NFL head coach power rankings: Who are the 5 best coaches in the league?
Simply put, teams aren't going to win many games without top-tier coaching. Who are the five best head coaches in the NFL? There are a ton of quality head coaches in the NFL. However, most head coaches don't end up panning out. In reality, most of them are much better suited as coordinators.
Being a head coach is tough work, so when teams find a good one, it's smart to do everything in their power to make the tenure work. Of the 32 head coaches in the NFL, who are the five best?
NFL head coach power rankings: Who are the 5 best coaches in the league?
5. Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
Fun fact; Dan Campbell has a losing record as a head coach, but over the last two seasons, he's coached the Detroit Lions to a combined 21-13 record, including a 12-5 finish in 2023, an NFC North title, and a deep run to the NFC Championship Game last year as well. Top to bottom, the Lions are excellent, and a lot of the credit should go to GM Brad Holmes for the roster he's built.
But the Lions don't get to where they got in 2023 without Campbell and his rugged, knee-cap biting coaching style. The Detroit Lions are my pick to appear in the Super Bowl from the NFC in 2024. We'll see if they can keep this upward trajectory going.
4. Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
Matt LaFleur enjoyed the end of the Aaron Rodgers tenure in Green Bay, and now he seems to have developed the next great QB in the NFL in Jordan Love, who caught fire mid-season and helped lead the Green Bay Packers to a 9-8 record and a run to the NFC Divisional Round. Love, LaFleur, and the Packers are young and in a perfect spot to make a Super Bowl run.
LaFleur has a 56-27 regular season record and a 3-4 postseason record. He's got four winning seasons in five years and three years with 13 wins. Winning 67.5% of his games thus far, Matt LaFleur could end up on the all-time wins list years down the line.
3. Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams
Winning the Super Bowl in 2021, Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams had a bit of a down year in 2022, just one year after their Super Bowl victory. After a breakout season in 2023 with a ton of young players and rookies, the Rams look to be trending upwards again. After winning 10 games last year, there is no reason to expect this team to win less in 2024.
In fact, they're definitely a sleeper Super Bowl team. McVay just has this head coaching thing figured out.
2. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
The best young head coach in the NFL, and the best head coach not named Andy Reid, Kyle Shanahan is simply excellent. He's been to two Super Bowls, and the two QBs on those teams include a backup-caliber player in Jimmy Garoppolo and the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft in Brock Purdy.
Shanahan and John Lynch have always been at the top of the totem pole in terms of roster building. The 49ers have stars everywhere, and they're constantly one of the three best teams in the NFL.
1. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs
Andy Reid is the unquestioned best head coach in the NFL. Do Reid and the Chiefs win three Super Bowls in five seasons without Patrick Mahomes? Probably not, but Reid has his teams ready to play every single week, and there isn't an argument to have another coach ranked ahead of him.
Reid is in his 60s and may not be coaching for much longer, so I do think he's got retirement in the mirror, and it's coming up quickly. With three Super Bowl titles and a ton of wins, Andy Reid will end up in the Hall of Fame.