# Who is the worst NFL head coach of all time? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 30, 2002, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633 "2002-12-30T06:31:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/21 "2002-12-30T23:28:51Z")
I would like to thank **Sofa King** for the compliment. Remember that John McKay was an absolute god when he coached at USC. He took a losing program at the time and returned them to national prominence. And he recruited guys like OJ, Ron Yary, Pat Haden, Anthony Davis, Ricky Bell, Sam Cummingham, et al. When the Bucs entered the league, they were indeed horrible and suffered from comparison with Seattle which at least one a few games here and there and were fun to watch. The Bucs were bad and boring. Also note that the Cowboys were winless in their first season and it didn’t take too long for Tom Landry to turn them into a great team. With free agency now, learning curves for franchises are much shorter. In baseball see “Diamondbacks, Arizona” ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/22 "2002-12-31T00:08:53Z")
I wouldn’t usually come back to this, **Neurotik** , but I really have to nitpick…Buffalo had a “good secondary” this year? Any secondary which stars Chris Watson cannot be considered good by any stretch of the imagination. And the linebacking crew did not cut the mustard until the last couple games of the season. Gregg Williams may not be a good coach, may not last the off-season, but I’d still rate his 11-21 over two years over Kotite’s 4-28 with the Jets. ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/23 "2002-12-31T00:18:03Z")
The Buc’s problem initially, as well as perenially for god knows how long, was the family that owned the franchise. They didn’t know squat about professional sports, much less NFL football, but they refused to relinquish authority to anyone who did. McKay deserves a lifetime achievement award for just putting up with those homers. ---
**Author:** ![Harry\_Lime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Harry\_Lime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harry_Lime)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/24 "2002-12-31T01:47:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dumbguy \* > Jim Mora. > In one playoff game in the early 90’s, the Saints and Falcons went to OT. The Saints won the toss, and Mora _elected to kick_. Of course, the Falcons scored. Really? I don’t remember that. Well, Marty’s not only a fool, he’s not even original… Mora was always obviously trying not to lose, rather than to win. As soon as they got across the 50, Morten Anderson would start warming up. They’d control the line for 3 quarters and be up 12-7, eventually to lose. Saw it happen more than once. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/25 "2002-12-31T01:56:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duke \* > \*\*I wouldn’t usually come back to this, **Neurotik** , but I really have to nitpick…Buffalo had a “good secondary” this year? Any secondary which stars Chris Watson cannot be considered good by any stretch of the imagination. And the linebacking crew did not cut the mustard until the last couple games of the season. \*\* Yeah, I got a bit carried away there. We’ll say a “not horrible” secondary. Kotite was probably a worse coach. Maybe we’ll just compromise and give Williams the 2002 Kotite Award for the coach best able to do less with more. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/26 "2002-12-31T02:12:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BobT \* > \*\* > Also note that the Cowboys were winless in their first season and it didn’t take too long for Tom Landry to turn them into a great team. > > With free agency now, learning curves for franchises are much shorter. In baseball see “Diamondbacks, Arizona” \*\* I just wanted to chime in on the Jim McKay support. I immediately thought of the Hall of Fame manager who set a record for the most losses in a season with 120. Rich Kotite gets my vote, with Al Groh a close second. ---
**Author:** ![StikyIcky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@StikyIcky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StikyIcky)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/27 "2002-12-31T04:41:51Z")
Sorry in advance for the hijack. And Williams is in no way in the LeBeau/Kotite/Morninwheg league of futility, but I still needed to respond. > [@](#): > > I wouldn’t be as harsh on Gregg Williams as **StickyIcky**. **Sticky** , at the beginning of the season, would you have taken 8-8? Be honest now… \*\* Yes, I would have been somewhat happy with 8-8 at the beginning of the season. I mean, hey, at least it brings my Bills back from 3-13 to respectability. However, when they were sitting at 5-3, I was honestly expecting playoffs. Or at least having a good run in the AFC East. As **Neurotik** pointed out, Bledsoe, Henry, Moulds and Price all had superb seasons, probably due to an improved offensive line. Granted, the defense was pretty young and sucked against the run, but I think that can more-than partially be attributed to the “46” defense, which is designed to maximize forced turnovers by taking risks. Unfortunately, it also relies on having a superlatively talented defensive unit. With a defense as unproven as the Bills’, the “46” failed miserably: [ul][li]Ranked DFL in takeaways with only 19. [/li][li]Ranked DFL in penalty yardage with 1053 (they were the only team to crack a thousand yards in defensive penalties. Granted, this isn’t a consequence of the defensive scheme, but it belies a lack of discipline instilled by the coaching staff).