WHO IS THE 2ND BEST COACH IN THE NFL ???????????

[Tony Oday]

If hoodie is so great why don't the Browns have multiple titles by now?

[pbmax]

No Jason Garrett on that list? I'm not even all that sure Belichek is #1. I'm also not all that sure being a consistent winner makes somebody the best coach. Maximizing the winning according to the talent available would be my criterion. I had this discussion with my grandson, and he said something that rings true: A "good coach" really doesn't make that much difference in the NFL, but a "bad coach" sure can screw things up. Bruce Arians also wasn't on that list, and I think I will go with him as my choice for best by that maximizing criterion.

If he doesn't think a good coach helps much in the NFL, I'd hate to know his opinion on baseball managers.

I would split the difference here. There are many good coaches in the NFL that make a world of difference but luck and the front office have to be on their side to separate themselves from the pack with sustained success.

Paul Brown, Lombardi, Bill Walsh and Belichick made their organizations successful by being more than just a good coach.

Many others had to be in the right situation to allow their acumen to have a bearing on success. Since you cannot possibly know which of the good coaches will become franchise builders, I like the Steelers approach. Getting a good coach and giving them time and resources to get better. And that includes sometimes tinkering with their staff and methods, as much as most owners do this to their detriment.

Its the one dynamic that might be missing between Ted and Mike, only because I have no idea if it exists.

[pbmax]

If hoodie is so great why don't the Browns have multiple titles by now?

Because a coach cannot do it alone.

[Pugger]

With how much so many of you bitch about McCarthy I'm seriously shocked he is leading this poll presently.

[vince]

With how much so many of you bitch about McCarthy I'm seriously shocked he is leading this poll presently.

[Fritz]

He looks tougher these days, with the beard.

[beveaux1]

I wouldn't trade MM for any of those named. I respect the job Carroll, Harbaugh, Reid, and Tomlin have done, but I don't consider them superior to MM.

[bobblehead]

Jim Harbaugh was the 2nd best coach in the NFL in my opinion. Everywhere he has gone he has won and won big.

I don't care for Sean Payton, he has never impressed me. John Harbaugh has experienced a lot of consistent success in Baltimore with a good-but-not-great QB. He's very good. Pete Carroll is great too. Tomlin and MM are obviously great too.

I would agree, but he traded Alex Smith and hitched his wagon to Kapernick, then bailed when it became obvious how bad a decision that was.

[pbmax]

I would agree, but he traded Alex Smith and hitched his wagon to Kapernick, then bailed when it became obvious how bad a decision that was.

Probably an underrated reason for San Fran troubles. But the GM was busy leaking talent too, but losing most of McCloughan's draft gems and not hitting much as his own college talent scout.

[Joemailman]

Depending on who you believe, Harbaugh either left or was pushed out. There was talk of a power struggle with Baalke. As for choosing Kaepernick over Smith, was that a mistake? An argument can be made that Kaepernick's career went downhill after Harbaugh left/was pushed. Kaepernick came a lot closer to winning a Super Bowl than Alex Smith has. I really wonder if Kaepernick's career trajectory would have been different if Harbaugh were still there.

[pbmax]

Depending on who you believe, Harbaugh either left or was pushed out. There was talk of a power struggle with Baalke. As for choosing Kaepernick over Smith, was that a mistake? An argument can be made that Kaepernick's career went downhill after Harbaugh left/was pushed. Kaepernick came a lot closer to winning a Super Bowl than Alex Smith has. I really wonder if Kaepernick's career trajectory would have been different if Harbaugh were still there.

Kap was already showing serious signs of fading the year after their Super Bowl run. At one point before Harbaugh left, his number were atrocious against everyone but the Packers.

One of the points against Harbaugh was that his offense had failed to deliver even after Kap gained experience.

[ThunderDan]

When Kap had has "run" of great play it was when the read option was first being seen in the NFL. It took a while for the D coordinators around the league to catch up but they have. Same with the Chip Kelly offense.

This is where I think MM has gotten stale. He used the West Coast Offense as his base and created a more vertical variation. It was new and unstoppable for a while. D coordinators have now caught up with the scheme and MM's insistence that they just need to execute better doesn't ring true. He needs to put a new wrinkle in the O to keep the opposing Ds on their heels. Having threats like Monty going out of the backfield and Cook at TE to stretch the field have certainly helped.

[RashanGary]

When Kap had has "run" of great play it was when the read option was first being seen in the NFL. It took a while for the D coordinators around the league to catch up but they have. Same with the Chip Kelly offense.

This is where I think MM has gotten stale. He used the West Coast Offense as his base and created a more vertical variation. It was new and unstoppable for a while. D coordinators have now caught up with the scheme and MM's insistence that they just need to execute better doesn't ring true. He needs to put a new wrinkle in the O to keep the opposing Ds on their heels. Having threats like Monty going out of the backfield and Cook at TE to stretch the field have certainly helped.

I just listened to some assistant coaches talk on Packers.com . I believe it's clements who talked about Rodgers taking time to trust his receivers and anticipate rather than wait and be sure the player knows what he's doing. Rodgers has a special hate for turnovers. A guy like favre, you can plug random guys in and favre will do what he's supposed to do and if the guy is not there.... interception. Rodgers is more of a control freak and needs trust to make those same throws.

I think MM and AR have the offense humming right now. Nobodies caught up to it. But at the beginning of the year, I think they need to maybe simplify for the younger guys so they're doing a few things well that AR can count on and grow over the year, rather than expect them to do everything well.

Or maybe I'm wrong. If the Packers win the SB this year, maybe pushing guys to be on the same page of a big book is better because even though it takes time some years, it wins Super Bowls when it comes together. This year is an example of AR finding chemistry with 17, 87, 89 and I think he has it with 18 and 88 too. Oh, 82 as well. So they've built a masterpiece this year. We'll see.

[King Friday]

I just can't see McCarthy as the 2nd best coach in the league right now.

He's got Aaron Rodgers, and has only been to the Super Bowl ONCE. That is rather pathetic for a guy who is supposedly the 2nd best coach in the league.

[texaspackerbacker]

A minor point about Kaepernick: I don't think his biggest successes were read option. Against the Packers at least, and probably in general, he did like Aaron Rodgers does - drop back to pass and then basically run to daylight if his receivers were covered. And as good as Rodgers is that way, Kaepernick was about twice as fast. Harbaugh, rather than try to take advantage of that, tried to throttle it down and make the guy throw it away more or whatever - avoid getting hurt or for whatever reason, running less.