Depending on the franchise history or front office and fan expectations, head coaches in the NFL are judged on many different criteria. Some are judged on how they handle a team loaded with veteran talent while others are judged on how they develop rookies and younger players into contributing personnel. All are judged though based on their win-loss records, and even more so on their postseason win-loss records. With that in mind, here is a look at the most successful playoff coaches in NFL history.
When assembling this list, the criteria we used was straight win and loss records from the postseason. To qualify for inclusion the coach had to have won twice as many games as he lost in the playoffs during his career and he also had to have coached a minimum of five playoff games.
To have a winning percentage of .667 means you have won twice as many games as you have lost. Three of the all-time greats have come in at .667 and only one is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They are George Seifert, George Halas, and Chuck Noll. While both Halas and Noll are in the Hall of Fame and are regarded as coaching legends, Seifert remains saddled with a reputation of doing most of his winning with the leftovers from Bill Walsh’s San Francisco 49er tenure. All three of these great coaches compiled their records over a long period of time making it that much more impressive.
Next on the list is Jimmy Johnson the famous Dallas Cowboys coach who went 9-4 during his playoff career, compiling a winning pct. of .692. Johnson is followed by longtime Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs who is the first coach on our list to break the .700 pct. barrier by compiling a winning pct. of .708 based on his 17-7 career playoff record. Both of these coaches belong in any discussion of elite NFL head coaches, but both made their way there following different roads. Johnson was a well respected talent evaluator who assembled and coached an early 1990s Cowboys dynasty that experienced success many other teams envy to this day. Gibbs meanwhile was a bit more successful and did it over a longer period of time with changing personnel.
The next group of three coaches each has won two and a half more playoff games than they’ve lost. Coming in with winning percentages of .714 are John Fox (5-2), Barry Switzer (5-2), and Bill Walsh (10-4). Fox is a relative newcomer to the head coaching ranks but has experienced great success with the Carolina Panthers. Bill Walsh is held up by many, especially San Francisco 49ers fans, as the greatest coach of all time and the innovator of the west coast offense. Much like the before mentioned George Seifert, Barry Switzer’s inclusion on this list will be questioned by some. Most authorities on professional football agree that Switzer’s success with the Dallas Cowboys came as an extension of what Jimmy Johnson assembled.
Coming in as the fourth most successful NFL head coach based on playoff winning percentage is the current head coach of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick. Through the 2007 season, Belichick’s playoff win-loss record is 15-4, giving him a winning pct. of .789. Belichick has been controversial during his tenure in New England, he has gained the respect of almost everyone but has also become disliked by many people as well. It is hard though to argue with the Super Bowl victories he has managed to rack up.
The second and third most successful NFL head coaches in our list are former Baltimore Colts and New York Jets head coach Weeb Ewbank, and former Colts and Detroit Lions head coach Don McCafferty. Both Ewbank and McCafferty have identical 4-1 career playoff records, giving them winning pcts. of .800. Ewbank and McCafferty are exact opposites though in how they went about compiling these records. Ewbank coached the Colts for nine seasons before moving on to be the New York Jets coach for eleven seasons. Meanwhile, McCafferty only coached in the NFL for three and a half years, winning the Super Bowl with the Colts in his very first season.
The identity of the number one overall NFL head coach based on postseason winning percentage should not come as a surprise. After all the greatest postseason trophy awarded is named after him. Vince Lombardi went an amazing 9-1 in the postseason during his career as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, giving him a winning pct. of .900. The impact Vince Lombardi left on the league is immeasurable and they definitely picked the right name to put on the Super Bowl trophy.
Head coaches will continue to be evaluated by a wide variety of criteria, but though the oddity here or there can occur, it is hard to understate the value of postseason winning percentage. That is what they get paid for, to win the big games.
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