No job in sports faces as much scrutiny as an NFL head coach. Airchair quarterbacking is a phrase for a reason, as anyone with a modicum of Madden experience thinks they know better than those tasked with running NFL franchises.
Even successful coaches are hit with criticism that their peers in other sports likely wouldn’t receive. The NFL is very much a “what have you done for me lately?” league, and with only one Super Bowl winner each year, there is a lot of scrutiny to go around.
That’s what makes a list of the most overrated head coaches in the NFL so compelling. Overrated players are often overrated because of biased fan perception around them, whereas overrated head coaches often earn that tag because they keep earning jobs and opportunities that those covering the sport don’t think they deserve.
We polled every site leader in FanSided’s NFL Division to find out who the most overrated head coach in the league actually is. Each expert handed out gold, silver, and bronze medals to the overrated head coaches of their choosing. A first-place vote is worth three points, second is worth two points, third is worth one.
7. San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan
- Total points: 8
- First-place votes: 1
It seems like people might be getting sick of Kyle Shanahan holding the “best offensive mind in the sport” crown without any Super Bowls to back it up. Shanahan’s 49ers are always relevant and it’s truly remarkable what they have overcome on the injury front, but without a ring, the impatience starts to grow.
Nobody outside of the Bay Area expected the 49ers to be as good as they were last season but the lasting image is the absolute beatdown in the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks. That didn’t help Shanahan’s case as he enters his 10th season as 49ers head coach with two Super Bowl losses as his best achievements.
The next few years of Shanahan’s coaching career will truly decide his legacy. Will he be an all-time great like Bud Grant who never was able to get over the hump? Or will he be a late bloomer like Andy Reid, who had everything on his resume except a Super Bowl win until Patrick Mahomes came around?
Either way, until he hoists the Vince Lombardi trophy, Shanahan’s overrated case will only continue to grow.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy
- Total points: 8
- First-place votes: 1
I’ll peel back the curtain here a bit… I was the one FanSided expert who ranked Mike McCarthy as the most overrated head coach in the league. The case is rather simple: he is coasting on a Super Bowl that is older than my freshman-aged brother-in-law and has parlayed that into two different jobs with two of the biggest franchises in the sport.
After two bad seasons in Green Bay, McCarthy took a year off before convincing Jerry Jones he could save the Dallas Cowboys. McCarthy had some regular-season success in Dallas but went winless in the playoffs across his four-year tenure before being let go.
He took another year off and is now the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are trying to escape the cycle of mediocrity that McCarthy will almost certainly keep them in. Just like with Mike Tomlin, the Steelers will probably be in the hunt in December and may even make the playoffs. Just don’t expect anything more than that.
With the same points and number of first-place votes as Shanahan, McCarthy breaks the tie with an additional second-place vote.
5. Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur
- Total points: 12
- First-place votes: 1
Matt LaFleur is following the Kyle Shanahan trajectory to a tee. It’s fitting, too, given their shared trauma as being part of the Atlanta Falcons coaching staff that blew a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Shanahan has at least made the Super Bowl, whereas LaFleur’s playoff record is much more spotty. The Packers have made the playoffs in six of LaFleur’s seven seasons, which is an accomplishment to be proud of, but have only won three games.
It doesn’t matter how successful you are in the regular season or how much of an offensive wizard you are; it’s impossible to outrun a 3-6 playoff record, especially when those in Green Bay are touting you as one of the best head coaches in the league. There’s only one way for LaFleur to shake this title, and just like with Shanahan, it requires the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Thankfully for LaFleur and Packers fans, the NFC is truly wide open this season. This, ironically, can hurt LaFleur’s perception even more if the Packers fall short once again.
4. Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell
- Total points: 13
- First-place votes: 1
It’s remarkable how quickly a head coach can go from one of the most exciting new coaches in the sport to someone who is slapped with the overrated label. For Dan Campbell, it all revolves around the departure of Ben Johnson last season.
Johnson was the most talked-about offensive coordinator for years prior to him jumping ship to the Chicago Bears last offseason. Coupled with the departure of defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who was not as successful with the New York Jets in 2025, Campbell and the Lions had a massive spotlight in 2026.
And while the offensive numbers were good (fourth in the league in total scoring), the overall results were not. The Lions missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022, Johnson’s first year on the job as offensive coordinator. Yes, the Lions were bit by the injury bug, but another unsuccessful season in 2026 will make Campbell’s case even worse.
3. Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton
- Total points: 15
- First-place votes: 4
Sean Payton’s quick turnaround with the Denver Broncos doesn’t seem to mean much to FanSided’s NFL experts, even though quarterback Bo Nix was just ranked as the most overrated player in the entire NFL in the same survey.
