattle Seahawks

In 1997 the Seattle Seahawks had the 3rd best offense in the league under Bob Bratowski.  Warren Moon threw for 3,678 yards and 25 touchdowns that year.

That team could have made a deep run in the playoffs if not for the struggles of the defense.  They only managed +3 in the point differential column even with that prolific offense.