NFL.com’s Elliot Harrison ranked the Buccaneers head coach at #22, on a list of 32 best NFL head coaches; a little disappointing to say the least.
Granted he only has one year in his head coaching career under his belt, but if you go down the list of coaches that are ranked higher than him, it will leave you scratching your head a little bit as to why he’s ranked just 10 away from last place.
Maybe I’m a little biased because this is my favorite team’s head coach we are talking about, but let’s start with Marvin Lewis, he is ranked at # 17. Which is just a few notches above his good friend Koetter. He’s lost all 7 of his tries in the playoffs, yes, you read that right, ALL SEVEN. Yet, he still has a spot higher up on the list. Then take a look at # 9 on the list, Sean Peyton, who has had 3 losing seasons in a row, so how he shot up to #9 is anyone’s guess. Then there’s Jay Gruden, ranked at # 21, who has more losses than wins, and also Chuck Pagano, ranked at # 15, a defensive coach, who has failed to put together a decent defense in 5 years.
“Koetter seemingly deserves better than a double deuce, given that he darn near pushed Tampa to the playoffs in 2016. But he has only one year as an NFL head coach under his belt, so it’s difficult to place him higher among the more experienced. Here’s what we do know: Koetter’s influence on Jameis Winston manifested itself even more so in the franchise quarterback’s sophomore season, with the former offensive coordinator in the top job. Koetter has gotten the players to buy in, and with the young defense bound to get better, there is no reason Tampa Bay can’t be playing meaningful football in January.” Writes Bill Belichick.
Even though the list has me wondering how and why some were ranked the way they were, I am excited to see him on the list. Lack of experience is the key here, it seems, however, he’s off to a great start and with the way the team is looking so far, we are in for some great football, and higher rankings are in store for Dirk in the coming year.
