Coach Rankings Offer More NFL Players Survey Craziness

INDIANAPOLIS – The worst coach in the NFL? If you ask New Orleans Saints players and believe the answers they gave in filling out the annual players union survey, then Dennis Allen is the guy.

Allen was rated the league's 29th worst coach for 2023 in a survey of 1,706 players. But because coaches ranked 30th, 31st, and 32nd are Josh McDaniels, Ron Rivera and Arthur Smith, and they all got fired, that leaves Allen.

He is the NFL's worst coach from last season that still has his job.

It should be noted Allen received a B-minus overall grade.

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels speaks to reporters during the NFL Draft Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on March 2, 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images).

McDaniels NFL's Lowest Rated Coach In '23

Smith got a C-plus. Rivera got a C. And McDaniels got a D from his players. 

Pete Carroll got fired from the Seattle Seahawks after the season. This happened even though the team had a 9-8 record, and Carroll got an A grade from his players.

Carroll, unemployed today, was the NFL's 11th-rated coach in 2023. Yeah, weird that a coach rated so high got the boot.

And weird is a good way to describe a lot of what this player survey served up. We already know players feeling uncomfortable in their workplace doesn't translate to any sort of disadvantage based on this survey.

And here is where this whole coach rating system went off the rails: Kevin Stefanski, Todd Bowles and Bill Belichick also rated poorly along with Allen.

Bowles (ranked 26th) and Stefanski (28th) took their teams to the playoffs. And Belichick (27th) has won six Super Bowls as a head coach.

Kevin Stefanski says he grew up playing "Madden." (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Players: Stefanski Needs More Efficiency

Stefanski was the NFL's coach of the year. He took the Browns to the playoffs despite not having starter Deshaun Watson or All-Pro running back Nick Chubb for most of the season.

But the complaint about Stefanski is that only 70 percent of Browns players believed he was efficient with their time. He ranked 29th in the NFL in that category, which lowered his overall rating.

Allen's major flaw is, apparently, he is a man of conviction. He believes what he believes and players don't appreciate that he doesn't listen to them as much as they'd like. He was said to be only "somewhat willing" to listen to them and ranked 28th in the league in that category.

Yes, before you ask, Andy Reid is the survey's highest rated coach. He got a 9.77 rating out of possible perfect 10 from his players. So a No. 1 ranking for the Super Bowl winning coach.

Patrick Mahomes walks off the field with Andy Reid. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

Andy Reid Is NFL's Best Coach

Reid's Chiefs beat Baltimore's John Harbaugh in the AFC championship game. And the Ravens had the NFL's best record.

But Harbaugh only managed to be ranked the NFL's 20th-best coach. Which is crazy wrong.

The third-best ranking went to Dan Campbell, who is beloved by the Detroit Lions. So that made sense.

But the second-best overall ranking went to, wait for it, Kevin O'Connell of the Vikings.

O'Connell's apparent superpower is that he really, really, really listens to his players. He was the NFL's highest-ranked coach in that metric.

Bills coach Sean McDermott was among nine coaches getting A grades, but he finished ranked 12th overall. Why?

It should be noted Bills players complained that on plane rides, they have to sit in coach seats while the coaches and staff members get priority seating in first class. Who knew seat assignments might hurt McDermott's ability to be a good coach?

Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy got an A on his report card and is the No. 9 ranked coach on this survey. Now, want some irony?

OXNARD, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 08: Owner and President of the Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones is seen during training camp at River Ridge Fields on August 08, 2022 in Oxnard, California. (Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images)

Cowboys Players Not Very Aware

Cowboys players gave owner and GM Jerry Jones a B grade, and he finished as the league's 19th best owner. The players graded Jones so poorly because they didn't think his willingness to invest in the facilities was very good, rating it 19th overall.

This proves Cowboys players are dumb because The Star, which Jones built at a cost of $1.5 billion, is arguably unmatched as far as team facilities in the NFL.

Arizona's Jonathan Gannon in his first year as an NFL head coach, scored an A-minus. He ranked 15th overall – ahead of Super Bowl winners Sean Payton and Harbaugh and Belichick – and part of that was because players thought he was "very willing to listen to the locker room."

So, listening to the locker room is apparently part of the secret sauce of being a highly ranked coach in a player survey. 

That's how NFL players see things now.