NFL Mid-Season Report Cards: Grades for Every Head Coach
NFL mid-season report cards are here and it's time to dish out some grades, as we are roughly halfway through the the 2010 season.
But we're not here to discuss the overall performance of all 32 NFL teams.
We're here to look at the head coaches, the men who are the first ones to take the blame for a loss and the last ones to get credit for a victory.
So with the season starting to take shape, let's take a look at the 32 head coaches and decide which ones are passing and which ones are failing.
You know the drill. An F is bad, and so are D's and C's.
But A's and B's mean you're on the right track.
Ladies and gentlemen, here are your mid-season coaches report cards.
32. Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys
1 of 32
What He's Done Right: Wade Phillips' team has one victory over the Houston Texans on the season.
That counts for something, right?
What He's Done Wrong: The Cowboys have a three-headed monster at running back, but all Dallas does is throw the ball. And the Cowboys sit at 1-6.
Grade: F
31. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings
2 of 32
What He's Done Right: The Minnesota Vikings aren't winless on the season, so I guess that's a plus.
What He's Done Wrong: He let Brett Favre and his consecutive starts streak dictate the team's future, and it has failed miserably.
Grade: F
30. Mike Singletary, San Francisco 49ers
3 of 32
What He's Done Right: The 49ers do have two wins—including one in London—when it looked like they wouldn't taste victory all season. Good job, Mike.
What He's Done Wrong: A verbal spat with your quarterback is a very good way to get yourself a low grade, especially when your team hands the Panthers its first win of the season and scores just 17 points per game.
Grade: D-
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29. Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers
4 of 32
What He's Done Right: The San Diego Chargers have the top statistical offense and defense in the league.
What He's Done Wrong: How does a team that is that good statistically and that talented start off 3-5? Ask Norv Turner.
Grade: D
28. Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals
5 of 32
What He's Done Right: Marvin Lewis must be doing something right with his wide receivers because 36-year-old Terrell Owens is on his way to a Pro Bowl season.
What He's Done Wrong: The Bengals defense gives up more points than its offense scores. Cincinnati has lost four consecutive games despite having a chance to win each one.
Grade: D
27. Chan Gailey, Buffalo Bills
6 of 32
What He's Done Right: Chan Gailey's team may be winless, but it hung tough with the Patriots, Ravens and Chiefs before talent won out.
What He's Done Wrong: Same as above. Gailey's coaching really blew the game against the Chiefs this week—don't blame the kicker—and that's the type of stuff that gets coaches fired.
Grade: D+
26. Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos
7 of 32
What He's Done Right: Did you see the stats being put up by Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd earlier in the season?
Orton and Lloyd! That is all.
What He's Done Wrong: Allowing 59 points to the Oakland Raiders is never acceptable. Never.
Grade: D+
25. John Fox, Carolina Panthers
8 of 32
What He's Done Right: Carolina's defense is ranked in the top five in total and passing yards allowed.
And in John Fox's defense, the Panthers just don't have the talent to succeed this year.
What He's Done Wrong: Carolina's offense has been atrocious in all aspects of the game. Fox has switched quarterbacks too many times for the team to develop any type of consistency.
Grade: C-
24. Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears
9 of 32
What He's Done Right: Lovie Smith has the Chicago Bears back to the stingy defense that the team is accustomed to.
What He's Done Wrong: Smith installed an offensive system under Mike Martz that has had its ups and downs. But it still ranks 29th in yardage and 27th in points scored.
Grade: C-
23. Mike Shanahan, Washington Redskins
10 of 32
What He's Done Right: The Washington Redskins are 4-4. That's all I got.
What He's Done Wrong: Despite the fact that his defense is terrible and his offense can't run the ball, Mike Shanahan actually benched Donovan McNabb in favor of Rex Grossman at the end of the game this week.
Are you kidding me?
Grade: C
22. Ken Whisenhunt, Arizona Cardinals
11 of 32
What He's Done Right: With all the departures this team had in the offseason, Arizona could easily be winless. But the team is still in the thick of things at 3-4.
What He's Done Wrong: Arizona ranks 24th or lower in all but one major statistical category on offense and defense.
That's pretty pathetic.
Grade: C
21. Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars
12 of 32
What He's Done Right: The 4-4 start for the Jacksonville Jaguars is a miracle given the fact that the only thing the team does well is run the football—I'm not counting that fluke Cowboys game by the way.
What He's Done Wrong: Jack Del Rio's team gives up a ton of points (28 per game), which is almost eight full points more than the offense scores.
Grade: C+
20. Mike McCarthy, Green Bay Packers
13 of 32
What He's Done Right: The Green Bay Packers sit at 5-3 despite losing running back Ryan Grant, among a slew of other injuries, and having virtually no running game.
What He's Done Wrong: Mike McCarthy still hasn't found a way for the Packers to run the ball and take some of that pressure off of Aaron Rodgers.
Grade: B-
19. Eric Mangini, Cleveland Browns
14 of 32
What He's Done Right: Cleveland isn't exactly loaded with talent. But only two of the team's five losses are by double digits, and Eric Mangini does have a big road win over New Orleans.
What He's Done Wrong: The Browns still have a bad offense, ranking 31st in the league in scoring at 16.9 points per game.
Grade: B-
18. Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles
15 of 32
What He's Done Right: Despite the shuffling at quarterback—some by choice and some not—Philadelphia still sits above .500 in a very competitive NFC East.
What He's Done Wrong: Same as above. He'll switch quarterbacks again for the Eagles' next game, and he can't continue to do that every other week.
Grade: B-
17. Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks
16 of 32
What He's Done Right: The defense has been stout against the run all year, the team has already improved upon last season and the Seahawks are atop the NFC West.
