I voted 21-25.
Just looking at a coaches record isn't enough. I think you have to take into account the roster, the hires he makes, how the players react to him, his schemes/playbook, and his past. In that light, for my money there are only 3 coaches i can definitively state are worse than Philbin and 1 im not sure what to make of:
Lovie Smith. Overrated tenure in Chicago, cant hire an offensive coordinator to save his life, and has a unhealthy devotion to an outdated scheme. Building an entire defense...and really an entire team around the Tampa 2 scheme is foolish in today's NFL. His players like him but are they ready to run through walls for him? Given the way that Tampa team fell apart last season, i vote no.
Jay Gruden. While he probably didnt get a fair shake, that team is a complete disaster. A schism has formed that Gruden either couldn't heal or helped create himself.
Jack Del Rio. The guy is a bag of dicks. There were consistent reports out of Jacksonville his last year there that he stopped coming to work on time. He'd arrive whenever he felt like it and bail early. I get it, it sucks knowing your about to get fired but you handle that stuff professionally, not like a petulant teenager. This ignores the fact that he shouldnt have had his job as long as he did. Accomplished nothing, betrayed his players on a semi-regular basis, and really brings nothing to the table. **** that guy, i cant wait for him to fail in Oakland.
Mike Pettine. I dont know if its him, the owner, or the front office, but yet again the Browns are clownshoes. The answer is probably simple: its all 3 parties fault. Regardless, that team shouldnt have collapsed and while im not a fan of Kyle Shanahan(in fact i think hes an entitled prick) he shouldnt have been run out of town.
Guys like Gus Bradley have finished with worse records, but their players play hard for him. Bradley's team consistently came out fired up. Quite the accomplishment given the constant losing. I have to assign blame to his previous general managers instead of the current coaches(fun fact: Gene Smith drafted punter Bryan Anger 5 spots ahead of Russell Wilson).
I cant ignore the reports of players dissatisfaction with Philbin during the season. I dont discount the reports of players being utterly bewildered by Ross' announcement that Philbin is staying. That we consistently collapse against far less talented teams when our season is on the line is indicative that the players just dont care all that much for Philbin. Next season its going to be bad. How bad? I wont know until i see how Philbin deals with guys like Jared Odrick and Mike Wallace. I doubt he can win back the locker room, but if he goes on another purge then our team could actively revolt Keith Traylor style when the games start playing.
