Think about the best teams in NFL history. The champions.
Almost all of them have distinct qualities. Some are centered around their offense. Others are about defense. But the one commonality across almost all champions?
Great coaches and great quarterbacks.
Over the first 24 seasons of the 21st century, there have been only five champions that didn’t have a likely Hall of Famer occupying at least one of those posts (2000 Ravens, ’02 Buccaneers, ’12 Ravens, ’17 Eagles and ’21 Rams). Everyone else will have at least one gold jacket in Canton (yes, Eli Manning will get there whether we like it or not).
So who has the best combination under center and on the sideline this year? Who is positioned for a deep playoff run to New Orleans?
Let’s rank every coach-quarterback pairing, with individual ranks in parentheses.
Coach/QB: Jerod Mayo (31) and Drake Maye (30)
We’re starting off with a few pairings that simply don’t have a history. The Patriots are starting anew with Mayo and Maye, hoping the duo finds even a modicum of success compared to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s 20-year run. For New England, 2024 will be great if Mayo and Maye look like keepers, regardless of the win-loss record.
Coach/QB: Dave Canales (32) and Bryce Young (28)
Canales is getting his first crack at being a head coach, while Young is already playing for his third, including interim coach Chris Tabor. We’ll see whether Canales, who worked as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, can get Young back on track. Last year, the 2023 No. 1 pick struggled with only 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Coach/QB: Antonio Pierce (27) and Gardner Minshew II (27)
Pierce earned the gig in Las Vegas by giving a strong showing after Josh McDaniels was fired. The former NFL linebacker led the Raiders to a 5–4 record, and now gets his first full season. He’ll be attached to a newcomer in Minshew, who started 13 games for the Indianapolis Colts last season, throwing for 3,305 yards and 15 scores.
Coach/QB: Brian Callahan (30) and Will Levis (24)
Callahan is highly regarded in NFL circles as an offensive guru. After helping lead the Cincinnati Bengals to consecutive AFC championship games in 2021 and ’22, Callahan now takes over a Titans roster teeming with talent including running back Tony Pollard, and wideouts DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley. The big question is whether Levis is more stopgap or savior. In his rookie season, the second-rounder threw for 1,808 yards and eight touchdowns in nine starts.
Coach/QB: Dennis Allen (29) and Derek Carr (20)
It’s tough to rank this duo any higher. Allen is a veteran coach but his record is abysmal. Through tours with the Oakland Raiders and now New Orleans, he has a 24–46 mark, including 16–18 in the Big Easy. As for Carr, he was uneven in his first season with the Saints, throwing for 3,878 passing yards and 25 touchdowns.
Coach/QB: Mike Macdonald (26) and Geno Smith (21)
Macdonald has his first head coaching job, and has a talented roster. As a defensive savant, Macdonald should be able to improve the defense, and he has a quarterback in Smith who has shown the ability to win. In two seasons as Seattle’s starter, Smith has won 17 games while throwing for 50 touchdowns against 20 interceptions.
Coach/QB: Shane Steichen (21) and Anthony Richardson (25)
Steichen was a win away from winning the AFC South, despite getting only four starts from Richardson in his rookie year. The big question is whether Richardson can stay healthy this time around and benefit from a solid supporting cast including receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs, along with running back Jonathan Taylor.
Coach/QB: Brian Daboll (20) and Daniel Jones (26)
Daboll won Coach of the Year and guided New York to a wild-card win in 2022, but everything fell apart in a six-win campaign last year. To rally, Daboll must figure out how to prop up Jones without running back Saquon Barkley. As of the end of the ’23 season, Jones’s four-year, $160 million contract looks like one of the worst in sports.
Coach/QB: Jonathan Gannon (28) and Kyler Murray (18)
A year ago, this seemed like a looming disaster. Murray was coming off a torn ACL preceded by a contract including language about studying throughout the week. Then there was Gannon, a hire widely panned at the time. Today, Gannon is promising and Murray is fully healthy, surrounded by tight end Trey McBride, receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and a roster bolstered by 12 draft picks.
Coach/QB: Dan Quinn (17) and Jayden Daniels (29)
Quinn gets his second chance as a head coach. The first time, he oversaw the Atlanta Falcons for six years, posting a 43–42 record including a 2016 Super Bowl trip in which the Falcons surrendered a 28–3 lead to the New England Patriots and lost in overtime. He now pairs with Daniels, the No. 2 pick who took home the Heisman Trophy at LSU last year with 50 total touchdowns.
