Felger & Mazz: NFL Head Coaching Vastly Improved Since Patriots Dynasty
BOSTON (CBS) - A discussion started Thursday afternoon on Felger & Massarotti about head coaching in the NFL, and how many quality coaches there are.
The premise being, the gap has shrunk between Bill Belichick at the height of the Patriots dynasty in 2005 and the rest of the head coaches currently roaming the sidelines.
"I still think Bill is the best," said Felger. "There's nobody I'd rather have. But opposed to the past, when I wanted nobody else, it feels to me like I would take a handful of coaches across the league and feel okay."
To prove this theory, they ran the numbers and performed an exercise where each coach was given either a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down." It's hardly scientific, but the idea is that if you're given a thumbs up then Felger, Mazz and Beetle consider you a quality head coach.
First they did 2014, then 2005. Here's what they came up with...
2014 NFL Head Coaches:
Arizona Cardinals - Bruce Arians - Thumbs Up
Atlanta Falcons - Mike Smith - Thumbs Up
Baltimore Ravens - John Harbaugh - Thumbs Up
Buffalo Bills - Doug Marrone - Thumbs Down
Carolina Panthers - Ron Rivera - Thumbs Down
Chicago Bears - Marc Trestman - Thumbs Down
Cincinnati Bengals - Marvin Lewis - Thumbs Down
Cleveland Browns - Mike Pettine - Thumbs Down
Dallas Cowboys - Jason Garrett - Thumbs Down
Denver Broncos - John Fox - Thumbs Up
Detroit Lions - Jim Caldwell - Thumbs Down
Green Bay Packers - Mike McCarthy - Thumbs Up
Houston Texans - Bill O'Brien - Thumbs Up
Indianapolis Colts - Chuck Pagano - Thumbs Up
Jacksonville Jaguars - Gus Bradley - Thumbs Down
Kansas City Chiefs - Andy Reid - Thumbs Up
Miami Dolphins - Joe Philbin - Thumbs Down
Minnesota Vikings - Mike Zimmer - Thumbs Down
New England Patriots - Bill Belichick - Thumbs Up
New Orleans Saints - Sean Payton - Thumbs Up
New York Giants - Tom Coughlin - Thumbs Up
New York Jets - Rex Ryan - Thumbs Up
Oakland Raiders - Dennis Allen - Thumbs Down
Philadelphia Eagles - Chip Kelly - Thumbs Up
Pittsburgh Steelers - Mike Tomlin - Thumbs Up
San Diego Chargers - Mike McCoy - Thumbs Up
San Francisco - Jim Harbaugh - Thumbs Up
Seattle Seahawks - Pete Carroll - Thumbs Up
St. Louis Rams - Jeff Fisher - Thumbs Down
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Lovie Smith - Thumbs Down
Tennessee Titans - Ken Whisenhunt - Thumbs Up
Washington Redskins - Jay Gruden - Thumbs Down
Final Tally: 18 Up, 14 Down
"When we get to 2005 we'll do the same thing, and I guarantee you we'll go 'Suck! Suck! Suck! Suck! Suck!'" said Felger.
"I just feel either our view of Belichick has come down, or our view of the field has come up. Something like that, because 10 years ago we felt like everyone sucked compared to Belichick."
2005 NFL Head Coaches:
Arizona Cardinals - Dennis Green - Thumbs Down
Atlanta Falcons - Jim Mora - Thumbs Down
Baltimore Ravens - Brian Billick - Thumbs Down
Buffalo Bills - Mike Mularkey - Thumbs Down
Carolina Panthers - John Fox - Thumbs Up
Chicago Bears - Lovie Smith - Thumbs Down
Cincinnati Bengals - Marvin Lewis - Thumbs Down
Cleveland Browns - Romeo Crennel - Thumbs Down
Dallas Cowboys - Bill Parcells - Thumbs Up
Denver Broncos - Mike Shanahan - Thumbs Up
Detroit Lions - Steve Mariucci - Thumbs Down
Green Bay Packers - Mike Sherman - Thumbs Down
Houston Texans - Dom Capers - Thumbs Down
Indianapolis Colts - Tony Dungy - Thumbs Up
Jacksonville Jaguars - Jack Del Rio - Thumbs Down
Kansas City Chiefs - Dick Vermeil - Thumbs Down
Miami Dolphins - Nick Saban - Thumbs Down
Minnesota Vikings - Mike Tice - Thumbs Down
New England Patriots - Bill Belichick - Thumbs Up
New Orleans Saints - Jim Haslett - Thumbs Down
New York Giants - Tom Coughlin - Thumbs Up
New York Jets - Herman Edwards - Thumbs Down
Oakland Raiders - Norv Turner - Thumbs Down
Philadelphia Eagles - Andy Reid - Thumbs Up
Pittsburgh Steelers - Bill Cowher - Thumbs Up
San Diego Chargers - Marty Schottenheimer - Thumbs Down
San Francisco - Mike Nolan - Thumbs Down
Seattle Seahawks - Mike Holmgren - Thumbs Up
St. Louis Rams - Mike Martz - Thumbs Down
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Jon Gruden - Thumbs Up
Tennessee Titans - Jeff Fisher - Thumbs Up
Washington Redskins - Joe Gibbs - Thumbs Down
Final Tally: 11 Up, 21 Down
"So there you go. The exercise kind of proves our point," said Felger.
"The coaching has gotten better," added Marc Bertrand.
Listen below for the full discussion!
NFL Head Coaching Vastly Improved Since Patriots Dynasty
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