Head Coach Ranking

Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Cincinnati Bengals 13 – Dec. 30, 2018

At Pittsburgh
4:25 p.m. ET
41 degrees

TEAM PLAY
CALLING		 PERSONNEL GAME
PLANNING		 IN-GAME
ADJ		 CLOCK
MGMT		 HCR
CIN 7 7 7 6 7 6.8
PIT 7 6 6 7 8 6.8

Key Coaching Decision #1: (PIT ball, trailing 10-0 / fourth-and-1, CIN 46 / 1:08 Q2)
• Ben Roethlisberger finds tight end Xavier Grimble for a 16-yard gain. This was an interesting play call on fourth-and-1. It extended a drive that would allow the Steelers to kick a field goal and get on the scoreboard as time expired at the half. The Steelers used their timeouts wisely to be able to mount this end-of-half drive.

Key Coaching Decision #2: (PIT ball, tied 10-10 / fourth-and-4, CIN 35 / 11:55 Q4)
• Early in the fourth quarter, Ben Roethlisberger finds rookie running back Jaylen Samuels for a 6-yard gain that extends a Steelers’ tiebreaking drive (Steelers kick a field goal at the end of the drive).

Key Observations:
• This was Marvin Lewis’ final game as head coach of the Bengals. While he is the winningest coach in franchise history, he exits without having won a playoff game.

• The Steelers were without wide receiver Antonio Brown. He was reported to have had been suffering from a knee injury, but there appears more to the story.

• The AFC’s leading rusher, Joe Mixon, finished with 105 yards on the ground.

• The Steelers finished with a 9-6-1 record, after starting out with what appeared to be a solid 7-2-1 record. Going 2-4 down the stretch isn’t going to get the job done.

Situational Call of Week 16: Mike Tomlin’s Fake Punt

By HCR Staff | Dec. 27, 2018

There’s only one week left in the NFL regular season, which means Situational Calls weigh heavier with larger playoff implications. Throughout the season, there have only been a few instances where the entire league and media talked about a single call. We had one of those in Week 16, when Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin decided to attempt a fake punt on a fourth-and-5 with four minutes left — and the lead — in a crucial game against the New Orleans Saints.

First, here was the Steelers’ playoff picture prior to the start of the game: They sat atop the AFC North at 8-5-1 when the day began, but the Baltimore Ravens won their game earlier Sunday to improve to 9-6. So Pittsburgh needed to win to remain in control of their playoff destiny. To make matters worse, with both the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans moving to 9-6, a loss would drop Pittsburgh way behind the chains, and making the playoffs would be a long shot at best.

There was a lot riding on this game, and the Steelers would have to overcome a team with the NFL’s record, in one of the hardest places for a road team to win. Things needed to go almost perfect for Tomlin’s crew to pull this one out… and things were going fairly well up until the end of the fourth quarter.

The Steelers rallied back from a 24-14 deficit to take a 28-24 lead with a little over four minutes left in the game. They drove to their own 42-yard line when they faced a fourth-and-5. Hoping to keep the ball away from Drew Brees as long as possible, Tomlin called the fake punt. New Orleans’ defense was up to the task and the ball was handed to the Saints in Pittsburgh territory. This was not the right decision under the circumstances. Tomlin defended his decision by saying he wanted to stay aggressive and there was a play call he liked. Teams have been aggressive against the Saints because they want to play keep=away from Brees, but this was not the right time.

While the Steelers were mounting their second-half comeback, the defense had held the Saints’ explosive offense scoreless for three consecutive possessions, so there really wasn’t a need to be aggressive — and risky — at that point.

If the Steelers punted, they would likely have gained a minimum of 30 yards in field position. As explosive as the Saints offense can be, they haven’t been the same in recent weeks — they weren’t consistently making multiple chunk plays of 25-plus yards on a single drive. They needed a touchdown here, so why not make them work for it? Instead, the turnover on downs gave the Saints a short field, and they took advantage of score the go-ahead touchdown. Sure, the Steelers had the opportunity to at least tie the game on the final drive, but it shouldn’t have come down to that. They had the lead, there wasn’t a ton of time left, and their defense was playing well.

