Here's a Flea Flicker look at the best coaches in the history of each franchise.
Minnesota Vikings
Bud Grant
There really is no other choice. Grant is a Minnesota state icon. If Mike Zimmer wins a Super Bowl, or more, there will be another choice.
Green Bay Packers
Vince Lombardi
There's actually a debate here. Lambeau vs. Lombardi. Lambeau won six NFL titles. Lomabardi won five. It took Lambeau about a quarter of a century to get his six. It took Lombardi nine years to win five. Lambeau did win his first five in a span of 11 years. Then you have Mike Holmgren and Mike McCarthy. They are damn fine coaches too.
Chicago Bears
George Halas
Enough said.
Detroit Lions
Buddy Parker
Parker should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Lions of the 1950s were a dynamite team. Parker coached them to three straight Championship games, 1952-54. Winning in 1952 and 1953.
New York Giants
Steve Owen
Or Bill Parcells. Or Tom Coughlin. Each coached the Giants to two NFL titles. Owen wins the tiebreaker on the basis of being a Hall of Fame player. He was a lineman on the Giants team that won the 1927 title.
Dallas Cowboys
Tom Landry
I'll go with coach that led the team for 29 years. The Cowboys first 29 years. Landry coached them to two Super Bowl wins.
Washington Redskins
Joe Gibbs
Gibbs won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks.
Philadelphia Eagles
Greasy Neale
Neale was a terrific football player before the days of the NFL. He coached the Eagles to the 1948 and 1949 titles. The talk at the time was that those teams might have been the best teams that the NFL had ever seen.
New Orleans Saints
Sean Payton
Not much competition for this one.
Atlanta Falcons
Mike Smith
Smith's first five seasons coaching the team were great. The last two weren't. They got him fired. Dan Reeves took the Falcons to the Super Bowl in 1998. That season was an outlier. In his seven seasons in Atlanta Reeves had led the Falcons to two winning seasons.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jon Gruden
He won a Super Bowl.
Carolina Panthers
John Fox
He got the Panthers to a Super Bowl.
San Francisco 49ers
Bill Walsh
Big surprise here.
Seattle Seahawks
Pete Carroll
Two Super Bowl appearances. One win.
St.Louis Rams
Dick Vermeil
Vermeil won a Super Bowl. This might have gone to George Allen if the ownership at the time hadn't gotten in the way.
Arizona Cardinals
Don Coryell
Coryell should be in the Hall of Fame. He's better known for his time with the San Diego Chargers but had a feisty football outfit in St. Louis. Bruce Arians will be the choice if he keeps up his current pace.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Chuck Noll
Noll built a dynasty in the 1970s. Four Super Bowl wins.
Cleveland Browns
Paul Brown
Easy one.
Cincinnati Bengals
Marvin Lewis
Lewis has managed an extremely successful coaching career with a team that was a disaster for a decade before he arrived. Forrest Gregg and Sam Wyche got the Bengals to the Super Bowl. That challenges Lewis for the title.
Baltimore Ravens
John Harbaugh
Harbaugh or Brian Billick. Harbaugh gets the nod.
New England Patriots
Bill Belichick
Little mystery here.
New York Jets
Weeb Ewbank
He won a Super Bowl.
Buffalo Bills
Marv Levy
Levy wins over Lou Saban. Levy coached the Bills to four straight Super Bowls. Those teams are among the best to have never won it all. Saban led the Bills to two straight AFL titles.
Miami Dolphins
Don Shula
Another easy one.
Indianapolis Colts
Weeb Ewbank
Ewbank is the best for two teams! He turned the Colts from a joke into a champion in the 1950s. Having Johnny Unitas helped.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jack Del Rio
He had the Jaguars competitive for a few years. Tom Coughlin is in the running. Dan Quinn is building an intriguing team now.
Tennessee Titans
Bum Phillips
Phillips and his Houston Oilers of the late 1970s were a serious threat to the Steelers dynasty. Those teams might have won titles in any other era.
Houston Texans
Gary Kubiak
Dom Capers, Gary Kubiak, Wade Phillips, Bill O'Brien. It's a short list. None has a winning record with the team but the choice is an easy one. Kubiak led the Texans to a couple of playoff appearances and a couple of playoff wins.
Oakland Raiders
John Madden
The younger folk know Madden better for the video game that carries his name and/or his broadcasting career. He was an excellent football coach.
Denver Broncos
Mike Shanahan
It's tough to go against the coach that led the team to two Super Bowl titles but I have fond memories of the Red Miller years.
Kansas City Chiefs
Hank Stram
Stram built and coached the Chiefs into an AFL power. The 1969 team that won Super Bowl IV is often overlooked historically. Fantastic defense.
San Diego Chargers
Sid Gillman
Gillman had to be some team's best coach. He was as innovative as any coach the game has ever known. He built the original "west coast offense."
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