Beyond Belichick: Who is this era's second-best NFL head coach?

John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens

The 12-year Ravens leader is 118-74 (.615) with one championship and eight playoff berths. Of any coach considered here, Harbaugh had the worst draw at quarterback. But he led the Ravens to five playoff berths in his first five seasons, which culminated with Joe Flacco’s stunning brilliance in the 2012 playoffs. Late that season, Harbaugh fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and promoted Jim Caldwell. Those Ravens became the most recent team to advance to (and win) a Super Bowl after playing in the first round.

The rare special teams coordinator to rise to a head-coaching role, Harbaugh not only guided the Ravens to six playoff brackets with Flacco but changed the trajectory of the franchise with 2018’s midseason Lamar Jackson pivot. Harbaugh, 57, loomed as a hot-seat occupant after missing the postseason from 2015-17. After helping to radically revamp Baltimore’s offense for Jackson during the 2018 season -– and building on it in the 2019 offseason –- Harbaugh and his new quarterback produced the best record in Ravens history (14-2) and the franchise’s first No. 1 seed in a '19 season that ended with Jackson as MVP.

Working with one of the league’s best front offices has helped. But being staked to a low-level franchise quarterback in Flacco and a non-traditional centerpiece in Jackson and generating the success he has, Harbaugh is firmly on the top non-Belichick tier of modern coaches.

Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints

In 13 seasons, Payton is 131-77 (.630) with one championship and eight playoff berths. The NFL record book would almost certainly look different without him. Had Drew Brees ended up with Nick Saban’s Dolphins during his seminal free agency in 2006, that fork-in-the-road moment likely would create a reality where Peyton Manning’s career passing records remain. Payton and Brees formed one of the great head coach-quarterback duos in NFL annals. The Saints won one playoff game in the 39 years before Payton and Brees arrived in ’06; they now have nine postseason victories.

Payton not only turned Brees from an undersized passer with an inconsistent track record as a Charger into an all-time great, but he helped groom non-first-round skill-position investments into elite NFL talents. Marques Colston remains the Saints’ all-time receiving leader; he was the fourth-to-last pick in the 2006 draft. Jimmy Graham, a 2011 third-rounder, morphed from college basketball player into a tight end force. Michael Thomas, the sixth wideout taken in the 2016 draft, and Alvin Kamara, the fifth running back chosen in 2017, currently fuel the Saints. Payton, who led the 2019 team to a 5-0 record without Brees, would top all of this if ex-undrafted free agent Taysom Hill becomes his next quarterback.

While the Bountygate scandal that led to Payton being suspended for the 2012 season will be attached to his legacy, the 56-year-old coach did more to lift a franchise than just about any coach in league history. And Payton was one notably botched call away from a second Super Bowl cameo.

Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers 

Entering his 14th season as the Steelers’ head coach, Tomlin is 133-74-1 (.642) with one championship, two Super Bowl appearances and eight postseason berths. Working for a franchise that has employed three head coaches since 1969, Tomlin has enjoyed patience few coaches receive. He rewarded the Steelers by becoming the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl (at 36) and has kept the team an AFC power for most of his tenure.

Having Ben Roethlisberger has helped Tomlin, but the Steelers’ Big Ben-era peak came when smothering defenses backed him. Pittsburgh rode No. 1-ranked DVOA defenses to Super Bowls XLIII and XLV, doing so while Roethlisberger threw 17 touchdown passes in each season. A defense-oriented coach, Tomlin deserves credit for this –- even if a few Steeler defenses in the 2010s held Big Ben back. These vulnerable defenses called Tomlin’s value into question, but such concerns diminished over the past year and change.

Tomlin showcased his importance over the past two years, leading the Steelers through the one-of-a-kind Antonio Brown tornado. Having the Steelers in playoff contention without Roethlisberger and the departed Brown and Le'Veon Bell last season should remove doubts about Tomlin’s importance and job security. The Steelers enter 2020 with a restocked defense and, Roethlisberger health-permitting, pose as an intriguing AFC threat.

All due respect to these potential Hall of Famers, the choice here for No. 2 active coach in the NFL is the reigning Super Bowl champions’ architect.

Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs

The 21-year head coach is 207-128-1 (.618) with a championship, two Super Bowl appearances and 15 playoff entries. Those 207 wins rank seventh all time. Reid is six wins away from Paul Brown for No. 6 on this list and will likely be in the top five before the 2021 season concludes. At a crossroads after being fired from his 14-year Eagles post, Reid has cemented his Hall of Fame credentials with the Chiefs. Armed with a stacked roster he helped build, Reid could rise among the all-time greats after a few more seasons paired with Patrick Mahomes.

Like Shula, Reid has achieved success with several quarterbacks. Shula won playoff games with Earl Morrall, Bob Griese, David Woodley and Dan Marino. Reid, 62, has gone to the playoffs with five passers -– Donovan McNabb, Jeff Garcia, Michael Vick, Alex Smith and Mahomes -– and won postseason games with four. Carroll has won playoff games with three starting QBs (though one such win came after a 7-9 season); Belichick won postseason games with two. Harbaugh, Payton and Tomlin have done so with one. Reid has consistently innovated as well, shifting from a pure West Coast offense to one with a heavy college influence by the time Smith led the NFL in passer rating in 2017. 

Mahomes expanded Reid’s playbook, creating the NFL’s premier offense. Mahomes threw 60 touchdown passes in his first 20 starts -– 13 more than anyone before him. Arguments can be made that the 2018 MVP and Super Bowl LIV MVP hovers on his own QB tier atop the league today. This reality would not be possible without Reid, the optimal modern play-caller.

The Chiefs went 2-14 in 2012; in Reid’s 2013 debut, they finished 11-5. Reid piloted the 2014 Chiefs to a 9-7 season, despite that squad becoming the first in 50 years to not have a wide receiver catch a touchdown pass. The 2015 Chiefs lost two-time All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles that October; they subsequently became the second team to start 1-5 and make the playoffs. Kansas City’s win over playoff-bound Minnesota with Matt Moore at quarterback last season helped secure a playoff bye. As of August 2019, Moore was serving as a scout and high school football coach. Overstating Reid’s value to a long-hard-luck franchise is nearly impossible.

Considering the stylistic flexibility and consistency despite quarterback and location changes, Reid has become this era’s second-best coach. Mahomes commanding a well-constructed roster could soon create distance between Reid and this century’s non-Belichick coaching contingent.