It’s been a chaotic season for the Steelers. Throughout it, Tomlin has repeated they’d be fine as long as they didn’t beat themselves. Unfortunately for Tomlin, his decision is the latest and probably most detrimental self-inflicted wound the Steelers have suffered in this late-season collapse. There is still hope, but this week’s Situational Call may have knocked what looked to be a promising, resilient Steelers team out of January football.

For the record, Pittsburgh can only clinch a playoff berth if they beat the Bengals Sunday AND the Ravens lose or tie against Baltimore OR the Colts and Titans tie in their game.

New Orleans Saints 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 28 – Dec. 23, 2018

At New Orleans
4:15 p.m. ET
Dome

TEAM PLAY
CALLING		 PERSONNEL GAME
PLANNING		 IN-GAME
ADJ		 CLOCK
MGMT		 HCR
PIT 4 8 9 8 8 7.4
NO 7 7 7 8 7 7.2

Key Coaching Decision #1: (NO ball, score tied 0-0 / first-and-10, PIT 46 / 10:35 Q1)
• After the Saints defense stopped the Steelers on the first possession of the game, the Saints offense took the field and proceeded to move the ball effortlessly. Inexplicably, Saints head coach Sean Payton installed backup quarterback Taysom Hill into the game and had him throw a deep pass to just-activated wide receiver Ted Ginn. The ball was intercepted, and a promising start for the Saints was terminated. We thought this play was too cute, as Saints starting quarterback Drew Brees started the series throwing the ball well and in rhythm.

Key Coaching Decision #1: (PIT ball, leading 28-24 / fourth-and-5, PIT 42 / 4:11 Q4)
• Up to this point, the Steelers defense had turned stout and was doing a good job of stuffing the Saints after the Saints had taken a 24-14 lead. In this situation, we felt the prudent decision was to punt — pin the Saints back deep in their own territory and let the Steelers defense attempt to seal the game. After all, the Steelers defense had forced the Saints off the field in three consecutive possessions. Instead, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin opted for a fake punt call that was stuffed. The Saints took over on a short field and proceeded to march in for the go-ahead touchdown. This single decision may have cost the Steelers their postseason playoff hopes. In our view, it was not defensible under any circumstance.

Key observations:
• The return of Saints wide receiver Ted Ginn from the injured reserve list is significant. He opens up the entire field again for the Saints, and in this game, came up with a clutch third-and-20 reception.

• We don’t know what it is about this particular Steelers team, but in clutch situations, its very best players have not performed well under pressure this year. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has thrown critical interceptions, kicker Chris Boswell has missed important kicks, and in this game, usually dependable wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster fumbled the ball away on a potential game-tying or game-winning drive.

NFL Coach Contrarian: Thumbs Up for Some, Thumbs Down for Others

By HCR Staff | Dec. 18, 2018

When the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens last met, on Nov. 4, the Steelers emerged victorious, one reason they maintain a half-game lead over Baltimore in the AFC North with two games left in the regular season. That’s good news for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and not-so-good news for Ravens head coach John Harbaugh – who still has the Ravens in line for a wild card berth, but could see his job in jeopardy if they don’t make it.

That said, we here at Head Coach Ranking see more positives when we look at what Harbaugh has done this season as opposed to what Tomlin has done.

In fact, here are contrarian views on seven NFL head coaches:

John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
Notwithstanding all the talk that he may be terminated at the end of the season, Harbaugh has done a fine job thus far. He’s presided over an offense that has had to transition to a rookie quarterback with a completely different style of play than the veteran QB who began the season as starter. And he’s done this while keeping the locker room intact. Not easy.

 

Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday’s victory over the Patriots was big, but we are not convinced that Tomlin’s quality as an in-game decision maker and strategist is on the same level as the talent available to him in the front office and on the roster. We feel the product is too inconsistent from week to week, and that is a direct consequence of Tomlin’s decision-making and game-planning.

 

Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
Shanahan doesn’t have a good won-loss record in his first two seasons (10-20), but every coach in the league will tell you that his squad is a tough out. Shanahan has had to deal with an injury epidemic, and we look forward to seeing what he can do when he has better luck.

 

Adam Gase, Miami Dolphins
Even though Gase sits at 7-7 with a chance to make the playoffs, we feel he has underachieved relative to what was expected of him. We don’t disagree that his X’s and O’s mind is as good as any other coach in the game, but something certainly is causing the Dolphins’ lack of consistency week to week. We don’t question the effort, we simply question the energy and results. In Week 15, the Dolphins were being dominated by Minnesota until Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins threw an ill-advised pass for a pick six. Then the Dolphins’ energy picked up. Why wasn’t the same energy there at the beginning of the game?

