Who are the top NFL coaches who never played football?
Who are the top NFL coaches who never played football?
By Jay Postrado November 11, 2024 05:43
There is a presumption that playing a sport is a requirement before one can embark on the journey of becoming a coach. While that may be true in most cases, there are a few who have proven that narrative wrong in the NFL. They may not have been great on the field but their ability to think of jaw-dropping schemes and awe-inspiring rotations is just something else.
Bill Belichick is the first name that comes to mind when thinking about this category. The iconic architect of the New England Patriots system did not put on cleats at all as a player in his life. Despite this, he won eight Super Bowls as a coach with six of them having him as the head honcho. Greats like Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Randy Moss, and Julian Edelman among others owe a lot of their success to his system.
Another coach to have never touched a football before coaching is Joe Gibbs. It is one thing to win three Super Bowls but it is another when it comes to propelling a franchise like the Washington Redskins to victory. His squads almost always make it to the postseason and never disappoint. Ever since he left the sidelines, the franchise he coached was never the same.
If the conversation shifts to current day coaches, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers is the answer. He is the youngest head honcho to have ever led his team to the top of football immortality. Moreover, Tomlin also has a streak of 17 straight seasons of not having a losing record. Someone who was formerly a defensive backs coach for a Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers team made a big name for himself.
Other notable figures who come into mind are Bruce Arians, Sean McVay, Mike Shanahan, and Jon Gruden.