10 NFL Coaches More Deserving of Coach of the Year Than Bill Belichick

The Associated Press (AP) rules everything regarding end of the year awards.

When the season is said and done, people will name the best offensive player and defensive player based off who the AP named as the best. The same goes for best coach, which the AP gave to Bill Belichick of the Patriots today for the third time.

The Patriots had a great year, yet was Belichick really deserving of the honor? The answer is no. AP dropped the ball.

A Coach of the Year should have led a team to a season that defied preseason expectations and overcame setbacks with injuries and drama. Here are 10 coaches who did that and more and were more deserving of the title Coach of the Year.

10. Chan Gailey

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TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 07: Chan Gailey, head coach of the Buffalo Bills stands on the sidelines against the Chicago Bears at Rogers Centre on November 7, 2010 in Toronto, Canada. Chicago won 22-19. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

This one is a little tough to argue, because how can you really give Coach of the Year honors to a man who coached his team to a lowly 4-12 record? You can't, and Gailey should not have won, yet he had Buffalo playing close the entire season.

The way Buffalo played, they could have been 8-8, which would have been quite respectable for the young team that got zero production from rookie running back C.J. Spiller and was forced to start backup Ryan Fitzpatrick. 

Fitzpatrick stepped up and put up fantastic numbers, and second-year receiver Stevie Johnson turned into a top receiver in the league. Veteran Fred Jackson eventually stepped up to give the Bills a run game. Even with a pitiful defense, Buffalo played tough, and its future looks bright. The Bulls brought the to-be Super Bowl-bound Steelers into overtime and nearly beat them.

Chan Gailey did a lot with Buffalo this year. Look for him to be a front runner for the award next year if Buffalo puts together a good season.

9. Josh McDaniels

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DENVER - NOVEMBER 14: Head coach Josh McDaniels of the Denver Broncos celebrates a touchdown on the sidelines against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second quarter at INVESCO Field at Mile High on November 14, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. The Denver Bron

NOT.

8. Mike McCarthy

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IRVING, TX - FEBRUARY 02: Head coach Mike McCarthy of the Green Bay Packers talks to the media on February 2, 2011 in Irving, Texas. The Green Bay Packers will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlin

He's pretty damn boring, pretty damn forgettable, yet Mike McCarthy led a Green Bay Packers squad that fought injuries and barely made the postseason to the Super Bowl, and that feat alone is worthy of the award.

Star running back Ryan Grant and tight end Jermichael Finley were on injured reserve by Week 5 of the season. QB Aaron Rodgers battled concussions throughout the season, and they suffered back-to-back losses to the Redskins and Dolphins.

With the Chicago Bears playing well and locking up the division, it seemed that the Packers' year could have gone into the dumps, yet they pulled it together, rallied into the playoffs and won their way into the Super Bowl. Mike McCarthy is as worthy a choice as any for Coach of the Year.

7. Jim Schwartz

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DETROIT, MI - DECEMBER 12: Head coach Jim Schwartz of the Detroit Lions looks on while playing the Green Bay Packers for a fourth quarter touchdown on December 12, 2010 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit won the game 7-3 (Photo by Gregory Shamus

Schwartz, like Gailey, didn't exactly coach a winning team in 2010, yet winning comes in steps, and someone would have to be ignorant to argue that the Lions didn't make great strides in 2010.

The Lions are the team that finished 0-16 two seasons ago, and this past year they finished 6-10, third in their division, and played tough football.

Their defense stepped up thanks to Pro Bowl play by rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Their offense was always competitive since Calvin Johnson would score touchdowns if I threw him the ball, and the Lions were no longer the joke of the league (congrats Redskins!).

Schwartz has made tremendous strides with this team, and they are easily be a force to be reckoned with in 2011.

6. Steve Spagnuolo

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SEATTLE, WA - JANUARY 02: Head coach Steve Spagnuolo of the St. Louis Rams stands on the field during their game against the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field on January 2, 2011 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

The Rams went 7-9? With a rookie quarterback? And were one game away from the playoffs? After going 1-15 in 2009?

Yes is the answer to all the above questions, and Steve Spagnuolo is a tremendous reason why. Any coach that can take a team from 1-15 to a playoff contender is doing something right.

Add in the fact that rookie QB Sam Bradford was the starter and his top receiver Donnie Avery went down in preseason, and you know that Spagnuolo coached a team with dedication and discipline.

The former Giants defensive coordinator should have made the playoffs with his St. Louis squad. Despite missing them (Seahawks!), the Rams finished with the best record in their division and will most likely be the favorite to win the division next season. 

5. Mike Tomlin

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FORT WORTH, TX - FEBRUARY 02: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers talks with the media on February 2, 2011 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011 at Cowboys Stadiu

Mike Tomlin usually gets mad props for his coaching and in my opinion has been a tad overrated, yet this year he proved himself to me. He proved he was not just a coach with a good team but a good coach with a good team. Despite this, he was barely talked about this year. Shocking.

