Editor’s note: Every week throughout the NFL regular season, we’ll rank the top 32 head coaches in the league. But we’ll highlight one head coach before getting to the latest rankings. For Week 1, we put the spotlight on the new coach in Arizona.
Sure, Jonathan Gannon’s motivational speech that went viral last week was confusing and a bit cringey. But maybe—and stay with me here—it was edited to get people to watch the video. I think those are called promo clips.
Shout-out to the video editor for getting people to watch and talk about “Cardinals Flight Plan,” the team’s reality show. And I’m sure Gannon couldn’t care less that the promo video made him come off as if he’s reenacting the memorable Saturday Night Live skit with Chris Farley attempting to motivate David Spade and Christina Applegate.
Often, the methods that seem strange initially tend to make more of an impact than the boring speeches that are as plain as classic Lay’s. And, remember, Farley brought the family together in the end.
It’s easy to take shots at Gannon right now for various reasons other than his being a little awkward: The Cardinals appear to have the worst roster in the NFL, and their star quarterback (Kyler Murray) might not play this season because he’s recovering from a knee injury. Also, Gannon is coming off a dreadful Super Bowl performance as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator in the loss against the Chiefs.
It’s fair to say Gannon has an uphill battle to make the Cardinals competitive in 2023. It’s also debatable whether Gannon was the right person for the Cardinals’ coaching job, but he didn’t become a candidate by accident. Gannon has a strong NFL coaching background (he spent many years working under former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer), and his unique motivational speeches have gotten him this far.
Joel Angel Juarez/The Republic/USA TODAY Network
And let’s not forget that left tackle D.J. Humphries, one of the Cardinals’ most vocal players, praised Gannon for already changing the culture in Arizona.
“I’m being who I am and how I see fit to run the team in my own way,” Gannon told Sports Illustrated last month. “I explain to them the why behind that, and to coaches and everybody in the building who has a role in helping the players maximize themselves.
“Somebody said there was a big uproar about culture shock. Like, culture is the people that you have in your organization … and how you behave on a daily basis. That’s all it is. Do I think standards are important? Yeah. Do I think communication is important? Yeah. Do I think that making sure they know right and wrong is important? Yeah. Do I think praise is good? That’s what people hear. Like, discipline is a word. It’s such a negative word. No, it’s not. It can be a very positive word, too. ‘This guy is disciplined as hell. Goes about his business the right way.’ We show them that.”
Gannon doesn’t care about the giggles on social media or that he’s ranked last on the list below for top coaches in the league.
Gannon will get an opportunity to prove the doubters wrong, starting with the Cardinals facing the Commanders on the road Sunday.
NFL Coach Rankings (Week 1)
32. Jonathan Gannon, Cardinals
31. Dennis Allen, Saints
30. Todd Bowles, Buccaneers
29. Matt Eberflus, Bears
28. Arthur Smith, Falcons
27. DeMeco Ryans, Texans
26. Shane Steichen, Colts
Jenna Watson/IndyStar/USA TODAY Network
Steichen doesn’t have experience as a head coach, but he gets the edge over other seasoned coaches because of how instrumental he was in the development of quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts during offensive coordinator stints with the Chargers and Eagles, respectively. With the way Anthony Richardson performed in the preseason for the Colts, Steichen is already getting positive results from the 2023 No. 4 pick.
25. Frank Reich, Panthers
24. Josh McDaniels, Raiders
23. Kevin O’Connell, Vikings
22. Ron Rivera, Commanders
21. Kevin Stefanski, Browns
20. Brandon Staley, Chargers
19. Robert Saleh, Jets
18. Mike McDaniel, Dolphins
17. Matt LaFleur, Packers
16. Sean Payton, Broncos
Rob Schumacher/The Republic/USA TODAY Network
Ranking Payton in the middle of the pack seems about right because he’s coming off a one-year hiatus and will coach a new team for the first time since 2006—unless you count his brief stint coaching high school football in Texas. Payton was an excellent coach with the Saints for many years, but he no longer has a young Drew Brees running his offense. The preseason showed how much work Payton has in front of him to fix the Russell Wilson–led offense in Denver.
15. Mike McCarthy, Cowboys
14. Brian Daboll, Giants
13. Dan Campbell, Lions
12. Mike Vrabel, Titans
11. Sean McDermott, Bills
10. Zac Taylor, Bengals
9. Sean McVay, Rams
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports
The days of McVay running a heavy 11-personnel offense might be over, at least for the 2023 season. McVay is coming off his first losing season as a coach partly because the offense struggled to protect Matthew Stafford. Expect McVay to change his scheme to keep Stafford upright, but that task will be daunting with Cooper Kupp likely out Week 1 because of a hamstring injury.
8. Doug Pederson, Jaguars
7. John Harbaugh, Ravens
6. Pete Carroll, Seahawks
5. Kyle Shanahan, 49ers
4. Nick Sirianni, Eagles
3. Bill Belichick, Patriots
2. Mike Tomlin, Steelers
Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports
Some might disagree with Tomlin’s being ranked over the legendary coach in New England because he’s behind in the category for Super Bowl titles as a head coach (Bill Belichick 6, Tomlin 1). But these rankings are more about what have you done lately. The Steelers’ offense showed improvement in the preseason, and the defense is expected to dominate again. As for résumés, Tomlin has never had a losing record as a coach, with 16 consecutive winning seasons. No one else can say that.
