Achieving lasting glory on the gridiron is the goal of every NFL player. Many of them go on to be coaches to continue forging their story among the greats of the game. Here are the thirty most successful coaches in the history of the NFL.
30. John Fox
Modern NFL fans probably know the name John Fox. From 2002 to 2017, he was one of the most well-known coaches in the NFL. His time with the Broncos from 2011-2014, in particular, saw them win 46 games to only 18 losses.
29. Tony Dungy
From 2002 to 2008 Tony Dungy was the coach for the Indianapolis Colts. Through the period, the Colts won 85 games and only lost 27. Dungy had an overall .668 win percentage throughout his career, making him one of the most successful coaches in the game’s history.
28. Marv Levy
Levy’s 143 career wins as a coach for the Chiefs and Bills, respectively, make him the 26th-winningest NFL coach in history. He was particularly excellent during his time with the Buffalo Bills from 1986 to 1997, winning 112 games to 70 losses.
27. Bill Cowher
Bill Cowher was the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1992 to 2006. During that time he led the team to 149 wins and only 90 losses. This gave both Cowher and the Steelers a .623 winning percentage through this time period, endearing him to fans and players alike.
26. Steve Owen
From 1931 to 1953, Steve Owen was the head coach for the New York Giants. He led them to a fantastic .605 winning percentage, with 153 wins and 100 losses. Incredibly, due to the different way the game was played back then, Owen also had 17 career ties.
25. Bud Grant
Bud Grant helmed the Minnesota Vikings from 1967 through 1983, and for one season in 1985. Under his leadership, the Vikings won 158 games and lost 96, giving him a career winning percentage of .621 and making him one of the most storied coaches in Vikings history.
24. Mike Holmgren
From 1992 to 1998, Mike Holmgren coached the Green Bay Packers to an impressive 75 wins and only 37 losses. In the later half of his career, he coached the Seahawks to 86 wins and 74 losses from 1999 to 2008. Overall, he had a career winning percentage of .592.
23. Sean Payton
Sean Payton has one of the highest win totals of currently active coaches, having taken up the helm for the Saints in 2006 and working as their head coach until 2021. He won 152 games with them and lost 89. In 2023, he began coaching the Denver Broncos, and went 12-12 in his first season there.
22. John Harbaugh
The long-serving head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, John Harbaugh, has been calling the shots for the team since 2008 and is still going strong. He’s got 165 wins and 101 losses with the Ravens, giving him an impressive career-winning percentage of .620.
21. Mike Shanahan
Mike Shanahan worked as a head coach for three different teams across his long career, and was particularly well-known for his time with the Denver Broncos from 1996 to 2008. While there, he won 138 games and had 86 losses. His performance with the Raiders in the late 80s and with Washington from 2010 to 2013 was definitively less impressive.
20. Tom Coughlin
Strangely, four different NFL coaches have 170 career wins. Among them is Tom Coughlin, who won 102 games with the Giants from 2004 to 2015 and 68 games with the Jaguars from 1995 to 2002. He has a .531 win percentage overall, which is lower than some of his contemporaries, but he makes this list due to his persistence and steadfast leadership.
19. Pete Carroll
Pete Carroll brought down 170 wins during his career, and served as head coach for three different teams (the Jets, Patriots, and Seahawks) from 1994 through to his retirement in 2023. His .586 winning percentage was good enough to keep him in the NFL as a head coach for nearly thirty years.
18. Mike McCarthy
McCarthy has the best winning percentage of the four 170 win coaches at .617, primarily owing to his long career with Green Bay from 2006 to 2018. He’s also been great as the Cowboys’ head coach since 2020, currently sitting at 45 wins and only 28 losses with Dallas.
17. Bill Parcells
Bill Parcells served as the head coach for four different teams throughout his career, leading the Giants, Patriots, Jets, and Cowboys. His most successful run was as the head coach of the Giants from 1983 to 1990, where he captained them to 77 wins against 49 losses. All told, he won 172 games in his career for a .569 winning percentage.
16. Jeff Fischer
In addition to having the same name as a goofball character from American Dad (or is it the other way around?) Jeff Fischer was the head coach for the Oilers (later the Titans) from 1994 to 2010. He won 173 games with the team, but also notably lost 165. He was a bit less impressive with the Rams from 2012 to 2016, posting a losing record of 31 wins to 45 losses.
15. Mike Tomlin
The current head coach for the Steelers, Mike Tomlin, is a pretty beloved figure in Pittsburgh. He’s led the team to an impressive 178 wins during his tenure, putting him one outside the top 10 winningest coaches ever. What’s more, he’s still coaching! He’s been with the team since 2007, so he’s got plenty of time to crack the top 10.
