NFL's Worst Head Coaches: Did Sporting News Poll Get It Right?

As is their custom, the Sporting News polled 111 players from 31 NFL teams for this year's midseason players' poll. They asked voters to weigh-in on all manner of subjects related to the league.

In one question sure to raise eyebrows, players were asked to name the coach they would least like to play for. The results may shock you. 

So who did players unequivocally state were the worst coaches to play for in the NFL? Let's take a look.

No. 7 (Tie) Mike Shanahan, Washington Redskins

Shanahan has always been known as being relatively void of personality.

That is sometimes hard for players to take. While his results over the years have been positive, he has never been the engaging type of players' coach that most guys love to play for.

In 18 years as a head coach, Shanahan boasts a 155-113 record to go along with an 8-5 mark in the postseason. He also won back-to-back Super Bowl championships with the Denver Broncos in 1997 and 1998. 

But since taking over the Washington Redskins in 2010, Shanahan's results have been disappointing. He has compiled a 9-15 record and hasn't been able to improve the moribund franchise's fortunes.

Shanahan seems to have lost his mojo a bit without John Elway slinging the ball all over the field for him. 

Players want to win, and if they are going to suffer through losing seasons, they want to do it for an inspiring coach. Shanahan isn't that.

Verdict: Good call. I wouldn't want to play for him

No. 7 (Tie): Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals

Unlike Mike Shanahan, Marvin Lewis is a guy who certainly boasts a colorful personality, but his teams have produced incredibly uneven results.

In his nine years as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, he has a 66-69-1 record and the team has only been to the playoffs twice. The Bengals lost their opening game both times they reached the postseason. 

I actually like Lewis and think he'd be a fun guy to play for, because he seems to go to the wall for his guys and stick with them as long as he can. The fact that he stuck by a guy like Chris Henry for so long before he tragically passed away proves that he loves his players no matter what.

That said, players want to win, and Lewis hasn't shown that he knows how to do that consistently as a head coach.

He only received two votes in the poll, so that seems reasonable. It is likely he got votes from players who prefer a more discipline-oriented coach who gets results. 

Verdict: Good call. Wins matter more than anything.

No. 7 (Tie): John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens

Now, this one I just don't get.

John Harbaugh is in his fourth year as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, and his team is 6-2 at the midpoint of the season. Despite uneven quarterback play from Joe Flacco, Harbaugh has rallied his squad to a great record, and they are tied for first place in the AFC North. 

Harbaugh's record in his four seasons is 38-18 (.679) during the regular season and 4-3 in the playoffs. The Ravens have reached the postseason in each of his first three years and have won at least one game in the playoffs each time.

In his first season at the helm (2008-09), Baltimore reached the AFC Championship Game but lost 13-6 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who went on to win the Super Bowl.

Harbaugh is young (49 years old), energetic and successful. I don't know why anyone wouldn't want to play for him.

Verdict: Bad call. I would love to play for him.

No. 6: Jim Schwartz, Detroit Lions

After seeing Schwartz flip out and go after Jim Harbaugh after Harbaugh shook his hand too hard following the Lions' loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6, I can understand why he made this list.

He has always seemed a little over-enthusiastic about stuff on the field, and I get the feeling he takes football way too seriously. 

Schwartz is in his third year in Detroit and has the Lions playing well. They sit at 6-2 through eight games and look like a team headed in the right direction.

That said, Schwartz's combined record in Detroit is 14-26 (.350), and I'm not sure how much of the team's success is a result of his coaching or the team's phenomenal job acquiring talent over the past few seasons.

I'm still on the fence with Schwartz. Yes, he has gotten results this season, but he seems to take losses personally and that can wear on players. 

Verdict: Good call. Football isn't everything; lighten up, man.

No. 5 (Tie): Rex Ryan, New York Jets

How is Rex Ryan not higher on this list? 

I know the head man of the New York Jets sticks up for his players and defends them while they're with the team, but he has also thrown former players under the bus...repeatedly. 

Ryan has also made so many boasts about how good his team is and how they will win the Super Bowl each year that his bombastic nature has to be wearing on his players after three years. 

The Jets have been an absolute disappointment in each of the past three years, mainly because Ryan has pumped them up to a ridiculous degree. While he is 25-15 in his three seasons as head coach of the Jets (and 4-2 in the playoffs), Ryan's failure to lead Gang Green to a Super Bowl looms large. 

Verdict: Good call. Ryan's antics have become a distraction.

No. 5 (Tie): Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco 49ers

If Jim Harbaugh is known for anything, it is toughness and pushing his players to the limit. By doing so, he has been able to get the most out of them, and the results are obvious.

He has a San Francisco 49ers team that was expected to be at the bottom of the NFL this season at 7-1, and by all rights the Niners should be undefeated. 

In Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys, the 49ers held a 24-14 lead with less than seven minutes to go in the game. They ended up losing 27-24 in overtime. Without that major flop, Harbaugh's team would be undefeated at the midpoint of his first season as an NFL head coach.

That's incredible.

Before the former Stanford head coach arrived in San Francisco, starting quarterback Alex Smith was a league-wide laughingstock and was considered one of the biggest draft busts of the past 20 years.

Somehow, Harbaugh has tailored the team's offense to Smith's strengths, and the 27-year-old signal-caller currently has a quarterback rating of 97.3, which is 15.2 points higher than his previous career-high.