The Steelers had a rough start to the season. Starting QB "Big Ben" Roethlisberger was suspended for the first four games of the season due to allegations that he sexually assaulted a college girl.

Gross, yet despite this, the Steelers defense held up during the lowly Charlie Batch era, and Pittsburgh once again proved it was a threatening force in football. When linebacker James Harrison became the center of the NFL's crackdown on head-first hits, Tomlin never lashed out at the media or the league and presented himself as cool and collected.

This was the year the Steelers could have become mediocre, but they didn't.

4. Tom Cable

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CHICAGO - AUGUST 21: Head coach Tom Cable of the Oakland Raiders watches as his team takes on the Chicago Bears during a preseason game at Soldier Field on August 21, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Raiders defeated the Bears 32-17. (Photo by Jonathan Dani

Tom Cable worked for Al Davis, so of course he doesn't have a job anymore.

He should though. The Raiders went 8-8 and swept their division. The Raiders haven't had a winning season since 2002, when they went to the Super Bowl. That's a long time for a storied franchise.

Despite coaching a team with no quarterback and no offense minus Darren McFadden, Cable turned the Raiders into a threatening opponent against any team on any Sunday. Their defense proved to be one of the best at stopping the pass.

With the Chargers going downhill, the Chiefs hot or cold and the Broncos in absolute disarray, I would not be surprised to see black and silver in the playoffs next season.

The question, though, is who will Al Davis hire to coach his team, and more importantly, how will he f*** this one up?

3. Mike Smith

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ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 02: Head coach Mike Smith of the Atlanta Falcons against the Carolina Panthers at Georgia Dome on January 2, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

This guy should really change his name or paint his face because he just may be the most forgettable figure in all the league. Mike Smith, I know seven of them, but none of them coached a team to such dominance as Smith did with the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons went 7-1 at home and easily won their very competitive division. After the Patriots, they had the best record in the league at 13-3, and Smith (very) quietly commanded the respect of his squad and took total control. Atlanta's offense was consistent, while its defense was threatening.

They may not have been a flashy team, but Atlanta played tough football all season and proved that is a winner. They blundered completely in the playoffs, yet Mike Smith should have very well been the winner of Coach of the Year.

2. Todd Haley

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KANSAS CITY, MO - JANUARY 09: Head coach Todd Haley of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on during the 2011 AFC wild card playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium on January 9, 2011 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Ge

I may not like the Chiefs, but I have to tip my hat to Todd Haley.

The Chiefs have been nothing short of terrible for the past few seasons, yet he took a squad that finished 4-12 in 2009 and turned it into a 10-6 division winner.

Their young defense played better than they should have, Jamaal Charles was a monster from the backfield and Matt Cassel played with poise despite not having too many targets to throw to.

The Chiefs were a team that was disciplined, determined and well put-together. This could have been another year of mediocrity in Kansas City, yet it was a bright spot in a recently dim history for this storied franchise.

I see Haley being with Kansas City for quite some time and possibly taking this young-but-improving team to the Super Bowl sometime soon.

1. Raheem Morris

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NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 02: Head coach Raheem Morris of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates after a touchdown during the game against the New Orleans Saintsat the Louisiana Superdome on January 2, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Grayth

How Morris did not win this award is mind-blowing to me.

He has all the makings of a great story: He's young (34), friendly and from ghetto New Jersey. He started off as an intern with the New York Jets through a minority benefit program. Raheem Morris should have been the feel-good story of the season, but he wasn't.

This may be because the Bucs generate no attention from ESPN or other major media outlets, or it may be because, despite finishing 10-6, they never really led the playoff race. The Bucs played in an incredibly tough division that featured the Saints and Falcons and also faced a tough lineup of opponents outside of their division.

Despite these tough conditions, the Bucs had a great season with a second-year QB (Josh Freeman) and a rookie running back and wide receiver (LeGarrette Blount and Mike Williams). Their defense played tremendous, and they played every opponent tough.

They lost respect because their wins came versus teams with bad records, but that is no reason why Morris should not have been recognized for his achievements with Tampa Bay.

Their division is not getting any easier, but Tampa Bay is getting better. Maybe next year their team will have an average age of 24 and make the playoffs. Then the country can see what a talented team of young players they are and how Raheem Morris is a coach of the year.

In Conclusion

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ORCHARD PARK, NY - DECEMBER 26: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on in a match against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium on December 26, 2010 in Orchard Park, New York. New England won 34-3. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Get

Like everyone else, I don't like Belichick. Biases aside, though, he was not deserving of the Coach of the Year award this year. The Patriots were great, but they should have been great. In the end, they didn't grow at all this year. In fact, they disappointed.

A coach is someone who takes a team and turns it into a better squad, a more dedicated squad and a more disciplined squad. A coach takes a team that has known nothing but losing and teaches the players what it feels like to win before they step onto the field.

A coach changes the outcome of the game before the game starts, and a coach takes the bullets when his team loses, because he is the true heart of the franchise.