 

Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins
Even though the Redskins lost their hold on first place in the NFC East, Gruden earns a thumbs-up from us. Similar to Shanahan, he’s had to deal with an injury epidemic during his entire tenure in Washington. We feel he is one of the best game planners in the league, and if he has better luck, the Redskins are not far away from a division title.

 

Doug Pederson, Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles got a big win on the road Sunday night against the Rams, but we still question much of Pederson’s in-game decision-making. Last season, every decision came up roses for Pederson on the way to a Super Bowl title, but that has not been the case this season. He seems to want to be all in on the analytics craze — but at the same time, he has expressed that much of his gut also goes into his decision-making. We don’t think he has a reliable formula yet, and he is taking a hit-and-miss approach to it. While the Eagles got an impressive win against the Rams, they also nearly blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter. We feel Peterson has benefited greatly from the experience and acumen of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Should Schwartz get a head coaching job this offseason, it will be interesting to see how the Eagles handle such a loss.

 

Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills
McDermott flies under the radar, and the Bills are battling just to avoid the AFC East cellar, but his team is a tough out most of the time. This is a very young squad, but one full of remarkable athletes. We see a fast, athletic and tough-minded team for 2019, particularly if rookie quarterback Josh Allen can stay healthy.

 

Pittsburgh Steelers 17, New England Patriots 10 – Dec. 16, 2018

At Pittsburgh
4:25 p.m. ET

TEAM PLAY
CALLING		 PERSONNEL GAME
PLANNING		 IN-GAME
ADJ		 CLOCK
MGMT		 HCR
NE 7 7 7 6 8 7.0
PIT 7 8 9 7 7 7.6

Key Observations:
• Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin came up with an excellent game plan for this game against the Patriots. On defense, he did what New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick generally does to others — take away the opposing team’s first and best option. The Steelers double-teamed New England tight end Rob Gronkowski all game long, and did an excellent job of forcing New England quarterback Tom Brady to rely on wide receivers Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan to win matchups. They didn’t win them often enough, and in one stretch of the game, the Steelers defense forced five consecutive three-and-outs. On offense, the Steelers’ game plan was to play in empty sets for much of the game, and to play more up-tempo than they have in the past. This approach worked well, as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was able to get the ball out of his hand quickly. Additionally, the Steelers did a very good job utilizing backup running back Jaylen Samuels. Samuels rushed for over 100 yards, and did an excellent job in the four-minute offense in the fourth quarter.

• The Patriots typically have clinched a playoff spot by this point in the season, but this is not a typical season and they have yet to do so. One reason is that they are lacking in explosive playmakers on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Patriots have to rely on great scheme and perfect execution in order to free players. Other than rookie running back Sony Michel, the Patriots really don’t have any other weapons that can make a play on their own. On defense, the Patriots have to rely on excellent communication and team play in order to get results. They simply don’t have a “shock” defensive player such as a Khalil Mack or Aaron Donald. The Patriots, obviously, still are a very competitive team, but this particular team will have to rely on almost perfect execution in order to go deep into the playoffs.

• One of the other issues confronting the Patriots is their offensive performance in the red zone. It has been a problem all year long and they still have not figured it out. As long as teams double-team tight end Rob Gronkowski in the scoring area, the Patriots will continue to struggle.

• Too many times this year, the Patriots have been flagged for over 10 penalties in a game. Offensive left tackle Trent Brown has struggled in recent weeks with penalties. Too many times in this game, penalties stalled drives, and we are sure this will be a point of emphasis for Patriots head coach Bill Belichick going forward.

• Steelers kicker Chris Boswell is struggling mightily and the Steelers will have to get their emergency kicker list ready. Boswell’s confidence clearly is shaken, and in this game, he missed a very short field goal attempt.

ABOUT HCR

Headcoachranking.com assigns a grade to the in-game performance of NFL head coaches each week.  Our knowledgeable graders analyze each head coach’s performance in 5 key areas of decision making. After determining their “HCR” (Head Coach Ranking), we rank them from best to worst. HCR rankings are posted every Tuesday of the NFL season, and fans will be able to track each coach’s performance throughout the season.

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