The fact that Harbaugh has been able to turn his team's fortunes completely around just a few months into the job shows that he is something special as a head coach. While he has a reputation for yelling and being very emotional, he also appears willing to run through walls for his players, and they feel the same way about him.

Everyone should want to play for a guy like that.

Verdict: Bad call. I'd love to play for him.

No. 5 (Tie): Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs

While Jim Harbaugh seems to be the good kind of intense, Todd Haley is the bad kind. The angry, yelling, screaming, crazy kind of intense.

Never mind that the guy looks like he hasn't showered since the Clinton administration, Haley has some odd ideas about motivation. Like his screaming match with starting quarterback Matt Cassel during the team's Week 4 win over the Minnesota Vikings. 

While Haley is just 44, he has had success early in his head coaching career. In his second season with the Chiefs in 2010, he took them to the top of the AFC West with a 10-6 record. That followed his first year in charge, in which they went 4-12. 

This season the Chiefs are 4-4, but have been disappointing. 

Something about Haley's personality and antics are a bit odd, and I can understand why some players would be thrown-off by them.

In addition to that, he has often openly clashed with the Chiefs' management at times, which means even with success he could eventually be ousted. That kind of instability is not what players want in a head coach.

Verdict: Good call. He seems like a solid football mind, but he's too unpredictable and takes himself way too seriously.

No. 4: Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks

There's just something about Pete Carroll that worked in college but has never translated to the NFL. He's relentlessly positive and always seems to be recruiting. The problem is that in the NFL, there is no recruiting.

Carroll is so upbeat it might rub some players the wrong way.

While he certainly fights for his guys, for those who see football as a job, they might not want a coach who is so loose in his demeanor. I'm sure everyone who meets Carroll loves him personally, but being a great guy doesn't necessarily make someone a great coach to play for.

In his first year back in the NFL in over a decade in 2010, Carroll led the Seattle Seahawks to the playoffs with a 7-9 record. Despite that horrible regular-season mark, Seattle upset the New Orleans Saints in the opening round of the postseason before losing to the Chicago Bears in the divisional round.

This year, the Seahawks have been a complete disappointment, with a 2-6 record at the season's midpoint.

In his six years as a head coach in the NFL, Carroll has a 42-46 record in the regular season and a 2-3 playoff record. Those aren't the kind of results that get players excited, no matter how nice you are.

Verdict: Good call. Great guy, disappointing NFL coach.

No. 3: Bill Belichick, New England Patriots

If you want to play for someone utterly devoid of emotion or compassion, Bill Belichick is your guy. Typically perceived as an "evil genius," Belichick has never been known as a player's coach, but the man has gotten results over the years. 

Belichick is in his 12th year with the New England Patriots, and he has a sparkling 131-53 record (.712) in the regular season and a 14-5 record (.737) in the postseason. He has also taken the Patriots to four Super Bowls, winning three of them.

If you want to get a ring, Belichick is the NFL coach most likely to take you to the promised land, but you may not enjoy your ride there. 

As one NFC defensive player (who remains unnamed) told the Sporting News, "People speak bad of him. He's just a different type of coach. He's not understanding. He's not a player's coach." 

Still, if the goal of playing in the NFL is to win championships, Belichick is the guy I'd want to suit-up for.

Verdict: Bad call. Whatever he's doing works, as he has been wildly successful.

No. 2: Tony Sparano, Miami Dolphins

Considering that he is likely going to be fired after the season, Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano was a safe answer for a whopping 21 of the players polled. 

Sparano is in his fourth year at the helm of the Dolphins, and the team has been horrible. Miami has a record of 1-7 so far this season after back-to-back 7-9 years. Since taking over the team before the 2008 season, Sparano has a 26-30 record (.464). 

The Dolphins went 11-5 and won the AFC East in Sparano's first year on the job, but were ousted in the opening round of the playoffs by the Baltimore Ravens.

Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings had this to say about Sparano: "They're not winning, things aren't going very well down there. It doesn't look like they can turn it around. It's not a very good situation, not the kind of thing people like to be a part of."

That really says it all.

Verdict: Good call. Winning makes players happy, losing does not.

No. 1: Tom Coughlin, New York Giants

It's no surprise that the New York Giants' curmudgeon of a head coach tops this list.

Tom Coughlin landed at the top with a staggering 22 votes. Though he has had success with the G-Men, Coughlin's ways have ruffled more than a few feathers among his players.

During his eight years in charge of the Giants, Coughlin has a 71-49 record (.592) and two AFC East titles. He also led them to a miraculous win in Super Bowl XLII.

Since that time, however, the Giants have yet to win a playoff game and have missed the postseason in two straight years. 

Many have called for Coughlin's head in the years since that Super Bowl win, and if the Giants don't do something special this year (they are currently 6-2), his time in New York may be over.

Two players sounded-off on what they thought of Coughlin's ways. Bears defensive tackle Anthony Adams said the following: "Coughlin is that old school, Bill Parcells, my way or the highway type. He won't bend at all. That's not the coach you'd like to play for.

Another unnamed NFC defensive player added, "Looking at it from the outside, I don't know that any player in the league would say they'd want to play for Tom Coughlin. I wouldn't."

I agree with both assessments. Coughlin hasn't had enough success to warrant such harsh treatment of his players.

Verdict: Good call. I wouldn't want to play for him.