NFL Power Rankings Week 10: Rating the Top Coaches
After the dust settled in week 10, one coach was out of the job, some others are nearly there, and several have their teams in contention to play for a Super Bowl.
These 32 characters are the off field leaders for their respective teams and their talents don't always get noticed.
Join Bleacher Report as we take a look at the top coaches in the NFL half way through the season.
Underachieving Coaches
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No. 32) Wade Phillips/Jason Garrett - No team has been more of a disappointment than the Dallas Cowboys this season, at 1-7 Wade Phillips is out, and Jason Garrett is in.
No. 31) Chan Gailey - The Bills are 0-8, enough said.
No. 30) Josh McDaniels - Ever since starting off 6-0 last season the Broncos have been pathetic, going 4-14 in that span with decent enough talent.
No. 29) John Fox - The Carolina Panthers coach is rumored to resign at seasons end, but his resume isn't exactly superb, the Panthers are 1-7 and an absolute mess on offense.
No. 28) Marvin Lewis - The Bengals have lost five straight and things are beginning to unravel in Cincinnati.
No. 27) Mike Singletary - The fiery personality we were accustomed to seeing on the field as a player is looking more and more defeated after each 49er loss.
No. 26) Brad Childress - "Chilly" is coming off a NFC championship appearance a season ago with essentially the same team, but how he has handled the Moss situation, and his fueds with players raises some serious questions.
Average Coaches
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No. 25) Jim Schwartz - OK, 4-20 through one and half seasons, but he's coaching the Lions, a team that went 0-16 two seasons ago.
No. 24) Eric Mangini - Cleveland has overachieved in many peoples eyes this season, still though, a 3-5 record and zero playoff appearances aren't good.
No. 23) Norv Turner - The Chargers have always been a second half of the season type of team, but the lack of playoff success that haunted Marty Schottenheimer is beginning to follow Turner.
No. 22) Ken Whisenhunt - Though he hasn't had much of a quarterback since Kurt Warner retired, Whisenhunt should have his former NFC champion Cardinals better than 3-5.
No. 21) Gary Kubiak - In his fifth season with the Texans, Kubiak is still searching for the franchise's first playoff appearance, after a great this season, Houston is already beginning to fade from the post season picture.
Above Average Coaches
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No. 20) Pete Carroll - The former USC main man has the Seahawks at 4-4, and in the NFC West, that could be enough.
No. 19) Tony Sparano - Sparano's Dolphins are also 4-4, but its how they got to this point that is far more impressive, all four wins have come on the road. Disturbing, but at least he has his guys focused away from home.
No. 18) Mike Shanahan - The Redskins are proving experts wrong this season at 4-4, but Shanahan's handling of the Donovan McNabb situation hurts him a little bit.
No. 17) Jack Del Rio - With the talent that Del Rio has, 4-4 isn't bad, but if he wants to get back to the post season for the first time since 2007, he will have to get more out of his Jaguars.
No. 16) Lovie Smith - Smith hasn't been to the playoffs since his Bears fell to the Colts in the Super Bowl four seasons ago, but many would tell you the Bears are lucky to be 5-3 right now.
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Overachieving Coaches
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No. 15) Steve Spagnuolo - The Rams are 4-4 like a lot of teams in the NFL, but with a rookie quarterback starting, and tons of question marks surrounding the rest of the squad, that's quite an accomplishment.
No. 14) Raheem Morris - Morris' Buccaneers are one game out of first place in the NFC South and could very well steal a wild card slot.
No. 13) Jeff Fisher - Fisher is the longest tenured head coach in the NFL, and the Titans are 5-3 and tied for the lead in the very competitive AFC South.
No. 12) Tom Cable - Cable has rebounded like few coaches ever do, his team is 5-4 and leading the AFC West just nine wins combined in his first two seasons.
No. 11) Todd Haley - The Chiefs are a surprising 5-3 half way through the season, and Haley's coaching has a lot to do with it.
No. 10) Mike Smith
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Mike Smith has never had a losing season as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, and this year his Falcons are 6-2, tied for the best record in the league.
Smith has given new life to a franchise that was wrecked after the Michael Vick scandal and the Bobby Petrino incident shortly after.
No. 9) Andy Reid
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Andy Reid has the Eagles in the race for the NFC, and has done it by winning consistently with two quarterbacks in Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb.
Reid is also one of the longest tenured coaches in the NFL, having coached Philadelphia since 1999.
No. 8) Mike McCarthy
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Mike McCarthy has won over 60% of his games as Packers coach, and has handled the transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers beautifully.
McCarthy's Packers have rebounded from a massive amount of injuries and two tough overtime losses to now being in contention for the Lombardi Trophy.
No. 7) Jim Caldwell
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Caldwell inherited a Super Bowl level team after Tony Dungy retired two seasons ago. His Colts started off 14-0 last season, but since then Indianapolis has gone 5-5 in the regular season.
The Colts have a number of key injuries but still Caldwell has them in contention for the AFC's best record.
No. 6) Rex Ryan
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Ryan's defensive knowledge and schemes have been money for the New York Jets as they came just a game away from the Super Bowl last season and are tied with a number of teams for the league's best record at 6-2.
Ryan's personality at press conferences and trash talking before and after games has made him a fan favorite, but he still has the talent to back it up.
No. 5) John Harbaugh
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Harbaugh has lead the Ravens to the post season in every season as head coach, and this year doesn't look like it will be any different as his Ravens are tied for the best record in the league at 6-2.
Harbaugh has let the cast of characters on his defense be themselves and coached up the offense to play at a championship level.
No. 4) Tom Coughlin
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Coughlin has resurrected his Giants' team this season after leading them to five straight wins after starting off the year 1-2.
The Super Bowl winning coach is as strict as they come, and apparently his players respond to that.
No. 3) Mike Tomlin
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Tomlin has already become a legend in Pittsburgh after winning a Super Bowl in just his second year as head coach of the Steelers.
The straight-forward coach who always tells it like it is has his team ready to play every week.
No. 2) Sean Payton
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The defending Super Bowl champion coach has his guys at 6-3, tied for the most wins in the league, and always has one more trick in his bag of goodies.
Whether it's a preseason game, or the Super Bowl, Payton isn't afraid to be the goat, a gutsy and creative play-caller indeed.
No. 1) Bill Belichick
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The three time Super Bowl champion head coach has his team at 6-2, tied for the best record in the league, and seems to out-smart the opposing shot-caller each and every week.
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