Of the seven head coaches hired in the offseason, only one has been an NFL head coach before (kneecap biting Dan Campbell). Yet I noticed that most of the teams that have won Super Bowls in recent decades have been coached by men who previously were head coaches with other franchises.
Bruce Arians and Andy Reid, of course, in the last two seasons. And the ex-coach demographic is dominated by Bill Belichick, who’s been to a bunch of Super Bowls since being fired by the Browns.
Of the last 17 head coaches to win Lombardi Trophies, 10 were previously a head coach for a different NFL franchise. Most of those coaches not only directed previous teams but took those other clubs to the postseason – that is, it’s not as if the bulk of these guys fell on their faces initially but then later figured out how to better coach. So Dan Campbell (pictured) doesn’t fit the second-try profile in that regard – he went only 5-7 in his 12 games as the head coach in Miami in 2015 (after taking over a month into the season).
And I am not suggesting that everyone should be looking only at recycled coaches. Arthur Smith and Urban Meyer haven’t been NFL head coaches, but they’ve coached a lot of football. Robert Saleh appears to have a vision for the Jets. Brandon Staley is only 38, but he seems like a really good hire – he seems super sharp. But the older, second-chance coaches have been better in recent decades at winning championships.
SUPER BOWL WINNING COACHES | |||
---|---|---|---|
Season | Coach | Team | Previous |
1997 | Mike Shanahan | Denver | Oakland |
1998 | Mike Shanahan | Denver | Oakland |
1999 | Dick Vermeil | St. Louis | Philadelphia |
2000 | Brian Billick | Baltimore | --- |
2001 | Bill Belichick | New England | Cleveland |
2002 | Jon Gruden | Tampa Bay | Oakland |
2003 | Bill Belichick | New England | Cleveland |
2004 | Bill Belichick | New England | Cleveland |
2005 | Bill Cowher | Pittsburgh | --- |
2006 | Tony Dungy | Indianapolis | Tampa Bay |
2007 | Tom Coughlin | NY Giants | Jacksonville |
2008 | Mike Tomlin | Pittsburgh | --- |
2009 | Sean Payton | New Orleans | --- |
2010 | Mike McCarthy | Green Bay | --- |
2011 | Tom Coughlin | NY Giants | Jacksonville |
2012 | John Harbaugh | Baltimore | --- |
2013 | Pete Carroll | Seattle | Jets, Patriots |
2014 | Bill Belichick | New England | Cleveland |
2015 | Gary Kubiak | Denver | Houston |
2016 | Bill Belichick | New England | Cleveland |
2017 | Doug Pederson | Philadelphia | --- |
2018 | Bill Belichick | New England | Cleveland |
2019 | Andy Reid | Kansas City | Philadelphia |
2020 | Bruce Arians | Tampa Bay | Arizona |
—Ian Allan