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Factoid

Veteran coaches

Second-chance coaches have been winning titles

Of the seven head coaches hired in the offseason, only one has been an NFL head coach before (kneecap biting Dan Campbell). Yet I noticed that most of the teams that have won Super Bowls in recent decades have been coached by men who previously were head coaches with other franchises.

Bruce Arians and Andy Reid, of course, in the last two seasons. And the ex-coach demographic is dominated by Bill Belichick, who’s been to a bunch of Super Bowls since being fired by the Browns.

Of the last 17 head coaches to win Lombardi Trophies, 10 were previously a head coach for a different NFL franchise. Most of those coaches not only directed previous teams but took those other clubs to the postseason – that is, it’s not as if the bulk of these guys fell on their faces initially but then later figured out how to better coach. So Dan Campbell (pictured) doesn’t fit the second-try profile in that regard – he went only 5-7 in his 12 games as the head coach in Miami in 2015 (after taking over a month into the season).

And I am not suggesting that everyone should be looking only at recycled coaches. Arthur Smith and Urban Meyer haven’t been NFL head coaches, but they’ve coached a lot of football. Robert Saleh appears to have a vision for the Jets. Brandon Staley is only 38, but he seems like a really good hire – he seems super sharp. But the older, second-chance coaches have been better in recent decades at winning championships.

SUPER BOWL WINNING COACHES
SeasonCoachTeamPrevious
1997Mike ShanahanDenverOakland
1998Mike ShanahanDenverOakland
1999Dick VermeilSt. LouisPhiladelphia
2000Brian BillickBaltimore---
2001Bill BelichickNew EnglandCleveland
2002Jon GrudenTampa BayOakland
2003Bill BelichickNew EnglandCleveland
2004Bill BelichickNew EnglandCleveland
2005Bill CowherPittsburgh---
2006Tony DungyIndianapolisTampa Bay
2007Tom CoughlinNY GiantsJacksonville
2008Mike TomlinPittsburgh---
2009Sean PaytonNew Orleans---
2010Mike McCarthyGreen Bay---
2011Tom CoughlinNY GiantsJacksonville
2012John HarbaughBaltimore---
2013Pete CarrollSeattleJets, Patriots
2014Bill BelichickNew EnglandCleveland
2015Gary KubiakDenverHouston
2016Bill BelichickNew EnglandCleveland
2017Doug PedersonPhiladelphia---
2018Bill BelichickNew EnglandCleveland
2019Andy ReidKansas CityPhiladelphia
2020Bruce AriansTampa BayArizona

—Ian Allan

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