Second Best Head Coach in the NFL?

Was (Not Wasdin)

family crest has godzilla
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Jul 26, 2007
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The Short Bus
Yes, I am "begging the question", but if you really want to argue against Belichick being the best head coach in the NFL, by all means have at it. That being said, who is your choice for second-best? Not necessarily who you would want to replace BB (although it could be), but who, given adequate resources, could build a consistent winner (or, alternatively, who could best overcome some talent gaps).

My next five, after BB:

6.Sean Payton-I think BB without Brady could build a consistent winner, I'm not sure Payton could without someone of Brees' caliber.
5. Pete Carroll-Seahawks still play pretty hard for him, but he could fall off this list if they stumble with all of the roster turnover.
4. Doug Pederson-couldn't ask for a better first couple of seasons. I think the Rams, Saints and maybe the Bears are clearly better teams, it will be interesting to see how far the Iggles can go this year.
3. Andy Reid-has his flaws, but a consistent winner. Has had playoff runs ended by BB and the Pats 3 times: last year, 2015, and with Philly in the SB. Hill not being suspended is huge, with good health that offense could be record setting.
2. Sean McVay-sure, there were lots of personnel changes, but he took a consistently underachieving Rams' team and turned them into a playoff contender. Top 4-5 all time defensive performance in a Super Bowl (just too bad it happened opposite the greatest defensive showing in a Super Bowl)
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
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Re: McVay (and the D), how much of that was Wade Phillips though? I think you have to list Reid as the clear #2 since he has built winners in not one city but two.
 

loshjott

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Dec 30, 2004
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Too early for McVay.

I'd put Harbaugh on the list.

And this may be too soon, but I wouldn't say Pats' performance last time was the "greatest defensive showing in a Super Bowl."
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
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Reid & Carroll. Have succeeded with either multiple teams or multiple versions of the same franchise.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
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Sep 27, 2016
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Pittsburgh, PA
We did this two years ago for "best coaches not named Belichick". Some good discussion there.

I stand by my top-4 back then: Reid, Harbaugh, Carroll, Payton. I'm not ready to sign up for McVay or Pederson yet - frankly, I'm more impressed by Anthony Lynn.

Pederson took Reid's system from KC, with some of Reid's Eagles infrastructure still in-place, and managed to catch lightning in a bottle with a (stop me if you've heard this one before) QB on a rookie contract and a backup QB on a backup-QB contract. If he can sustain things with Wentz now on a market contract, my respect will go up immensely.
 

dcmissle

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Aug 4, 2005
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I'm probably giving McVay too much credit too soon, but I'm just amazed at how fast he was able to wash the stink of Jeff Fisher off that team.
And help Goff. SSS, but McVay had a very solid season. And if BB retired tomorrow and I had to pick a HC for the next 10 years, he’d be close to the top of my list.