14. Chuck Knox
The tenth-winningest coach in NFL history, Chuck Knox, spent time with the Rams, Bills, and Seahawks throughout his lengthy career. His most impressive performance as a head coach arguably came during his time with Seattle, when he coached them to 80 wins against 63 losses.
13. Dan Reeves
With an impressive 190 career wins, Dan Reeves proved himself to be a capable head coach during his 11 seasons with the Broncos from 1981 to 1992. While there, he won 110 games to 73 losses, making his later middling performance as the head coach for the Giants and later the Falcons all the more befuddling.
12. Marty Schottenheimer
The legendary Marty Schottenheimer had 200 career victories across his head coach work for four different teams. His surest successes came from 1989 to 1998, while he coached the Kansas City Chiefs to an astonishing 101 wins against 58 losses. Across his career, Schottenheimer scored a winning percentage of .613.
11. Andy Reid
The current Chiefs’ coach, Andy Reid, has been working in the NFL since 1999 as the head coach for the Eagles. Though he only took over the Chiefs in 2013, he’s already steered them to 134 wins, four more than the 130 wins he secured while coaching the Eagles from 1999 to 2012. What’s more, the Chiefs are still cruising along under his leadership to this day.
10. Curly Lambeau
Curly Lambeau was the Packers’ first coach and played tailback/fullback during his first nine years. He led the Packers to six NFL championships, including three straight titles. His 1929 team was the first to go undefeated 12-0-1. The Packers went 34-5-2 under his leadership. The team plays its home games at the field bearing his name.
9. Joe Gibbs
Joe Gibbs spent his entire 16-year NFL coaching career in Washington. He led the Redskins to four Super Bowls, winning three. He won each with different starting quarterbacks. In 1987, despite a replacement-filled roster after players went on strike, Gibbs led the Redskins to a Super Bowl victory that season, with a record-setting 35 points in the second quarter.
8. Tom Landry
Tom Landry is fourth in all-time wins by an NFL head coach. During the Dallas Cowboys’ first 29 seasons, Landry’s teams had a winning record for 20 consecutive seasons and made the playoffs 18 times. His innovative Flex 4-3 defense defeated offenses, while his shotgun-oriented offense was far ahead of its time.
7. Bill Walsh
Bill Walsh is one of only two coaches on this list who didn’t win 100 career regular-season games. In his short, 10-year run as an NFL coach, Walsh left a lasting impact on the game. He innovated the West Coast offense. More than 30 years later, every NFL team runs a variation of Walsh’s offense.
6. Chuck Noll
The 1970s Steelers’ dynasty resulted from Chuck Noll turning the losing franchise into an NFL powerhouse within three years under his leadership. The Steelers won four Super Bowl titles over six years. Moreover, Noll established the NFL standard for building fundamentally sound teams. Success came through wise draft choices, as well as finding undrafted talent.
5. Paul Brown
Paul Brown was the original coaching cofounder of the team that bears his name. He later co-founded the Cincinnati Bengals. During his 25-year coaching career, his teams won seven league championships. He’s the sixth-winningest coach in NFL history. As a coach, Brown was a trailblazer, establishing how coaches conduct their schedule related to weekly preparation. He also mentored Bill Walsh.
4. George Halas
George Halas, the founder and original owner of the Chicago Bears, still ranks No. 3 on the all-time wins list. He’s also the only NFL coach to win an NFL title in four different decades. Halas was the first coach to conduct daily practice sessions that included film study. As a player/coach, he won 8 NFL titles. His career record is 318-151-31.
3. Don Shula
Don Shula’s 1972 Dolphins team remains the only NFL team in history to finish the season with a perfect record. With 33 seasons as an NFL head coach, Shula’s 328 regular-season wins and 347 total wins remain records. Shula helped to modernize the game. He inspired several rule changes as head of the NFL’s Competition Committee in 1978.
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2. Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi coached the Green Bay Packers for nine seasons, winning five titles in seven years. The Packers were the only team to win three straight NFL titles, including the first two Super Bowls. Lombardi boasts a .738 regular season winning percentage and a 9-1 postseason record. In 1970, the NFL named the Super Bowl trophy in his honor.
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1. Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick is the only coach in NFL history to win nine conference titles and six Super Bowls. Under Belichick’s leadership, the Patriots achieved 19 consecutive winning seasons, 17 straight playoff appearances, and 17 division titles. Belichick ranks No. 2 in all-time in career wins. Before that, Belichick was a two-time Super Bowl-winning assistant coach with the New York Giants.
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