By HCR Staff | Oct. 8, 2019
We are more than a quarter of the way into the 2019 NFL season, and there has only been one head coach to earn the top ranking of the week more than once. It is not Bill Belichick.
It is Kyle Shanahan, who continued his hot start after the San Francisco 49ers dominated the Cleveland Browns. In his first two seasons, he showed signs of becoming a top head coach but was plagued with injuries and rotten luck. After 0-9 and 1-7 starts to his first two seasons, 4-0 with a healthy franchise quarterback looks pretty good.
Right behind Shanahan, Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich put in an impressive performance against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. It’s hard enough to scrape out a road win in one of the most hostile environments, but add to that facing one of the top offenses in the NFL without LB Darius Leonard and S Malik Hooker. Reich and the Colts clearly came in with the goal of keeping QB Patrick Mahomes off the field for as long as possible, and they accomplished it.
Bill O’Brien finally gets some recognition after the Houston Texans offense exploded against the Atlanta Falcons. Jon Gruden followed up on his impressive performance last week with a victory in the “Khalil Mack Bowl”. Gruden simply didn’t allow the playmaker to have an impact on the game.
Here are HCR’s Top 10 head coaches for Week 5:
1. Kyle Shanahan — 9.4
2. Frank Reich — 9.2
T3. Bill O’Brien — 8.2
T3. Jon Gruden — 8.2
T5. Mike Zimmer — 8.0
T5. Matt LaFleur — 8.0
T5. Doug Pederson — 8.0
T5. Sean Payton — 8.0
T9. Bill Belichick — 7.8
T9. John Harbaugh — 7.8
T9. Ron Rivera — 7.8