The entire impetus around Payton’s spot on this list probably has to do with the perception that the Broncos didn’t deserve to make it as far as they did last season. Even that may be a bit unfair, though. Denver did win 14 games last season and beat Josh Allen and the Bills in the playoffs. That doesn’t happen by accident.
But still, Payton earns an overrated tag that he likely won’t shake unless he wins it all with the Broncos in 2026. Even without a Super Bowl, though, it will be unfair to include Payton on this list next year if the Broncos have another dominant season as one of the final four teams left standing.
2. Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni
- Total points: 38
- First-place votes: 7
There’s quite the gap between bronze and silver on this list and you never would have guessed who it would be if we were just looking at recent Super Bowl champions. The Philadelphia Eagles are 18 months removed from a dynasty-ending win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl and Sirianni finds himself firmly in the overrated category.
And to be fair… he might deserve it. With the best front office in the entire sport and heaps of talent at his disposal, there is the impression that Sirianni has actually underperformed during his tenure as Eagles head coach. In the eyes of many, a truly elite head coach would have more than just one Super Bowl given the circumstances.
The 2026 season will prove how accurate this overrated label is. With no A.J. Brown and an aging Saquon Barkley, there’s a real chance Sirianni and Jalen Hurts justify all the scrutiny sent their way despite the overall team success.
It’s hard to know what another successful season would do for Sirianni’s stock. Will the goalposts be moved yet again? Or will Sirianni establish himself as one of the best, not one of the most overrated, coaches in the league?
Time will tell.
1. New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh
- Total points: 44
- First-place votes: 9
John Harbaugh earns the overrated crown in resounding fashion with nine first-place votes having shown up on 20 of 33 total ballots. Our NFL experts have loudly spoken: Harbaugh is the most overrated coach in the sport before ever coaching a game with his current team.
The case isn’t hard to make. Harbaugh was presented as the best head coaching candidate of this cycle even though he wore out his welcome in Baltimore. The Ravens were always relevant, but the team consistently fell short of expectations despite all of the talent on both sides of the ball.
Normally, veteran head coaches take a year off from coaching before they get a new opportunity (look at McCarthy, or his predecessor Mike Tomlin). Not Harbaugh. He was presented as a huge get for the Giants even if the resume doesn’t quite line up.
Yes, he has a Super Bowl on his resume, but he also has a 3-6 playoff record over the last decade. In fact, Harbaugh hasn’t won more than one game in a playoff run since winning the Super Bowl in 2012 — the year my freshman-aged brother-in-law was born.
In defense of John Harbaugh…
Harbaugh had such a dominant first-place finish that it’s only fair that I let GMEN HQ Site Editor Matt Sidney come to his defense. Sidney, take it away!
“Holy Harbaugh! I know that’s not my new head coach taking the No. 1 spot on this most overrated list. I’ll tell you what’s overrated: being overrated. I said it.
Listen, it’s not hard to see why my fellow FanSiders made John Harbaugh their top choice for most overrated coach. He’s been a head coach for going on 19 years, and with only one Super Bowl to his name, he’s bound to catch some heat. However, three losing seasons in 18 years with the Baltimore Ravens is impressive, no matter the lack of championship rings on his fingers.
Harbaugh led the Ravens through the Tom Brady and Peyton Manning era, only to eventually succumb to the Patrick Mahomes era, which – newsflash – so did every other HC not named Andy Reid. He might not have another ring to show for it, but Baltimore was consistently competitive for almost two decades. At some point, that kind of staying power has to count for something.
I’d argue that the up-and-coming guys who have yet to do much of anything but are already considered “gurus” or “whisperers” should have taken the top spot. We’re constantly told how incredible they are and how innovative their offenses are, only for all that genius to go nowhere come January. At least Harbs knows who he is.”
Other NFL head coaches who received first-place votes
- Aaron Glenn, New York Jets
- Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs
- Jim Harbaugh, LA Chargers
- Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings
- Kevin Stefanski, Atlanta Falcons
- Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals
There are a wide array of head coaches who received first-place votes. This might be the only head coach list on the internet with both Aaron Glenn and Andy Reid. After all, Reid has as many Super Bowls as Glenn has wins as head coach.
Can someone really be overrated with only three career wins and a job in jeopardy? Additionally, is it fair to call a three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach overrated because he didn’t make the Super Bowl once?
In total, 21 different head coaches received at least one point in this survey. The 11 who somehow escaped the madness are Mike Macdonald, Klint Kubiak, Jesse Minter, Dave Canales, Brian Schottenheimer, DeMeco Ryans, Liam Coen, Robert Saleh, Jeff Hafley, Kellen Moore, and Todd Monken.
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