Ranking the 14 Head Coaches in the NFL Postseason

There is no Andy Reid this time to sit atop the charts, but the playoff field is still loaded with elite NFL coaches. Four of them proudly wear a Super Bowl championship ring. Two others have been there and lost.

So who is the best of the best among this group that also includes two first-year head coaches, one in the first year with a new team, and two more experiencing the postseason for the very first time? Here is the FOX Sports ranking of the 14 head coaches in the current playoff field.

14. Dave Canales, Carolina Panthers

The only coach in the field with a losing record this season (8-9) and for his career (13-21), so of course he’s at the bottom of this list. Playing in the worst division in football, he couldn’t get his Panthers out of their up-and-down rut. One week they’d look ready to compete with anyone. The next they’d be terrible again. They were capable of beating the Rams before their bye, then losing to the Saints after it. There was no consistency, no overall development, and quarterback Bryce Young hasn’t gotten much better under his watch either. He’s clearly the outlier of this otherwise stellar group.

13. Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars

It shows the strength of the field that he’s this far down on this list, because Coen has done an absolutely brilliant job in his first year as a head coach. The NFL knew he had a stellar offensive mind, but he changed the culture in Jacksonville and took a team of chronic underachievers and showed them how to win. Granted, the Jaguars' schedule wasn’t all that tough, but they did finish with eight straight wins, beating the Chargers and winning at Denver along the way. He is a strong candidate for NFL Coach of the Year, but he’s also the least experienced coach in the entire field.

Liam Coen has had a remarkable first season as a head coach. Is he ready for his first postseason? (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

12. Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks

The offensive coaches get more of the headlines, but Macdonald is underrated for his defensive genius. His team and scheme can match with anyone in the playoffs, and that puts the Seahawks in a strong position to make a run. Macdonald might be among the least well-known of this group, but his players swear by him and opposing coaches marvel at his rare ability to make in-game adjustments. He also built an outstanding staff and, in Klint Kubiak, might have the hottest offensive coordinator in the league. The big games don’t seem to faze him, but this will be his first playoff test.

11. Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers

Another of the offensive whizzes, he has been an incredible success in his seven years in Green Bay (76-40-1), but this hasn’t been his finest year. The Packers sputtered to a 9-7-1 mark and were big underachievers all season, particularly on offense, which has always been his strength. That’s a big reason why there’s a feeling around the league that he’s coaching for his job in the playoffs, especially after ending the season on a four-game losing streak. Maybe that’s crazy, but his 3-5 playoff record isn’t great in a city that calls itself "Titletown."

10. Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears

An absolutely brilliant offensive tactician who, with a little more experience, might end up in the top tier with McVay and Shanahan someday. The machine he built in Detroit transferred seamlessly to Chicago despite lesser personnel. He’s proven to be a strong leader who can motivate his team, too, and is brilliant at finding and using unsung talent. There’s nothing not to like, except for his lack of big-game experience running the whole show. It’s a bit worrisome that the Bears lost their past two games, and three of five, when they had a shot at the No. 1 overall seed and then the No. 2 seed. Things can feel a lot different in big spots when you’re in charge of it all.

9. DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans

Right now, he might be the best defensive mind in football. His team is aggressive and tough, and the scheme is hard to match up against. It’s on the verge of being an all-time great defense, especially if it can carry this team to the Super Bowl. Overall, he’s completely rebuilt the culture in Houston and has proven to be remarkably calm and upbeat no matter what’s going wrong. He’s a huge reason why the Texans have gone to the playoffs in each of his three seasons, and won at least one game the first two trips. There’s always a feeling that his teams overachieve, and that’s usually the hallmark of a good coach.

8. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers

The dean of the field in the absence of Andy Reid, he’s taking the Steelers to the playoffs for the 13th time in his 19 seasons, yet he's looking for his first win since 2016. A master motivator and strong leader, he’s made the most over the years out of some mediocre teams with questionable quarterback situations. That he found a way to coax one more good season out of 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers and get him to mesh with players about half his age, is a testament to his leadership. But five straight one-and-done playoff appearances have tarnished his otherwise stellar résumé and caused many to wonder if the end is near.

Mike Tomlin and Sean McDermott might both need to win on wild-card weekend to keep their jobs. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

7. Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills

He might be the most polarizing name on this list. The expectations have been so high in Buffalo over the past seven years that there’s a good case to be made that McDermott has underachieved by not leading them to the Super Bowl. But it’s hard to ignore this will be his seventh straight trip to the playoffs and his Bills have won at least one postseason game in each of the past five years. No, he can’t beat the Chiefs in the playoffs, but he doesn’t have to worry about them this year. Even as a wild card, this will be the postseason that could cement his legacy, whatever that is.

6. Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles

Considering he’s the defending champion and has taken his team to two of the past three Super Bowls, he probably deserves to be higher on this list. But it’s hard to shake two things: his spotty record at assembling his staff, and his often curious game-day decisions that lead his offenses to chronically underachieve. That said, he wins at a nearly 70% clip (59-26) and has taken each of his five Philly teams to the playoffs. His players swear by him and he’s a genius at managing high-profile personalities, which isn’t always easy in that locker room. Overall, he deserves far more credit than he gets.

5. Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots

There’s a reason so many teams wanted him when the Titans foolishly fired him after the 2023 season. He used a smart, disciplined approach to build tough teams that played well above their talent level. He just didn’t have the quarterback in Tennessee (though he did have remarkable success with Ryan Tannehill). Now he does, and he took an underwhelming, underachieving roster and turned it into a power. His Patriots aren’t battle-tested because of their schedule, but he has them believing they are ready. And he’s helped turn his young quarterback into a star.

4. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers

He’s probably the closest coach in the field to being Sean McVay’s equal as an offensive strategist. His work with quarterbacks, in particular, has been miraculous over the years. He brings out their talent like no one else in the game. He’s also undeterred by setbacks. Year after year, his 49ers teams are battered by injuries, and yet he finds ways to keep them on top. Add in the brilliant job done this season by DC Robert Saleh, and no coach wants to try and out-scheme or out-think this group. And while he hasn’t won a Super Bowl, he’s been there twice. He’s taken five of his nine 49ers teams to the playoffs now. In each of the first four, they reached at least the NFC Championship Game.

3. Jim Harbaugh, Los Angeles Chargers

He has had success everywhere he’s gone, on every level. Known for being an old-school, detail-heavy coach that’s great at adjusting what he does to the talent that he has, he might be the best staff-builder in the field, too. He hasn’t won a Super Bowl, but the reason he’s won an NCAA title and been to a Super Bowl and three NFC title games is that his philosophy is playoff-tested. He builds teams with strong defenses and rushing attacks and makes them tough enough to fight the big battles, too.

Jim Harbaugh has a lot of NFL playoff success — but it came more than a decade ago. Can he lead the Chargers on a deep run? (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

2. Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams

Still the brightest offensive mind in the field and maybe no coach gives their team more of an advantage when they have the ball in their hands. Defensive coordinators find his schemes among the toughest to defend, and his playcalling is generally brilliant. Yes, it helps when he has the right quarterback to run what he calls, but in Matthew Stafford he does. And together, when that offense gets rolling, they are a dynamic duo that’s hard to stop.

1. Sean Payton, Denver Broncos

His team won 13 one-score games and had to come from behind to win 12 times. That doesn’t happen without a steady force and elite mind at the top. That describes the 62-year-old Payton, who has long been one of the best coaches of this generation. He turned the Saints into a power and a Super Bowl champion, and he turned the entire Broncos franchise around in less than a year. On game day, no one is better at maximizing talent, especially at the quarterback position. Don’t bet against a Payton team in a tight spot.

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