[/li][li]6th to last in points allowed. This shows me that instead of creating turnovers, the risks that this defensive scheme employed created points for the other team.[/li][/ul]Now for the offense. I believe that Williams relied to heavily on the pass (you’ve got 1st and goal at the 1, I don’t want to see 3 incomplete passes followed by a field goal. Or worse yet, 2 incomplete passes followed by a momentum-killing pick). He had the talented Travis Henry and a line that could run block. Granted, Henry got his touches (a little over 20 carries per game), but in critical situations, when you need to grind out a 2 or 3 yards on the ground, I don’t think that Williams went to him enough. Finally, Williams’ propensity for not taking chances really irked me. 4th and 2 on the opponent’s 32. Down by 10. What do you do? Kick a field goal to make it a 1 TD game? Nah. Go for it because you have enough confidence in your offense to get you two yards? Nah. Punt the ball to the 17, thus allowing your opponents to march down the field and score on your mediocre-to-poor defense? Ding ding ding! We have a “winner.” Is it really any surprise that the team “responded” to Williams’ lack of confidence by losing that game and the two games after, killing most realistic chances of making the playoffs? I don’t think so. I’m certainly not calling for Williams’ to be fired. A 5 game improvement is something to be proud of. If only he changed some of his play calls, instilled some discipline (the special teams play was particularly undisciplined at the beginning of the season), and changed to a more reliable defensive scheme, I think the Bills would have been a playoff team this year. And if my Bills keep their core, they can probably be a playoff team again next year. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/28 "2002-12-31T04:53:35Z")
I just want to apologize to Jim McKay. I was going purely on childhood memories, and I now realize that I should have researched it a bit better. I meant no disrespect to Coach McKay or any Buccanneer fans. I have learned a lesson :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/29 "2002-12-31T05:55:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by StikyIcky \* > \*\*Finally, Williams’ propensity for not taking chances really irked me. 4th and 2 on the opponent’s 32. Down by 10. What do you do? Kick a field goal to make it a 1 TD game? Nah. Go for it because you have enough confidence in your offense to get you two yards? Nah. Punt the ball to the 17, thus allowing your opponents to march down the field and score on your mediocre-to-poor defense? Ding ding ding! We have a “winner.” \*\* Yeah, I’ve got to agree that was a horrible call. It was one of those calls that looked bad at the time _and_ in retrospect. Your point about the defensive failings are also true, although it looked like the defense was getting the hang of the scheme in the last few games. Still, though, my point was that Williams is nowhere near the all-time worst. Heck, he isn’t even in the league of LeBeau or Campo (Dallas’s Week 15 game was one of the worst-coached games I’ve ever seen). I figured that when Bledsoe came in, it would be a two-year project to make the playoffs. Buffalo came within one win (pending tiebreakers) this year, and, pending a few decent deals by the GM’s office (hint: Takeo Spikes is an unrestricted free agent this year), they’re odds-on to make it next year. I suspect if Buffalo had finished 9-7 and eked into the playoffs, we would be talking about how great a coach Williams is. Talk about a fine line between greatness and mediocrity. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/30 "2002-12-31T06:13:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Casey1505 \* > \*\*I just want to apologize to Jim McKay. I was going purely on childhood memories, and I now realize that I should have researched it a bit better. I meant no disrespect to Coach McKay or any Buccanneer fans. I have learned a lesson :smack: \*\* Cool, very classy. Welcome to the Boards, BTW! ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/31 "2002-12-31T07:09:25Z")
It was John McKay also. Jim McKay is the guy who works for ABC. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/32 "2002-12-31T07:20:49Z")
:smack: :smack: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/33 "2002-12-31T17:28:09Z")
For about 6 games this year, Mike Martz was the worst coach in history. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/34 "2002-12-31T17:51:55Z")
And let’s not forget last year’s Super Bowl were Belichick handed him his head on a stick. It was like watching Coco going up against Kasparov in a chess match. ---
**Author:** ![whiteboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@whiteboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiteboy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/35 "2002-12-31T18:21:32Z")
The Bengals lose due to their owner, not coaches. [www.mikebrownsucks.com](http://www.mikebrownsucks.com) I’ll nominate that guy on whichever team won the coin toss and decided to defend during OT, “beause of it was windy” and then lost the game. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/36 "2002-12-31T20:11:56Z")
