The guys calling the plays matter. A great coach can get big numbers out of seemingly modest players. Similarly, a good player can waste away if used improperly.
With that in mind, below see my current stab at ranking the teams 1 thru 32 in offensive coaching acumen. Listed is the man most responsible for putting together the offense. In most cases, the person is the head coach. For teams with coordinators who have the primary role, they are noted with the “OC” designation.
Half of the league’s teams have a new coach making the most important offensive decisions. That includes 13 with coaches who weren’t with those teams last year (tagged with black dots). And three with coaches who were with the team but weren’t in the No. 1 role (Nick Sirianni and Mike McCarthy are head coaches who’ll be more involved in play calling, while Tim Kelly in Tennessee was their passing game coordinator last year).
The other 16 teams return with the same primary mind making the offensive decisions. With those teams, the performance numbers from last year become more relevant. (Teams like Arizona, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Houston and the Jets will be so different this season, that’s it’s best not to rely too heavily on what they did last year – they’re different teams now.)
This listing isn’t a reflection of how offenses will perform. I’ve got Sean McVay up at No. 4, for example, but the Rams likely will have a below-average offense. But Los Angeles would have an even worse offense if it was somebody else putting together the game plans.
There are no surprises at the top. Kyle Shanahan (pictured), Andy Reid, Sean Payton and McVay have been doing it for years. Detroit’s Ben Johnson looks like the up-and-comer, after a big season last year – he looks like the offensive coordinator most likely to be the next to make the move up to a head-coaching spot.
| OFFENSIVE PLAY CALLERS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rk | Team | |
| 1. | San Francisco | Kyle Shanahan |
| 2. | Kansas City | Andy Reid |
| 3. | Denver | • Sean Payton |
| 4. | LA Rams | Sean McVay |
| 5. | Detroit | Ben Johnson (OC) |
| 6. | NY Giants | Brian Daboll / Mike Kafka (OC) |
| 7. | Las Vegas | Josh McDaniels |
| 8. | Indianapolis | • Shane Steichen |
| 9. | Miami | Mike McDaniel |
| 10. | Philadelphia | •• Nick Sirianni |
| 11. | Cleveland | Kevin Stefanski |
| 12. | Jacksonville | Doug Pederson |
| 13. | Cincinnati | Zac Taylor |
| 14. | Atlanta | Arthur Smith |
| 15. | LA Chargers | • Kellen Moore (OC) |
| 16. | Seattle | Shane Waldron (OC) |
| 17. | Carolina | • Frank Reich |
| 18. | Green Bay | Matt LaFleur |
| 19. | Minnesota | Kevin O'Connell |
| 20. | Baltimore | • Todd Monken (OC) |
| 21. | New England | • Bill O'Brien (OC) |
| 22. | Dallas | •• Mike McCarthy |
| 23. | New Orleans | Pete Carmichael (OC) |
| 24. | Pittsburgh | Matt Canada (OC) |
| 25. | Washington | • Eric Bieniemy (OC) |
| 26. | Buffalo | Ken Dorsey (OC) |
| 27. | Houston | • Bobby Slowik (OC) |
| 28. | NY Jets | • Nathaniel Hackett (OC) |
| 29. | Tampa Bay | • Dave Canales (OC) |
| 30. | Chicago | Luke Getsy (OC) |
| 31. | Tennessee | •• Tim Kelly (OC) |
| 32. | Arizona | • Drew Petzing (OC) |
—Ian Allan