NFL.com Head Coach Power Poll

[Meeker]

Pete inherits a team with Max Unger, Brandon Mebane, and Red Bryant

Jim inherits a team with Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Alex Boone, Anthony Davis, Justin Smith, Ray McDonald, Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, Ahmad Brooks, Dashon Goldson and more...

Comparing their first 2 seasons seems legit :34853_doh:

 

[DavidSeven]

Offensive HC rides the coattails of a Singletary-developed elite defense to early success, and he is top-3 without a single ring? Interesting.

Granted, Harbs' conservative offensive philo and emphasis on power-run aids his defense (just as they do for Carroll), but let's be honest, it doesn't work without the elite talent he inherited on that side of the ball. According to the things I've read, Harbaugh doesn't even spend time with his defense (which is why Sherman switched sides in college).

 

[LymonHawk]

Anyone who watched the Super Bowl, knows we have the finest coaching staff in the league.

 

[Subzero717]

If you toom the authors name off the article and told me Terry Blount wrote it I wouldn't doubt it.

 

[Subzero717]

Marvin Lewis at least actually makes the playoff most years, unlike Jeff Fisher.

Yeah. That was my point.

 

[hawknation2014]

Jim Harbaugh has never won a Super Bowl. John Harbaugh has never coached a team to 13 wins in a season.

Mike McCarthy is the only other coach who has gone 45 consecutive games without losing by more than seven points, and both McCarthy and Carroll share that record. I'm excited to watch Carroll break that record against Green Bay on Sept. 4.

In two years, Carroll will be the unanimous No. 1 choice on everyone's list. :th2thumbs:

 

[pmedic920]

And how many coaches have won it all in the NFL and NCAA?

 

[Riley12]

And how many coaches have won it all in the NFL and NCAA?

Wait! I kinda sorta remember that from one of my Super Bowl viewings. I think it was three, right? Pete Carroll, Jimmy Johnson and some other dude.

EDIT - had to look it up - Barry Switzer (who inherited Johnson's team)

 

[kearly]

I don't think Harbaugh is over-rated in the slightest. The way he's found a way to get production out of Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick shouldn't be brushed over. Yes, he inherited some talented players, but many of them weren't actually all that great pre-Harbaugh. Harbaugh was also a really damn good coach at Stanford as well. I have little doubt that the 49ers would collapse within a few years without him.

Belichick is a great coach, one of the greatest ever. It would be fun if the early 2000s Patriots were in the NFL right now, how that team would match up vs. Seattle and SF. I think both Pete and Harbaugh are right there on that same level as coaches in terms of making their teams better. Pick your order, those guys should be the top three. I'd probably have Payton #4, and then it's a pretty steep dropoff to whoever's next.

 

[hawknation2014]

Harbaugh was also a really damn good coach at Stanford as well.

Harbaugh never won a single conference championship at Stanford-- and only finished ranked in the Top 25 once, his final year in 2010.

Why is anyone surprised he hasn't won it all despite a stacked 49ers roster?

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Anyone who watched the Super Bowl, knows we have the finest coaching staff in the league.

I think the list is more of a body of work list, not just based on 2013........which is why Belicheat and Coughlin are at the top...........and also why Pete is #7, he hasn't done it long enough in the NFL.

Coach's Power Polls are just as dumb as team and player power polls, arbitrary and without factual evidence.

 

[pmedic920]

And how many coaches have won it all in the NFL and NCAA?

Wait! I kinda sorta remember that from one of my Super Bowl viewings. I think it was three, right? Pete Carroll, Jimmy Johnson and some other dude.

EDIT - had to look it up - Barry Switzer (who inherited Johnson's team)

Ding ding ding.
I think if this fact gets factored in, PC moves up at least 3 spots.
Homer?
Maybe, but it's an an achievement, that none above him can put on a resume.

 

[HawkAroundTheClock]

In two years, Carroll will be the unanimous No. 1 choice on everyone's list. :th2thumbs:

This is how I view all these lists and rankings. We are in the midst of non-12s slowly catching on. I don't blame them. Over the 80s and 90s they got used to equating Seahawks with poor play, and maybe the odd season of success with an upset victory here and there.

Then the Holmgren era showed we could play, but the media (with their deeply ingrained Seahawks = losers narrative) had the excuse of "easy division." It's really only been 2 full seasons that the NFC West has become the best in the league. Some talking heads took notice when our Seahawks became "the team no one wants to face in the playoffs" of 2012. Even more came to the party when they picked us as preseason NFC champion favorites last year. Still more finally gave up the old ways and "got it" when we gave the All-World Broncos the Super Beatdown. A few stragglers need more convincing. Another couple rings and these lists and rankings won't even be a debate.

When we consider that 4 short years ago this organization was nothing but question marks and doubts (for the national media definitely, but even for 12s in many ways) it's been a fun ride. Watching more respect creep in, watching minds change after visiting with our guys, watching our players and coaches move up the "best of" lists, and especially watching our Hawks prove all the naysayers wrong, has been hella entertaining.

:snack:

 

[dopeboy206]

Just for fun...Where would Mike Holmgren rank on your lists of todays coaches. Lol

 

[Scottemojo]

Just for fun...Where would Mike Holmgren rank on your lists of todays coaches. Lol

Right next to John Fox.

 

[Subzero717]

Just for fun...Where would Mike Holmgren rank on your lists of todays coaches. Lol

Right next to John Fox.

On that list how would you not put him next to Mcarthy and copy and paste all the same info? Not that I agree.