I dunno, I can’t think of a worse coach than Kotite! And going on a little threadjack here, the worst coach that’s ever led a team to the SuperBowl MUST be Dan Reeves! ---
**Author:** ![PatrickM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@PatrickM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickM)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/37 "2002-12-31T21:41:34Z")
Here’s a couple of nominees who haven’t been mentioned yet. Les Steckel, who coached the Vikings to a 3-13 record in his only season 1983 during which the players mutinied, which caused the team to bring Bud Grant back out of retirement. The team was mediocre in 1982 and 1984, and stunk out the joint during Steckel’s only year. Then there’s John Rauch, who coached the Bills during 1969 and 1970, and who was so stupid that he used OJ Simpson mostly as a decoy. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/38 "2002-12-31T22:33:53Z")
I dunno. I’d have to chime in with Marion Campbell, who in six seasons with the Falcons (but not four consecutive seasons; he was fired and then rehired!) compiled a stunning record of 17-51, or .250. When you factor in his time with the Eagles, his career record was 34-80-1. The Falcons’ first coach, Norb Hecker, had a record of 4-26-1 over three seasons, but he was coaching the expansion team. Of course, over 35 years in the league, the Falcons had a record of 212-327-5, (and have **never** had two consecutive winning seasons!) so whenever you’re looking for NFL suckitude, it’s a good idea to start with the Birds. ---
**Author:** ![Philosophocles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Philosophocles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philosophocles)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/39 "2002-12-31T22:45:28Z")
Devil’s Advocate on behalf of the bad Bengals coaches: With respect to LeBeau, Coslet, and Dave Shula…sure they had really, really bad records, but we should cut them some slack because the Bengals owner is a cheapskate and the Bengals scouting staff has consistently been the worst (or at least most understaffed) in the league. Just look at the long line of Bengals draft busts of the Mike Brown era–Klingler, A. Smith, K-J Carter, etc. (Various people have already pointed out this defense for Bengals coaches–emphasizing the contributory negligence of Brown and the Bengals’ front office) Counterpoint: The Bengals’ perennial ineptness = very high draft picks every year, and no matter how hard they tried to bungle it, the Bengals have accidentally picked a good player now and then…Dick LeBeau had Takeo Spikes and Corey Dillon, should have been better than 2-14. Devil’s Advocate on behalf of Rich Kotite: Sure, he was a very bad coach, but keep in mind that he just happened to do so in two of the five largest markets in the NFL, so naturally, more people will complain about his ineptitude. Put Morninwheg/LeBeau/some other stiff in the same scenario and they could do as bad or worse. Counterpoint: Even so, Kotite set a standard that is hard to match. Devil’s Advocate for Chris Palmer: It was an expansion team. Counterpoint: Even with an expansion team, 5-27 is very bad. And it was very obvious his team was quitting on him toward the end. Devil’s Advocate for Jim Mora: (Exasperated sigh)…Playoffs?!? PLAYOFFS??? PLAYOFFS??? Counterpoint: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Semp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Semp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Semp)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2003, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633/40 "2003-01-01T03:15:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duke \* > \*\*I suspect if Buffalo had finished 9-7 and eked into the playoffs, we would be talking about how great a coach Williams is. \*\* I’m not all that well versed in the Bills, but I think a good deal of the problem of them finishing 8-8 is due to the play of the quarterback. Sure, Bledoe was on fire the first half of the season, but his bad decisions in the red zone at the end of the season (I’m talking about the Pats and Packers games) cost them too much. The running game was almost non-existant in those games so it was up to the QB, so what does he do? Throw picks, take unconsionable sacks, and drop the ball. Live by the sword, die by the sword. [Schaudenfraude] But at least their sweep of the Dolphins kept Miami out of the playoffs. [/Schaudenfarude] And as for worst head coaching jobs (discounting the career criteria given in the OP), how about Ray Rhodes taking a playoff-caliber Packers team, good for 8 wins on Brett Favre alone, and winning… only those 8 games? Let’s see, Bears driving for a go-ahead score with 2 minutes left and Brett Favre in the sidelines, champing at the bit to drive the home team to victory. What do you do coach? Call time outs to give the 3-time MVP time to do his thing? No! Let them try to score on your vaunted defense! Well, they do! Bears win, you look like an idiot. Congratulations! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-worst-nfl-head-coach-of-all-time/145633.md?page=3)