NFL Power Rankings 2011: Rex Ryan and the 3 Most Overrated Coaches in the NFL

The Jets, along with several other contenders, have surprisingly started slowly but with Week 5 ending at the conclusion of the Lions-Bears game, it's time to start criticizing the head honchos. 

The lockout has definitely impacted these first couple of weeks, but at this point teams (especially the contenders) can't use that crutch.

Head coaches, in my opinion, don't receive enough criticism for their players' poor performance. A great example would be the Jim Harbaugh effect in San Francisco. The 49ers didn't change a lot of their player personnel from last year, yet the team is now sitting pretty at 4-1 and atop the NFC West. The difference was Jim Harbaugh and his ability to not only properly game-plan for his opponents but to also inspire his players to buy what he's selling. 

There are a bunch of overrated head coaches in the National Football League but here is a list of a few guys that have stood out from the crowd. 

Jim Caldwell

Caldwell is simply living in a nightmare right now. The Colts are 0-5 and will likely miss the playoffs for the first time since 2001, which was Peyton Manning's rookie season. 

Caldwell will not have an infamous rant like former coach Jim Mora, but I wouldn't blame the guy if he did. He just can't inspire his players to play good football for 60 minutes.

Why even have a head coach if one player can make this much of a difference? You might as well hire Peyton Manning to coach your team and play quarterback; that way the Colts can save a buck or two. 

Andy Reid

I really didn't want to put Andy Reid on this list, but at this point it's unavoidable. The Eagle players deserve a ton of criticism for their lackluster performances but Reid has his share of issues. 

I didn't like the hire of Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator. Castillo was a former offensive line coach and has never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL. The zone schemes they're running in Philly are mind-boggling (in a bad way). Philly isn't adapting their scheme to their personnel and they just seem lost on defense. 

The Eagles made a bunch of moves in the offseason but didn't address their offensive line issues. They selected OG Danny Watkins in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft, but he's struggled. They have an undersized and inexperienced linebacker corps that they also didn't address in the offseason. 

Philly still has time to recover but with every loss, expect rumblings about Reid's job security to arise. 

Rex Ryan

Rex Ryan has had success over the last two seasons, but it's becoming apparent that the Jets are now tuning him out. They sit at third place in the AFC West, behind both the Patriots and the Bills (both at 4-1) with a 2-3 record.

The defense hasn't played well the last couple of weeks and it seems that Ryan can't get his message across to his players. The offense is atrocious and it's time for Rex Ryan to threaten Mark Sanchez for the starting job. 

Joe Namath also chimed in on Ryan's supposed weakness. He thought Ryan was too chummy with players and as a result their performance suffers. I didn't think much of the comment at first, but it seems there could be some truth to that.