By HCR Staff | May 18, 2020
While we’re still out here alone (as far as we know) in ranking head coaches against an algorithm, we’re still interested in how other respected sites take on the subject.
One of those sites is Rotoworld. Recently, they published their own ranking of NFL head coaches.
We don’t know the ins and outs of how they arrived at their rankings, but we thought it’d be interesting to compare our rankings – derived from our proprietary algorithm – to Rotoworld’s.
Keep in mind: HCR’s current ranking is based off performance in the 2019 regular season.
Here you go:
| Team | Coach | HCR Grade | 2019 HCR Ranking | 2020 Rank | Rotoworld Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | John Harbaugh | 8.1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| New Orleans Saints | Sean Payton | 8.0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| New England Patriots | Bill Belichick | 7.9 | 3-T | 3-T | 1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | Kyle Shanahan | 7.9 | 3-T | 3-T | 8 |
| Houston Texans | Bill O'Brien | 7.4 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | Andy Reid | 7.3 | 6-T | 6-T | 2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | Pete Carroll | 7.3 | 6-T | 6-T | 9 |
| Minnesota Vikings | Mike Zimmer | 7.2 | 8-T | 8-T | 10 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Bruce Arians | 7.2 | 8-T | 8-T | 14 |
| Tennessee Titans | Mike Vrabel | 7.2 | 8-T | 8-T | 12 |
| Indianapolis Colts | Frank Reich | 7.1 | 11-T | 11 | 13 |
| Green Bay Packers | Matt LaFleur | 7 | 13-T | 12-T | 15 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Doug Pederson | 7 | 13-T | 12-T | 5 |
| Los Angeles Rams | Sean McVay | 7 | 13-T | 12-T | 7 |
| Buffalo Bills | Sean McDermott | 6.9 | 16-T | 15-T | 11 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | Jon Gruden | 6.9 | 16-T | 15-T | 19 |
| Arizona Cardinals | Kliff Kingsbury | 6.8 | 19-T | 17-T | 21 |
| Detroit Lions | Matt Patricia | 6.8 | 19-T | 17-T | 26 |
| Miami Dolphins | Brian Flores | 6.8 | 19-T | 17-T | 20 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Mike Tomlin | 6.7 | 22-T | 20-T | 6 |
| Atlanta Falcons | Dan Quinn | 6.7 | 22-T | 20-T | 23 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | Anthony Lynn | 6.7 | 22-T | 20-T | 18 |
| Denver Broncos | Vic Fangio | 6.6 | 25 | 23 | 22 |
| Chicago Bears | Mayy Nagy | 6.5 | 26-T | 24-T | 16 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Zac Taylor | 6.5 | 26-T | 24-T | 24 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Doug Marrone | 6.5 | 26-T | 24-T | 27 |
| New York Jets | Adam Gase | 6.1 | 30-T | 27 | 25 |
| Dallas Cowboys | Mike McCarthy | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Cleveland Browns | Kevin Stefanski | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| New York Giants | Joe Judge | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Carolina Panthers | Matt Rhule | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Washington Redskins | Ron Rivera | NR | NR | NR | NR |
A few comparisons we found interesting:
Kyle Shanahan – We have him tied for 3rd based on the 2019 regular season – one in which the 49ers played a brutal schedule – but Rotoworld has him 8th in their rankings.
Bill O’Brien – Ranked 5th with us – again, based off the 2019 regular season only – and 17th with Rotoworld. O’Brien is one of the most polarizing head coaches out there.
Doug Pederson – Here’s one where Rotoworld ranked high at 5, and we have at 12.
Mike Tomlin – Finally, Rotoworld has Tomlin 6th, and we have him 20th – which is in the bottom 3rd of the league. Again, Tomlin is one of the head coaches that generates a wide range of opinions.
We’ll keep an eye out for other rankings we’re interested in, especially from favored sites such as Rotoworld. NFL head coaches have more influence on game outcomes than their peers in other sports, so their relative talent and skill in judgment and decision-making matters.
And it’s something to factor into your betting and other gaming decisions.
