The 15 WORST NFL Head Coaches of All Time

Being a head coach of an NFL team is by no means an easy job, as the majority of coaches don't keep their jobs after the first few years. However, a handful of coaches in NFL history didn't merely quickly lose their jobs, they failed miserably at them. So here are the 15 worst NFL head coaches of all time:

Steve Spagnuolo: 2009-11 Rams

The 4-time Super Bowl Champion Steve Spagnuolo is one of the greatest defensive coordinators in NFL history but head coaching is truly a whole different animal. Spagnuolo's 3-year tenure with the St. Louis Rams compiled a 10-38 record, including 1-15 and 2-14 seasons. Spagnuolo's supposedly high-quality defense finished bottom-five in two of those three seasons. In addition, Spagnuolo got even less aid from the other side of the ball, with the Rams' offense finishing 32nd, 31st, and 18th over those three seasons. St. Louis's 2009 offense averaged a horrendous 10.9 points per game, the 6th worst offensive performance in a season in NFL history  

Marty Mornhinweg: 2001-03 Lions

Marty Mornhinweg was hired by a Lions team that had finished 9-7 in the prior year and with a playoff berth. After winning 5 games and losing 27 during Mornhinweg's tenure, the Lions would have done anything to keep Gary Moeller as interim head coach. In addition to the Mornhinweg's perpetual losing, he became the first head coach to defer the overtime coin toss, an infamous decision that earned plenty of outrage. Mornhinweg's 5-14 record in one-score games proved that his atrocious game management was not limited to just one decision.

Cam Cameron: 2007 Dolphins

Former Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron was dubbed an "offensive genius", after his time in San Diego, leading the Chargers to the third-highest scoring offense in NFL history . During Cam Cameron's time as the Dolphins' head coach, he led the team to 13 consecutive losses to start the season. After successfully capturing the No.1 overall pick, the Fins were able to win just one game under Cameron to avoid going 0-16. That 22-16 win came in overtime against a slightly more superior Ravens team.

After recording their worst season record in franchise history, the Dolphins proceeded to win 11 games the following year without Cam Cameron calling the shots. For further evidence that Cameron's success with the Chargers was a fluke, the Ravens fired Cameron from the OC role 13 weeks into the 2012 season and proceeded to win the Super Bowl that same season.

David Shula: 1992-96 Bengals

It's a bit perplexing how one of the best NFL head coaches of all time is related to one of the worst . Although, unlike most other coaches on this list, Dave Shula was never qualified to be an NFL head coach. Shula jumped from a wide receivers coach, straight to a head coaching job, after leading a below-average passing offense to a 3-13 record. And the offense further declined with Shula now calling plays, averaging 16.9 points per game. The most dreadful aspect of this head coaching stint was that it lasted for five seasons, with 19 wins and 52 losses. David Shula never coached in the NFL again.

Chris Palmer: 1999-2000 Browns

Chris Palmer was the first head coach of the reborn Cleveland Browns after the original team had left for Baltimore. Palmer's stint began a slew of awful and short-lived head coaching tenures the Browns underwent for 20 years. To add salt to the wound, the Browns missed out on Andy Reid during the 1999 head coach hiring cycle, instead choosing a coach from the less-fruitful Tom Coughlin coaching tree. In fact, Coughlin has two other assistants who are also present on this list. The Browns posted a 5-27 record under Chris Palmer, including Palmer's famed offense ranking dead last in both seasons, averaging 13.9 and 10.1 points per game.

Urban Meyer: 2021 Jaguars

After being given full autonomy of the Jaguars, the best QB Prospect in 10 years, Urban Meyer fumbled his first and only NFL head-coaching job in disastrous fashion. Meyer's 13-game tenure ranks as the second-shortest in NFL history, and rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence struggled mightily during year 1 in Jacksonville.