What He's Done Wrong: Seattle ranks in the bottom third of the league in basically every category except for rushing-yards allowed.
Grade: B
16. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts
17 of 32
What He's Done Right: Jim Caldwell has the Indianapolis Colts tied atop the AFC South despite losing Dallas Clark, Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon for parts of the season and Bob Sanders for the entire season.
What He's Done Wrong: Caldwell just seems too damn silent on the sidelines. The Colts have struggled running the ball and stopping the run all season.
Grade: B
15. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints
18 of 32
What He's Done Right: The New Orleans Saints have a top five defense, which was absolutely out of the question before Sean Payton took over the team in 2006.
What He's Done Wrong: Losses on the road at Arizona and at home against Cleveland should not happen to the defending Super Bowl champs.
Grade: B
14. Tony Sparano, Miami Dolphins
19 of 32
What He's Done Right: The Miami Dolphins have a few big roads win—at Cincinnati, Minnesota and Green Bay—on the season. And Chad Henne is slowly developing into a solid NFL quarterback.
What He's Done Wrong: Miami has lost two tough AFC East games, and the Dolphins offense scores just 19 points per game.
Grade: B
13. Jim Schwartz, Detroit Lions
20 of 32
What He's Done Right: The development of the Detroit Lions passing attack (without Matthew Stafford) and rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has been incredible.
What He's Done Wrong: The Lions don't have any type of running game, and the defense gives up a lot of rushing yards (130.4) and points (23.6).
Grade: B+
12. Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans
21 of 32
What He's Done Right: Gary Kubiak's Houston Texans sit at 4-2 on the season—with big wins over the Chiefs and Colts—and are atop the AFC South.
What He's Done Wrong: The secondary continues to get exposed every week as the defense ranks dead last in total yards, passing yards allowed and 28th in points allowed.
Grade: B+
11. Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders
22 of 32
What He's Done Right: At the beginning of the season, I bet my dad $100 that the Oakland Raiders would win eight games.
I'm halfway there thanks to an impressive two-week stretch where the Raiders dropped 92 points and outscored their opponents by an astounding 75 points.
What He's Done Wrong: Oakland still struggles passing the ball and stopping the run. The Raiders have three losses by eight points or less.
Grade: B+
10. Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans
23 of 32
What He's Done Right: The Tennessee Titans weren't exactly a popular preseason playoff pick, but they've looked solid on both sides, have the ball, and have even had a bit of a passing game this season.
What He's Done Wrong: The passing game still isn't all that good and 310 yards of total offense isn't going to get the job done in the playoffs.
Grade: B+
9. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
24 of 32
What He's Done Right: The Buccaneers are the best team in the NFC!
Just kidding, but their 5-2 start is arguably the league's biggest surprise.
What He's Done Wrong: There's still nothing about Tampa Bay that really jumps out at you. The Bucs give up a ton of yards on defense while not putting many points up on offense.
Grade: A-
8. John Haurbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
25 of 32
What He's Done Right: John Harbaugh has his team at 5-2, with big victories over the Steelers and the Jets.
What He's Done Wrong: The Ravens played the Bills way too close last week.
And Ray Rice is struggling to find his niche in the Baltimore offense. He has just one game with more than 88 yards rushing and has just two touchdowns all season, both of which came in Week 5.
Grade: A-
7. Rex Ryan, New York Jets
26 of 32
What He's Done Right: With the huge media circus surrounding the New York Jets before the season, they could have easily succumbed to the pressure. But Rex Ryan has had his team on track for most of the year.
What He's Done Wrong: After a hot start, Mark Sanchez has cooled considerably. Ryan needs to get him going if the Jets are going to win the Super Bowl.
Grade: A-
6. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants
27 of 32
What He's Done Right: Tom Coughlin was hearing questions about his job security after a 1-2 start, but the New York Giants have reeled off an impressive four-game winning streak since then.
What He's Done Wrong: When the Giants have lost, it hasn't been pretty. Their two losses came by a combined 45 points.
Grade: A-
5. Bill Belichick
28 of 32
What He's Done Right: The New England Patriots were expected to be good, but not many people thought they would leave a rough stretch of four games—against Miami, Baltimore, San Diego and Minnesota—undefeated at the beginning of the season.
What He's Done Wrong: Bill Belichick still hasn't found a solution for the team's secondary woes, as the Patriots have given up 282 passing yards per game.
Grade: A
4. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams
29 of 32
What He's Done Right: No one outside of St. Louis—and probably not many people there—expected the Rams to win four games all season. They've done it at the halfway point and Sam Bradford has looked very good so far.
What He's Done Wrong: The Rams could very well be above .500, but they lost some tight games.
And a 38-point loss at the hands of Detroit is pretty embarrassing.
Grade: A
3. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers
30 of 32
What He's Done Right: Mike Tomlin weathered the storm better than anyone ever expected when Ben Reoethlisberger missed the team's first four games.
What He's Done Wrong: That passing attack (180 yards per game) and scoring offense (21 points per game) needs to step up so that nasty defense doesn't have to do all the work.
Grade: A
2. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons
31 of 32
What He's Done Right: Atlanta has lived up to all of its preseason hype, and the Falcons rank in the top 10 in scoring on offense and defense.
What He's Done Wrong: Atlanta's secondary has given up at least 325 passing yards on three different occasions. And Mike Smith hasn't figured out a way to stop pass-heavy offenses.
Grade: A
1. Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs
32 of 32
What He's Done Right: Nobody expected the Kansas City Chiefs to be 5-2 or atop the AFC West, but here they are.
What He's Done Wrong: The Chiefs still rank dead last in passing yards and they've had trouble defending the pass all season, too.
Grade: A
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