Poll: Coughlin, Sparano most disliked NFL coaches

With the NFL season half way done, most sports websites have heaped praise on what's great about the league, handing out their midseason MVP awards. But the Sporting News has taken a slightly more cynical, yet more provocative approach. Instead of asking bloggers and columnists to weigh in, they have asked the players themselves to dish on what they really think about their competition.

Who's the dirtiest player? Ndamukong Suh by a landslide. The most overrated? That would be Mr. Tim Tebow. Most disappointing? Step forward, Chris Johnson.

This week, the Sporting News asked 111 players another burning question: Which coach would you least like to play for?

Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants takes the dubious crown with 22 votes. One vote behind him is the Dolphins' Tony Sparano. The epitome of surly, Bill Belichick of the Patriots, came in third with 15 votes. (Pete Carroll, Todd Haley, Jim Harbaugh, Rex Ryan and Jim Schwartz rounded out the top eight though none received more than 6 votes).

The results are hardly a surprise. Said one NFC defender about the old-school Coughlin: "I don't know that any player in the league would say they'd want to play for Tom Coughlin. I wouldn't."

Meanwhile the chronically hooded and constantly churlish Belichick was cited by one player as not being a "a players' coach."

At least Coughlin and Belichick have backed up their gruff coaching styles with wins - not to mention four Super Bowl rings between them.

Tony Sparano has no Super Bowl rings to back up his lack of popularity. Perhaps the only reason he finished one vote behind Coughlin in the survey is that the Sporting News doesn't allow players to cast a vote for their own coach. After all, it wasn't too long ago that Miami running back declared: "This team stinks."