Week Nine'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.

Super Bowl Coaches?

Jeff Fisher led the Tennessee Titans to an overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers in Week Nine and remains the top head coach in the FootballGenerals.com ranking, with a score of 454.27. The Titans won the key turnover battle 2-0 and were only penalized twice for 15 yards, which was vital in the close game. Fisher has had his team consistently focused and well prepared, justifying his contention for Head Coach of the Year.

Tom Coughlin was a big mover this week after his team’s dominating performance against the division rival Dallas Cowboys. Coughlin had his team executing perfectly in the red zone, as the offense scored touchdowns in each of their five red-zone possessions and kept the Cowboys scoreless in each of their two red-zone possessions, helping him move up the ranking to the second overall slot. 

The Rookie Head Coach Not Named Zorn

Despite having a 4-4 record, Tony Sparano is currently ranked sixth in the head coach rankings, raising the argument that the Miami Dolphins’ losses may have been the result of poor luck rather than due to poor coaching. Sparano's statistics show that he is currently coaching better than 10 of his peers who have a winning percentage above .500—he is currently second in the league with a +9 turnover ratio and is fourth in the league in penalty yards by only being flagged for an average of only 36.5 yards a game. Sparano will look to continue his excellent season and hopefully have his excellent coaching translate into more wins. 

You Play…..to Lose the Game!

Herm Edwards has been criticized for his in-game coaching decisions before, and his blunders were on full display in Week Nine. After storming out to a 24-3 lead against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Edwards’ Chiefs gave up a special teams TD with 2:01 left in the first half, and then allowed another score before the end of the half to swing the momentum to his opponents, going into the locker room.

Then, Herm’s non-existent halftime adjustments led to another opposing TD and two-point conversion in the final seconds of the game, and he had to watch his team lose in overtime. 

Edwards is now ranked last in the league in scoring differential within the two-minute warning, as he needs to do better job of controlling the play clock. In addition, he is tied for 28th in the league in halftime differential, showing that Edwards is getting vastly out-coached after halftime.

Herm is currently ranked 24th overall in the FootballGenerals head coach ranking, and will need to improve his in-game coaching in order to move up.

Just Fire Me Already!

Despite earning his first win of the season, Marvin Lewis remains in dead last place, with a measly score of 189.63. Lewis is lucky that there are only 60 minutes in a game, as his Cincinnati Bengals barely held on after giving up 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. 

Lewis was outscored once again in the second half, this time by a margin of 16-7. He remains last in the league in second half differential and will need to improve his halftime adjustments in order to get out of the cellar in the ranking.

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