We close this point of the offseason with the discussion and rankings for the next season. We ended up reviewing the other side of the coin: what is the worst thing the NFL has in each position for next season? Our staff voted and it’s time to meet the 5 worst head coaches in the NFL heading into the 2021 Season.
The mechanics for these rankings consisted of asking our staff members to give us their list of the 5 worst head coaches in the NFL for the 2021 Season, taking into account aspects such as their potential to fail in the short term, make a negative difference game by game (or as it is colloquially said, “be one more element of the opposing team”), and ultimately:
If you were running an NFL franchise for the 2021 season, which head coach would make you want to cry the most right now?
Only head coaches with at least one season of experience were eligible, so new hires were left out of the ranking. Each mention in the first place is worth 5 points, in the second 4, and so on until the fifth that is worth 1 point. The tiebreaker criterion was the highest number of mentions in high positions.
After the vote count, these are the 5 worst head coaches in the NFL as of the 2021 Season:
“Honorable” mentions
- Mike room – Minnesota Vikings (1 punto)
- Matt Nagy – Chicago Bears (6 puntos)
5. Vic Fangio – Denver Broncos (7 points)
It’s true that Drew Lock isn’t the most capable quarterback the NFL has, but not all the blame for the Broncos’ bad seasons should fall on the quarterback. Fangio, in just two seasons as head coach, has 12 wins and 20 losses, of which 11 were the previous season. The former Chicago defensive coordinator has to change Denver’s mindset, or eventually the one who will change will be him.
4. Jon Gruden – Las Vegas Raiders (18 points)
Gone are Gruden’s glory years where he led Tampa Bay to win its first Super Bowl in history. After leaving the Raiders in 2001, he returned to the team in 2018 and in three seasons he has not managed to have a positive record in any: 19 wins and 29 losses is the terrible tally for a Gruden who, from not putting Las Vegas this year to Postseason, he could put his job on a tightrope despite his 10-year contract arrangement, of which he has served just 3 seasons.
3. Kliff Kingsbury – Arizona Cardinals (21 puntos)
The talent of a quarterback like Kyler Murray’s cannot be wasted by a so-called “offensive mind” and the third year at the helm of the Cardinals will be the litmus test for Kingsbury. In 2019, his first season with Arizona, he had a resounding 5-10-1 record, and in 2020 he closed at 8-8, so this team is expected to continue to improve. However, the NFC West is one of the most fought divisions in the league and that does not play in favor of a Kingsbury that could be in the hot seat if he doesn’t get Arizona to the playoffs.
2. Mike McCarthy – Dallas Cowboys (24 puntos)
At first it would be difficult to imagine that the champion of the 2010 Super Bowl edition is in second place in this ranking, however, in McCarthy’s last three seasons as head coach he seems to have lost “touch.” Having had 7 seasons of 10+ wins between 2009 and 2016, in 2017 he led Green Bay to a 7-9 record and a season later to a 4-7-1 before being fired. After being out of the NFL for a year, in 2020 he returned as HC with the Cowboys and on his first attempt led the team to a 6-10 mark. Can the return of Dak Prescott save his job?
1. Zac Taylor – Cincinnati Bengals (28 puntos)
The worst head coach in the NFL is named Zac Taylor. In two years at the helm of the Bengals he has a record of 6 wins and 25 losses, with 2020 being his “best” year with a 4-11-1 record. However, the road to glory comes with difficulties, and last season Cincinnati suffered the heavy loss of its star QB Joe Burrow through injury, however, by 2021 he will be back, and Burrow’s talent, combined with the experience of Taylor, who was a quarterback coach with the Rams in 2018, is expected to pay off sooner or later for the Bengals to become relevant again within the AFC, otherwise Taylor will not last long at the helm of this team.
You may want to review the rankings of the worst head coaches we did in 2020 Y 2019. In addition, you can see each vote of our staff in the following tables:
| Pos. | Oscar Aguileta | Miguel Angel These | Ulises Harada |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike McCarthy | Zac Taylor | Mike McCarthy |
| 2 | Kliff Kingsbury | Mike McCarthy | Kliff Kingsbury |
| 3 | Jon Gruden | Kliff Kingsbury | Zac Taylor |
| 4 | Vic Fangio | Jon Gruden | Jon Gruden |
| 5 | Matt Nagy | Mike room | Matt Nagy |
| Pos. | Carlos Mercado | Luis Ivan Nunez | Luis Obregon | Jorge Tinajero |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zac Taylor | Zac Taylor | Zac Taylor | Zac Taylor |
| 2 | Jon Gruden | Kliff Kingsbury | Jon Gruden | Kliff Kingsbury |
| 3 | Vic Fangio | Mike McCarthy | Mike McCarthy | Mike McCarthy |
| 4 | Kliff Kingsbury | Jon Gruden | Vic Fangio | Matt Nagy |
| 5 | Mike McCarthy | Matt Nagy | Matt Nagy | Jon Gruden |
Do you agree with this ranking of the worst head coaches in the NFL for the 2021 season? Participate in the discussion and contribute your own list under this post and on our social networks.
Do not miss all the rankings with the best and the worst by position towards the 2021 NFL Season of the First and Ten staff:
