Most hated coaches of all time

Four Super Bowl victories, "Spygate," "Deflategate" and “The Patriot Way” have made New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick the most despised coach in NFL history. Belichick and his golden boy quarterback Tom Brady have been the NFL’s biggest villains for nearly 15 years now, as they rattle off win after win, combined with controversy after controversy. Belichick’s grouchy personality hasn’t won him over any fans either.

Simply put, hockey fans hate Scotty Bowman because the man is a winner. A nine-time Stanley Cup winner as coach, Bowman’s teams have been the source of heartbreak for countless NHL fans. Now retired, his son Stan Bowman continues his father’s legacy of terrorizing the NHL in his position as general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Despite the fact that his players seem to love him, Kentucky head basketball coach John Calipari is hated across the country for exploiting the current “one and done” system between college basketball and the NBA. Year after year, in a mercenary-like fashion, “Coach Cal” recruits talented basketball players who will clearly only stay at his program for one year before going to the NBA. The practice has won Kentucky and coach Calipari a ton of games but very few fans outside of Kentucky.

Truth be told, the “pace and space” style of play that Mike D’Antoni implemented during his time with the Phoenix Suns has changed the landscape of the NBA. In any event, however, D’Antoni is still hated by NBA fans everywhere. After somehow failing to even make a single Finals’ appearance with Steve Nash and the Suns, D’Antoni failed miserably as a coach with the NBA’s two biggest franchises in the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. The 1970s mustache hasn’t helped his cause much either.

Former Colts and Buccaneers head coach is loved by some but hated by more. Since retiring in 2008, Dungy has received criticism from fans (some calling him a bigot) for comments he has made on gay players attempting to break into the NFL. A deeply religious man, Dungy most recently irked NFL fans when he stated that would not draft openly gay linebacker Michael Sam if he were still a coach in the NFL.

Former Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Gullien will likely never manage an MLB team again. Simply put, Gullien has annoyed too many people over the past decade to be embraced again by a team and its fan base. During his time as a manager, Gullien used a homophobic slur to describe a reporter, publicly complimented Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and rubbed some the wrong way with his political stance on immigration. Simply stated, the 2005 AL Manager of the Year has made quite a few enemies in the baseball world.

With his eccentric actions on the sidelines, dad khakis and winning record everywhere he’s been, former San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is the one of the newest coaches fans love to hate. Now having left the 49ers on poor terms to become head coach of the University of Michigan, Harbaugh has already earned the hate of his Big 10 rivals.

Former Ohio State head football coach Woody Hayes' temper is legendary. During his 28-year tenure at Ohio State, he tried to fight Iowa’s athletic director, shoved cameramen, stated that the victims of the 1969 My Lai Massacre deserved to die and punched a player in the 1978 Gator Bowl, which finally led to his dismissal. Hated by Michigan fans and casual sports fans across the planet, Hayes died of a heart attack at age 74.

During his time as head coach of Cincinnati, Huggins’ players graduated at the shockingly low rate of 28 percent. A classic hot head, Huggins was arrested for a DUI in 2004, which helped lead to his dismissal from Cincy.

As the man who built the Miami Hurricanes football program and brought life back to "America’s Team," Jimmy Johnson will always remain one of America’s most hated coaches. A great coach in his own right, Johnson was hated during his coaching days for letting his players run wild and was perceived as an ungraceful winner.

It’s hard to believe that Lane Kiffin is only 40 years old, since he’s already hated by so many. But, when you leave as many teams as high and dry as Kiffin has, it’s easy to understand why. After failing miserably with the Oakland Raiders, it appeared Kiffin was the right man to turn around the Tennessee football program; that is until USC called and offered him more money. With a team loaded with All-Americans and future NFL stars, Kiffin proceeded to run the Trojans into the ground with his stubborn play calling and cold demeanor. Kiffin is currently the offensive coordinator for Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Well, at least for now.

With 902 career wins as a D-1 basketball coach, no one denies that Bobby Knight had an immensely successful career. The methods that Knight used, and manner in which he treated his players and the media, however, have made Knight one of the most hated coaches in American sports history. Knight was best known for his short temper, routinely cursing out players, opposing coaches and the media. Finally in 2000, Knight was dismissed as head coach of Indiana University basketball after it was revealed he choked a former player. This, along with a host of other incidents, has made Bobby Knight one of America’s most hated coaches ever.

A combination of success, pristine image, sense of entitlement, and an extremely difficult last name has made Duke head basketbll coach Mike Krzyzewski one the most hated coaches in sports. Coaching at Duke University, a school that exudes arrogance to many, “Coach K” has won over 900 (and over 1,000 in his career) games with the school and five national titles with the school. If constantly beating your rivals year after year wasn’t enough to earn some hate, Coach K has also been criticized the past few years for buying in to the “one and done” system that so many hate.

