From the outside, it’s hard to guess which NFL organizations are best and worst in terms of working conditions. In its just-released annual report, the Players’ Association provides the answers to these questions and the results can be surprising.
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The Association has been involved in this exercise since last year. Players, in an anonymous survey, are asked to comment on various questions about their organization, ranging from coaches to ownership, training room, way of traveling, nutrition and support staff, to name just a few examples.
You might think that winning makes you forget a lot of idiots, but it seems that is not the case.
The most prominent example is the Kansas City Chiefs, who languish at 31st in organizational quality based on the overall rating their players gave. Only the Washington Commanders do worse.
Surprising, considering the team has won the Super Bowl three times in the last five years.
In Kansas City, the main complaints point to the poor quality of facilities and player care, in addition to broken promises from the organization in costs of proposed improvements. Owner Clark Hunt actually gets a horrible rating of F-.
Coaches evaluated
The respite was short-lived for Andy Reid, who already found himself in Indianapolis for the NFL evaluation camp. Getty Images via AFP
Still among the Chiefs, only head coach Andy Reid comes away with an impeccable grade of A+, which places him in the top three with Dan Campbell (Lions) and Kevin O’Connell (Vikings) among the coaches head of the league.
After these, those who earned A’s are Sean McDermott (Bills), Zac Taylor (Bengals), Mike McCarthy (Cowboys), Sean McVay (Rams), Mike McDaniel (Dolphins), Nick Sirianni (Eagles), Mike Tomlin (Steelers), Kyle Shanahan (49ers) and Pete Caroll (released by the Seahawks).
Still on this subject, the least appreciated is the ex-Raiders pilot Josh McDaniels, the only one with a grade of D. Other recently fired coaches, like Ron Rivera (C with the Commanders), Arthur Smith (C+ with the Falcons) and the famous Bill Belichick (B- with the Patriots), complete the bottom of the pack.
The best and the worst
The Dolphins come first in terms of players’ rating of working conditions. Getty Images via AFP
Just ahead of the Commanders and Chiefs as the two worst organizations, the players elected, in order of 28 to 30, the Steelers, Patriots and Chargers to fill the basement.
Patriots players particularly criticize their training room. They are the only ones in the league who even consider their gym less efficient than a private gym.
Chargers and Buccaneers players have denounced the fact that they have to pay for in-house childcare for their children. Moreover, in terms of services to families, the Bengals, Steelers, Patriots and Commanders are the only ones to obtain the worst grade possible, with a nice F-.
As for those who wonder which team eats the worst, the Bengals get this unenviable mention. Unlike all the other teams in the league, they are the only ones not to deal with a nutritionist. They come in 30th in the league for food in taste and 31st in freshness.
For the curious, the organizations that earn the best overall marks for their body of work are, in order, the Dolphins, Vikings, Packers, Eagles and Jaguars.
2024-02-29 00:00:00
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