“A year ago, everybody was like, ‘Oh, Mike Shanahan, he won two Super Bowls.’ Well now, he’s down in Washington, and if you could trade Andy Reid for Mike Shanahan, I don’t know anybody that wouldn’t keep Andy Reid."
BOOM! Joe Banner, ladies and gentlemen.
We wanted to post this quote, because (a) there is some truth to it, and (b) it's pretty darn funny. Thing is, an inordinate amount of time already has been spent talking about Reid in the comments over the past month, and it's getting us nowhere. Turns out the Eagles' head coach is a polarizing figure in Philadelphia.
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Rather than just post the quote and go at it, we wanted to frame the conversation in such a way that it felt new, and maybe is even a little constructive. So readers, would you rather have Andy Reid or Mike Shanahan? In fact, which current NFL head coaches would you rank ahead of Big Red?
First, a few ground rules. We are only discussing active coaches. It's not simply a question of whether or not you would like a new voice, which can essentially be anybody. Looking at the list of 32 employed head coaches, who in that specific group is better than Reid? If you have Reid 32nd, while it may come off as insincere, who am I to argue?
Second, the rankings are based on right now. Super Bowl championships obviously carry a lot of weight, but using Shanahan as a for instance, it might not mean as much when the last one came in 1998, and the head coach in question has won a single playoff game since. This is still subjective of course, but the key is who is better in present day.
Finally, for the sake of clarity, active head coaches include new hires who haven't coached a game yet. Whether or not collegiate accomplishments or assistant jobs matter is up to the individual. Feel free to run with Jim Harbaugh or Ron Rivera.
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And that's it.
So without further adieu, my own list:
1. Bill Belichick (NE)
2. Mike Tomlin (PIT)
3. Mike McCarthy (GB)
4. Sean Payton (NO)
5. Mike Smith (ATL)
6. Andy Reid
That will undoubtedly be high to some, but I think it's fair. Shanahan and Tom Coughlin have the hardware, and that might make them automatics on some lists, just not mine. Rex Ryan was a person of interest as well, and he would most likely be the next name if I continued.
Four of the guys ahead of Reid were open-and-shut cases in my mind. And Mike Smith... well, he's just a good coach. Strikes me as a guy who will win the big one, and I would trade straight up for that.
Let's see those lists.