One of the most successful managers in MLB history, former White Sox, Athletics and Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa is hated by many baseball fans because he is seen as one of the biggest enablers of the steroid era. La Russa managed both Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, two of the biggest faces of the PED era, and rode them all the way to a World Series win in 1989. Although La Russa would go on to win two more rings with the Cardinals, the fact that he is perceived by baseball fans as willfully ignorant toward his players’ PED use has made him one of baseball’s most hated figures.

Another example of success breeding hatred, the Buckeyes' head coach has found himself on the wrong end of much hatred in the college football world, particularly fans of "the school up north," who were not happy to see Meyer help bring the Buckeyes back to prominence in 2014.

When your nickname is “the Chosen One,” you better believe a ton of people are going to hate you. For current Chelsea F.C. manager Jose Mourinho, this is exactly the case. Although he has been extremely successful everywhere he has managed, Mourinho is easily one of the most smug and arrogant coaches in all of sports. Mourinho has also earned his hate by accusing referees of cheating, cursing out opposing coaches and players, and having his players waste time in matches. Chelsea is currently experiencing a disastrous season under Mourinho's leadership.

“Larry Bird is not walking through those doors, folks.” With that one quote, Rick Pitino became one of basketball’s most hated coaches ever. If chastising Celtics fans wasn’t enough during his failed tenure in Boston, Pitino also gained the hate of the Knicks by leaving them high and dry to coach Kentucky after leading them to Eastern Conference Finals in 1990. Now the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals, Pitino was also the victim of an extortion attempt in 2009, in which Pitino admitted to cheating on his wife, among other things unbecoming of a college basketball coach. Throw in a current scandal involving recruits and escorts at the university, and there are many voices calling for Pitino to resign in Louisville.

The entirety of the basketball world respects Gregg Popovich and the achievements he has earned with the San Antonio Spurs, but it doesn’t mean everyone likes him. “Pop” is well-known to be cold with fans and the media, and the fact that his Spurs keeping winning year after year has earned him no love from basketball fans out West.

With his slicked-back hair, ear-to-ear grin and Hollywood bravado, former Lakers, Knicks and Heat coach Pat Riley is one of the NBA's most hated coaches by fans. Riley and his showtime Lakers went around embarrassing opponents in the 1980s en route to four championships, and he later became the architect behind assembling the Miami Heat’s hated “Big Three.” Arrogant and unapologetic, Pat Riley remains one of basketballs most polarizing figures.

The head coach and president of basketball operation for the Los Angeles Clippers is viewed by many basketball fans as overrated as a coach and incompetent as an executive. Also, the fact that he has a team oozing with talent that seems to complain after every single foul call doesn’t help his cause very much either.

Current Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan is an easy coach to hate. Ryan is brash, outspoken, vulgar and is the son of former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan, who is still hated in his own right. After taking the New York Jets to two straight AFC Championship games in his first two years as head coach, the love for Ryan slowly eroded into hate as the Jets quickly turned into one of the most feeble teams in the NFL. Oh, and taking a new job with a division rivals doesn't exactly help your likability.

After failing to cut it in the NFL as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Nick Saban returned to college football in 2007 with the Alabama Crimson Tide and has led the program to three national titles. In that process, however, Saban has become one of the most hated college football coaches in the country, as he consistently poaches away top prospects from other schools and is perceived as lenient when it comes to disciplining players who have been arrested or accused of crimes.

The current head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Byron Scott has been accused by Lakers fans as being out of touch and failing to grasp how to develop the team's young talent. This very well could be Scott's last season as coach of the Lakers.

One of only three coaches to win a Super Bowl and college national championship, former Oklahoma Sooners and Dallas Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer has always been a source of controversy. From letting Brian “The Boz” Bosworth run wild at Oklahoma to being sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to getting arrested at an airport for having a loaded gun in his baggage, Switzer was always doing something during his coaching career to make someone dislike him.

Known as “Torts” to most for his candid nature, former Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella has made few friends in his time as an NHL coach. Torts called out his own players publicly, berated the media and let his temper get the best of him. Following a game with the Canucks in 2014, Tortorella attempted to enter the opposing Calgary Flames' locker room, causing a minor brawl to ensue. Tortorella was fired by the Canucks five months later. He is now the head coach of the sputtering Columbus Blue Jackets.

When he is your team's offensive coordinator, he’s great, but when he is your team's head coach, it’s another story. Repeatedly sold to fans as an offensive genius, Norv Turner has had his fans turn on him at every single head-coaching position he has held in the NFL. Failed stints in Washington, Oakland and San Diego have made him one the NFL’s most reviled coaches.