Which coach(es) will make his first Super Bowl appearance this year?
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is the only coach of the four whose teams are still left in the NFL playoffs that has gone to the Super Bowl. Belichick’s Patriots have made five Super Bowl appearances.
That means that we will have at least one coach making his Super Bowl debut (either Atlanta’s Mike Smith or San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh), and if John Harbaugh’s Ravens should defeat the Patriots, we will have two coaches making their Super Bowl debuts on February 3.
In the Super Bowl era (since 1966) we have several coaches who have won 70 or more games but have never made it to the Super Bowl. Topping that list is Marty Schottenheimer who has 200 wins but never coached in the Super Bowl.
Following are the coaches with 70 or more wins who have never coached in the Super Bowl. (Note: Only coaches who coached a majority of their games in the Super Bowl era are included. George Halas (318), Curly Lambeau (226) and Paul Brown (213) are just some of the coaches who never won a Super Bowl because there was not a Super Bowl during their coaching careers.)
Coach, wins
Marty Schottenheimer, 200
Chuck Knox, 186
Jim Mora, 125
Norv Turner, 114
Dennis Green, 113
Don Coryell, 111
Ted Marchibroda, 87
Jack Pardee, 87
Bum Phillips, 82
Wade Phillips, 82
Dave Wannstedt, 82
Marvin Lewis, 79
John Robinson, 75
Jack Del Rio, 73
Steve Mariucci, 72
There have also been a handful of coaches who have made it to the Super Bowl but never won the big game. In fact, there are six coaches who have won 100 or more games, have coached in the Super Bowl, but have never won a Super Bowl. They are: Dan Reeves (190 wins), Bud Grant (158 wins), Jeff Fisher (149 wins), Marv Levy (143), Andy Reid (130) and George Allen (116).
Denver Broncos coach John Fox could join the above list as he has 94 career wins, has coached in the Super Bowl, but has never won the Super Bowl.
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The NFL’s winningest coaches… by the alphabet!
Jeff Fisher... Image via Wikipedia
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Friday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday.
Not only did Jeff Fisher leave the Tennessee Titans after the 2010 season as their winningest coach, but he also left as the winningest coach in NFL history with the last name starting with “F.”
For a little light-hearted fun, here’s a look at the winningest coaches in NFL history… based on the alphabet. The only active coach on the list? San Diego’s Norv Turner who tops the “T” coaches with 103 wins.
A: George Allen, 116
B: Paul Brown, 213
C: Bill Cowher, 149
D: Tony Dungy, 139
E: Weeb Ewbank, 130
F: Jeff Fisher, 142
G: Bud Grant, 158
H: George Halas, 318
I: Lindy Infante, 36
J: Jimmy Johnson, 80
K: Chuck Knox, 186
L: Tom Landry, 250
M: Jim Mora, 125
N: Chuck Noll, 193
O: Steve Owen, 151
P: Bill Parcells, 172
Q: (None)
R: Dan Reeves, 190
S: Don Shula, 328
T: Norv Turner, 103
U: Rube Ursella, 12
V: Dick Vermeil, 120
W: Bill Walsh, 92
X: (None)
Y: Swede Youngstrom, 4
Z: Jim Zorn, 12
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