Also I get the hole year he was out blah blah but doesnt anyine else think Payton is slightly over rated? Yes he missed a year and they werent good. I dont think they would have been that good anyway. Thats a huge distraction. Guys were suspended. Dont forget Spagnola.

 

[Scottemojo]

Just for fun...Where would Mike Holmgren rank on your lists of todays coaches. Lol

Right next to John Fox.

On that list how would you not put him next to Mcarthy and copy and paste all the same info? Not that I agree.

Also I get the hole year he was out blah blah but doesnt anyine else think Payton is slightly over rated? Yes he missed a year and they werent good. I dont think they would have been that good anyway. Thats a huge distraction. Guys were suspended. Dont forget Spagnola.

I love Sean Payton. He will do anything to motivate his guys. The Seahawks logo on their field was just one example of him using psychology on his players, didn't work, but they played hella better than the first time they were here. Do I think they would have been good with him that one year? Yes I do. Take Pete off our team and tell me how long we stay great.

 

[RiverDog]

I don't think Harbaugh is over-rated in the slightest. The way he's found a way to get production out of Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick shouldn't be brushed over. Yes, he inherited some talented players, but many of them weren't actually all that great pre-Harbaugh. Harbaugh was also a really damn good coach at Stanford as well. I have little doubt that the 49ers would collapse within a few years without him.

Belichick is a great coach, one of the greatest ever. It would be fun if the early 2000s Patriots were in the NFL right now, how that team would match up vs. Seattle and SF. I think both Pete and Harbaugh are right there on that same level as coaches in terms of making their teams better. Pick your order, those guys should be the top three. I'd probably have Payton #4, and then it's a pretty steep dropoff to whoever's next.

Vernon Davis, Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, and Frank Gore all played well enough to make the Pro Bowl in years before Harbaugh's arrival. Plus he already had guys like Staley and Crabtree on the roster. That's a pretty darn good core from which to start with. IMO it's a lot tougher to start over from scratch like Pete did than get a roster of underperformers over the hump.

I give Harbaugh a ton of credit, too, and perhaps he should be rated higher than Pete. But not # 3 when he doesn't have a Lombardi.

 

[kearly]

Vernon Davis, Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, and Frank Gore all played well enough to make the Pro Bowl in years before Harbaugh's arrival. Plus he already had guys like Staley and Crabtree on the roster. That's a pretty darn good core from which to start with. IMO it's a lot tougher to start over from scratch like Pete did than get a roster of underperformers over the hump.

I give Harbaugh a ton of credit, too, and perhaps he should be rated higher than Pete. But not # 3 when he doesn't have a Lombardi.

I know pro-bowls are kind of a dumb way of measuring excellence and that winning teams get more pro-bowlers, but the 49ers have had 8, 9, and 8 pro-bowlers in Harbaugh's three seasons. A lot of those guys made their first pro-bowls under Harbaugh. From 2003 to 2010 the 49ers were mostly crappy and averaged roughly 2 pro-bowlers per season.

He definitely inherited a roster with some talent on it, but at the same time I think it's pretty obvious he's one of the best coaches in the league at maximizing his existing roster.

Just for fun...Where would Mike Holmgren rank on your lists of todays coaches. Lol

Right next to John Fox.

This made sense until I thought about it for two seconds. Holmgren (along with Ron Wolfe) turned a bad Packers team into a team that has won almost non-stop since they traded for Brett Favre. The Packers 96'-97' seasons were the only back to back seasons in the last 20 years with better DVOA than the two Seattle just posted. He also put together one of the best assistant coaching staffs of all time.

In Seattle, Holmgren inherited a team that had gone almost a decade without a winning season and built a Super Bowl team from scratch.

He totaled three Super Bowls, winning one.

In the case of Fox, his tenure at Carolina was marked by inconsistency. 7-9, 11-5, 7-9, 11-5, 8-8, 7-9, 12-4, 8-8, 2-14. Never had two winning seasons back to back. (Kind of reminds me of Jeff Fisher at Tennessee). Part of that is Delhomme being an erratic QB, part of that is the NFC South being an erratic division, and part of that is on Fox.

I give Fox no credit for anything in Denver. It's Manning's and Elway's team. Fox's involvement there is about as deep as a manager in baseball.

Fox has been to a Super Bowl, and carried to another. The latter of which was one of the more pathetic coaching performances I've ever seen in a Super Bowl.

Of course, I'm guessing you didn't really mean to compare the coaches, only to say that Holmgren probably would rank in the #7-#9 range. Which is close enough I guess, though I'd personally put him above McCarthy and probably in the same area as Coughlin.

Still, there was no way I could pass on the chance to rip on John Fox. I should probably cut the guy a break, now that both XLVIII and the 2005 NFCCG came his expense.

Regarding Payton, I agree with you 100%.

 

[RiverDog]

I know pro-bowls are kind of a dumb way of measuring excellence and that winning teams get more pro-bowlers, but the 49ers have had 8, 9, and 8 pro-bowlers in Harbaugh's three seasons. A lot of those guys made their first pro-bowls under Harbaugh. From 2003 to 2010 the 49ers were mostly crappy and averaged roughly 2 pro-bowlers per season.

He definitely inherited a roster with some talent on it, but at the same time I think it's pretty obvious he's one of the best coaches in the league at maximizing his existing roster.

I'm not rapping Harbaugh. He's a great coach. But #3 when he's Lombardi-less is too high.

Think of it this way: If Harbaugh and Carroll were both on the market, which coach do you think would get the best offer?