Week Eight's FootballGenerals Head-Coach Ranking

The Associated Press bestows a well-known annual Coach of the Year award based on the opinions of a panel of 50 broadcasters and writers, but there's no statistical analysis to back up what is a "conventional wisdom" award based largely on wins, losses, and playoff performance.

FootballGenerals' Coach Ranking is the first unbiased statistical analysis based on the performance of each head coach. Here is the commentary supporting the ranking for Week Eight. 

Leaders of the Pack

Jeff Fisher converted plenty of doubters with his team’s dominating performance on Monday Night against the rival Indianapolis Colts. Fisher currently leads the league with a +8 turnover ratio and is the most efficient coach within the red zone, to go along a perfect record. Fisher remains in first place in the FooballGenerals.com rankings with a score of 455.41.

The Titans have enjoyed the easiest schedule through Week Eight, as they have only played one team currently above .500. Hosting the 4-3 Green Bay Packers in Week Nine will present another test for Fisher as the head coach attempts to hold down the top spot in the ranking.

With a big win over the Arizona Cardinals, John Fox was able to jump two positions and is now placed second in the rankings. Fox has quietly enjoyed a great year and has been successfully coaching his team to victory in close games. After the four-point win against the Cardinals, Fox’s team is now 3-0 in games decided by eight points or less, helping him move up the rankings.

The New York Giants managed to squeak a tough win on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week Eight, and head coach Tom Coughlin is now ranked third in the FootballGenerals.com rankings. Coughlin was helped by his team’s +4 turnover ratio in Week Eight, but the penalties continue to pile up against the Giants, as they now average 60 yards in penalties a game. Coughlin will need to instill more discipline into his team if he is to make a run for No. 1 slot in the head-coach ranking.

Middle Ground

Mike Smith dropped four slots to 11th place with his team’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. In the loss, Smith’s Atlanta Falcons were once again outscored within the two-minute warning, this week by 10 points. Smith ranks 30th in the league in scoring differential within the two-minute warning of each half, and will need to work on his clock management in order to move up the ranking.

Gary Kubiak has enjoyed an up-and-down season thus far and finds himself ranked 23rd after his team’s dominating victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. Kubiak’s Texans lead the league by only surrendering 25 yards in penalties a game, but they are currently ranked 29th with a -6 turnover ratio. Kubiak will need to have his team take better care of the football in order to continue his rise up the ranking.

About to be fired?

The Detroit Lions have had success in the red zone this year; the only problem is that they only been in the red zone a league low eight times. The Lions have scored a touchdown in six of their eight red zone appearances in the season (they were two for two in Week Eight) and are ranked second in red-zone efficiency in the league.

Now, if head coach Rod Marinelli gets his team in the red zone more often and wins some games, he may improve on his 30th position in the head-coach ranking.

Marvin Lewis continues to hold down the lowest head-coach ranking, as he once again got out coached in the second half. The Cincinnati Bengals were out scored by 21-0 after half time, as Lewis’ was ineffective in making any halftime adjustments. Lewis is ranked a distant 32nd place in second-half differential scoring, with a net of -80 points and will need to execute his second-half strategy more effectively if he wants to get out of the cellar in the ranking and have a shot at keeping his job.

Please go to FootballGenerals for more detail and a look at the actual ranking.