NFL Playoffs 2011: Ranking All 12 Playoff Coaches
NFL Playoffs are finally here and the Road to the Super Bowl starts for real this weekend with the Wild Card round.
At this time of the year, having a good coach can be the difference between moving on and going home.
To be fair, the 12 coaches that are in the postseason this season are very good coaches and almost all of them have pretty strong pedigrees. Some are a little more talkative then the others, but they've all done something right by getting their teams this far.
So with that in mind, here are how the 12 postseason coaches rank.
12. Pete Carroll, Seattle
1 of 12
Carroll's at the bottom of this list because of his relative inexperience his second time around in the NFL (he did make playoff trips in the late 1990s in New England). In addition, with a 7-9 record, Carroll has the distinction of guiding the first sub-.500 division champs into the postseason.
But Carroll is pretty experienced in big games and was able to bring a 5-11 team from last season into the playoffs.
11. Todd Haley, Kansas City
2 of 12
Like Carroll, Haley's low on this list because of his relative inexperience as a head coach. But while he's done a great job at Kansas City, he'll have to draw up a game plan to help nullify the Ravens defense.
That means attacking the Baltimore secondary and putting the game in Matt Cassel's hand.
If he can do that, then Haley will rocket up the list.
10. Andy Reid, Philadelphia
3 of 12
If this was a regular season list, then Reid would be near the top. But for all the playoff trips, Reid hasn't been able to bring home the big one and is 1-4 in NFC Title Games.
His struggles with clock management have been well documented, but perhaps more worrisome is how the Eagles have played the last couple of weeks.
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9. Mike McCarthy, Green Bay
4 of 12
McCarthy should earn props for getting the Packers to the playoffs, considering the injuries he has had to deal with this season.
That being said, the Pack was a trendy Super Bowl pick this season and he has yet to win a playoff game with that loaded roster, so McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers definitely have something to prove this year.
8. John Harbaugh, Baltimore
5 of 12
Harbaugh has won the way a lot of coaches in the NFL do: running the ball and playing defense. But in his third year in the league, Harbaugh has built the Ravens back into a Super Bowl contender and a legitimate threat as a Wild Card in the AFC.
He's made it to at least the Divisional Round the last two years, and there's no saying he can't go further this year.
7. Lovie Smith, Chicago
6 of 12
For what he's accomplished in Chicago (three division titles, one NFC Title), it seems like Lovie's always on the hot seat as the Bears coach.
Even so, Smith finds ways to have his team competitive and he found a way this year to work around a turnover-prone quarterback and a porous O-line to make it back to the postseason.
6. Mike Smith, Atlanta
7 of 12
Like McCarthy, Smith has a lot to prove as he's looking for his first playoff win. But he's guided the Falcons to one of their best seasons in franchise history. Of course, it helps to have Matt Ryan and others on board.
But Smith has shown, at least this season, that his team can come from behind and can win a game in the last few minutes, which is a definite plus entering the postseason.
5. Rex Ryan, New York Jets
8 of 12
Ryan is perhaps the most entertaining of all the coaches on this list. He's never been afraid to speak his own mind, even when it provides bulletin board material to the other team.
Ryan has also made the playoffs in each of his two years and has an aggressive defense that has the ability to shut down most offenses when they need to.
4. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis
9 of 12
It's pretty easy to coach any team that has Peyton Manning on it. Still, Caldwell took his team to the Super Bowl last year and got the Colts to another division title with all the injuries they suffered this year.
Caldwell inherited Tony Dungy's team, but he's proven he can still be a good coach at least in the short term.
3. Sean Payton, New Orleans
10 of 12
Payton was a great coordinator before taking the head coaching job in New Orleans. Between him and Drew Brees, the Saints went from losers to Super Bowl Champions.
The Saints can obviously play offense, but Payton and his staff did a great job with the defense against the Colts. That's not including the onside kick that will forever live in Saints lore.
2. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh
11 of 12
Tomlin is, for lack of a better term, a Pittsburgh Steelers coach. It may sound stupid, but the Steelers run the ball, throw downfield with a big, gunslinging quarterback, have fast receivers with great hands and play aggressive defense.
The Steelers have a great chance to come out of the AFC just because of their defense, but Ben Roethlisberger gives them an even better chance.
1. Bill Belichick, New England
12 of 12
The same way Tom Landry became associated with his fedora and Joe Paterno did by his pant legs, Bill Belichick has his iconic cut-off sleeved sweatshirt. And like those coaches, he's been extremely successful.
Of course, Belichick is known as a defensive genius, and he'll have to work extra hard on his defense this postseason.
But if he can get his young defense to continue playing well, then the Patriots might have another ring in their future.
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