Coach/QB: Kevin O’Connell (13) and J.J. McCarthy (31)
The Vikings are one of the league’s most intriguing teams, led by a coach in Kevin O’Connell who is one of the better offensive minds in the NFL. Minnesota is loaded offensively, with weapons such as receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, running back Aaron Jones and tight end T.J. Hockenson. McCarthy, the 10th pick in the draft, walks into an ideal situation.
Coach/QB: Kevin Stefanski (19) and Deshaun Watson (23)
Stefanski has proven to be a sharp offensive mind with a quality staff led by defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. In four years, Stefanski has led the Browns to a pair of playoff appearances, including a postseason victory for the first time since 1994. However, Watson has been an unmitigated disaster since being acquired from the Houston Texans. In two years, he has played in only 12 games, and not performed well.
Coach/QB: Todd Bowles (22) and Baker Mayfield (19)
The Buccaneers shocked the football world in 2023, winning the NFC South and a playoff game. The biggest reason was Mayfield, who threw for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns. Now on a three-year deal, the expectation for Mayfield is to continue elevating the offense despite losing Canales, while Bowles keeps the defense working as a terrific unit.
Coach/QB: Matt Eberflus (23) and Caleb Williams (17)
This is an interesting pairing. Eberflus is one of the NFL’s best defensive minds, running a Cover 2 scheme that was vastly improved last season. Meanwhile, the offense looks radically different with new coordinator Shane Waldron, receivers Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen, and the addition of Williams under center. Chicago’s roster will give Williams a chance to shine immediately.
Coach/QB: Sean Payton (8) and Bo Nix (32)
The Broncos end up reasonably high on this list because of Payton’s accomplishments, but this might be his toughest assignment. Denver is in a complete rebuild thanks to the Russell Wilson release, leaving it with $85 million of dead money over the next two years. Enter Nix, the 12th pick who will start on a talentless roster, provided he beats out Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson.
Coach/QB: Raheem Morris (25) and Kirk Cousins (14)
Atlanta starts anew with the Morris-Cousins duo, giving reason to believe in a potential playoff run. The Falcons are hoping Cousins bounces back from a torn Achilles while Morris is getting a second chance at the big seat after his first attempt with the Buccaneers. If Cousins is healthy, that offense should be dangerous with myriad weapons including Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson.
Coach/QB: Robert Saleh (24) and Aaron Rodgers (9)
Saleh enters his third year after struggling to find an offensive flow due to poor quarterback play. Should Rodgers stay on the field longer than four snaps this year, perhaps we’ll find out whether Saleh can coach. As for Rodgers, can he produce at a high level at 40 years old coming off a torn Achilles? We’ll see.
Coach/QB: Mike McCarthy (15) and Dak Prescott (13)
Prescott is in the final year of his deal, and McCarthy’s seat is piping hot. Last year, Prescott finished second in MVP voting after throwing 36 touchdowns. Despite individual and team success, the season was a failure after Dallas was blown out in the wild-card round by the Green Bay Packers. In short, no tandem is under more pressure.
Coach/QB: Mike McDaniel (11) and Tua Tagovailoa (16)
The Dolphins have made the playoffs the past two seasons, only to be bounced in the wild-card round. Now, Miami has a looming decision on whether to extend Tagovailoa and for how much, while McDaniel tries to win his first division title. If the Dolphins can do so, they’ll have a great shot to advance, finally playing above frigid temperatures.
Coach/QB: Nick Sirianni (16) and Jalen Hurts (11)
Few coaches have had more of a roller-coaster ride in the past 16 months than Sirianni. In Super Bowl LVII, he held a 10-point lead at halftime. The Eagles lost to the Chiefs in that game, started 10–1 in the next season, collapsed down the stretch and got blown out against the Buccaneers in the wild-card round. As for Hurts, he will try to rebound from an injury filled season in which he threw 23 touchdowns against 15 interceptions.
Coach/QB: Doug Pederson (14) and Trevor Lawrence (10)
Last November, the Jaguars were 8–3 and the AFC’s top seed. Then, they collapsed and missed the postseason entirely. Now, the pressure is on Pederson and Lawrence to make Jacksonville contenders once more. Lawrence needs to step up after struggling to produce, amassing just 4,016 yards with 21 touchdowns against 14 interceptions.
Coach/QB: Mike Tomlin (2) and Russell Wilson (22)
Pittsburgh has an elite coach in Tomlin, who hasn’t suffered a losing season in 17 campaigns. And this year, he gets an upgrade at quarterback in Wilson, who despite struggling mightily in Denver, is clearly better than Kenny Pickett. Surrounded by a significantly better roster, can Wilson regain his Seattle-level of production?
Coach/QB: Dan Campbell (10) and Jared Goff (12)
For years, the Lions were a punchline. Now, they’re one of the league’s elite teams largely because Campbell and Goff are one of the better power duos in the league. Over the past two seasons, Goff has totaled 9,013 passing yards and 59 touchdown passes behind an elite offensive line. Now with a fresh contract for Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Lions are loaded up for years.
Coach/QB: Kyle Shanahan (6) and Brock Purdy (15)
Purdy is ranked probably right where he belongs. The 49ers will soon tell us their opinion of the former Mr. Irrelevant with Purdy being extension eligible after the 2024 campaign. Meanwhile, he will try to put together another quality year while Shanahan attempts to win a Super Bowl, the only thing he hasn’t accomplished as a coordinator or coach.
Coach/QB: Sean McDermott (18) and Josh Allen (3)
The Bills appear to be undergoing a soft reset, having parted ways with a host of veterans. Still, with Allen at the controls, Buffalo is a dangerous team. The main uncertainty is whether McDermott can make the right moves in key moments, something which has been his bugaboo. For his job to be safe, the Bills likely need to win at least another playoff game, and maybe more.
Coach/QB: Zac Taylor (12) and Joe Burrow (2)
The only legitimate worry for Burrow is his health. He has missed 16 games due to injury through four seasons, while also playing through other maladies. As for Taylor, he’ll be without former offensive coordinator Brian Callahan who left for Tennessee. How much will that impact Cincinnati? We’ll find out.
Coach/QB: Jim Harbaugh (7) and Justin Herbert (6)
Harbaugh was the big-name hire of the offseason, and he walks into a situation with a top-tier quarterback. While the rest of the roster is under construction, the Chargers have a chance to be a playoff team with this new power couple and a fourth-place schedule. It’s a new era in Los Angeles, and a much-needed one.
Coach/QB: Matt LaFleur (5) and Jordan Love (8)
After being a mystery for the first three years of his career, Love took center stage in Green Bay as the starter in 2023. The former Utah State star threw for 4,159 yards and 32 touchdowns, leading Green Bay to the divisional round where they almost beat the 49ers. As for LaFleur, his 56–27 record, including four playoff appearances in five seasons, speaks for itself.
Coach/QB: DeMeco Ryans (9) and C.J. Stroud (4)
This might be a bit high for Ryans, but it’s hard not to be bullish. The Texans won 11 games total in three years before his arrival, and won 10 last year. Then there’s Stroud, who appears to be the next great quarterback in the NFL. As a rookie, he passed for 4,108 passing yards and 23 touchdowns, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Coach/QB: Sean McVay (4) and Matthew Stafford (7)
At 36 years old, Stafford is bound to start regressing, but he remained productive last year with 3,965 yards and 24 touchdowns in 15 games. As for McVay, he has won a Super Bowl and been to a pair before age 39. He remains one of the NFL’s best and brightest, leading an offense loaded with talent at every position.
Coach/QB: John Harbaugh (3) and Lamar Jackson (5)
The Ravens haven’t broken through with this group, but it feels like only a matter of time. Harbaugh is a championship coach with 160 career wins, tied for 20th all-time. Meanwhile, Jackson just won his second MVP, one vote shy of being unanimous once again. The Ravens need more playoff success, but this is an elite pairing.
Coach/QB: Andy Reid (1) and Patrick Mahomes (1)
Dynasties are typically born of great coach-quarterback combinations. The Chiefs are no different. Since Mahomes became the starter in 2018, Kansas City has won six AFC West titles, reached six AFC title games, hosting five of them, gone to four Super Bowls and won three rings. Overall, Mahomes is already a Hall of Fame shoo-in while Reid is fourth all-time in wins.
MATT VERDERAME