In addition to the Jaguars' abysmal play on the field, Urban Meyer's awful head coaching job was marred by scandals off the field. From the Columbus bar fiasco, to berating players and assistants, and a lack of awareness regarding NFL players, created the most toxic work environment in the NFL. "Who's this 99 guy on the Rams?.. I'm hearing he might be a problem for us." It perfectly encapsulates Urban Meyer's lack of NFL knowledge, and being simply outmatched by a league out of his league.

Hue Jackson: 2016-18 Browns

3-36-1. Few NFL head coaching jobs even remotely compare to Hue Jackson's dreadfully bad gig with the Cleveland Browns. After a 1-15 season during his first year coaching the Browns, Jackson promised to jump in Lake Erie if the team didn't win a single game in 2017. Hue Jackson stayed true to his word. However, Jackson's Browns had a subpar roster of essentially mostly backups, zero pro bowlers, and a starting quarterback whose own college coach said that he wasn't NFL-ready. While Jackson had little talent to build around during his time in Cleveland, the Browns' 5-3 record following Jackson's firing tells you all you need to know.

Frank Reich: 2023 Panthers

Frank Reich's first head coaching stint came in Indianapolis, ending in a firing in 2022 after a 40-33-1 record. The Panthers subsequently hired an experienced offensive mind in the hopes of developing their rookie quarterback, Bryce Young. Frank Reich's time in Carolina lasted just 11 games, a firing that even after a 1-10 start, felt premature. The offense finished dead last, averaging 13.9 points per game, and Bryce Young routinely looked lost, panicked, and confused. Reich's premature firing might have been caused by his rift with Panthers' owner David Tepper. Frank Reich advocated for drafting C.J. Stroud as No.1 overall, while Tepper made the final call to draft Young instead. C.J. Stroud won Offensive Rookie of the Year, while Young had a disappointing rookie season.

Chip Kelly: 2016 49ers

Chip Kelly entered the 2016 season as the 49ers' third head coach in three seasons. A 28-0 week one win over the Rams gave plenty of false hope for an otherwise inept 49ers' roster that fell back down to Earth with a 13-game losing streak. While San Francisco got blown out in most of their games in 2016, their 1-5 record in one-score games under Kelly displayed Kelly's lack of game management skills even when his team could keep pace with opponents. Chip Kelly spent a grand total of one season on the 49ers but considering that the team only won 6 games the following season with a complete roster overhaul, it's clear that the 2016 49ers team had more problems other than their head coach.

Nathaniel Hackett: 2022 Broncos

The hype surrounding the Broncos ahead of the 2022 season was nothing short of enormous. In addition to having an elite defense and trading for Russell Wilson in the offseason, they hired rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett after helping Aaron Rodgers gain back-to-back MVP seasons. Since the Broncos defense in 2022 had the 7th-least yards allowed per game, the team would have won about 10 games if the offense had been merely league average. However, Denver's 5-12 record halved their expected win total and thus could not hack it. Hackett's lack of experience or game management was on full display, posting an abysmal 3-8 record in one-score games. After a 51-14 Christmas day beatdown from the Rams, Nathaniel Hackett was fired with a 4-11 head coaching record.

Gus Bradley: 2013-16 Jaguars

The Pete Carroll coaching tree has produced minimal head-coaching success, with Gus Bradley being the first and easily the worst experiment. Bradley spent an astonishing 4 seasons coaching a Jacksonville team that never finished above .500. Gus Bradley's defensive expertise led the Jaguars' defense to finish bottom-ten in three of his four seasons. Additionally, the Jags' No.3 overall pick in quarterback Blake Bortles did not pan out. In total, Gus Bradley compiled a 14-48 record during his time as a Jaguar. Bradley's coaching job looks even worse in hindsight, as the Jags finished 10-6 with the NFL's second-best defense and a trip to the NFC Championship game in their first season without Bradley calling the shots.

Matt Patricia: 2018-20 Lions

The Bill Belichick coaching tree is possibly the worst coaching tree in NFL history, posting a total record of 219-306-2. And Lions' former head coach Matt Patricia was no different from the pattern. The Lions initially hired Patricia because the team's 9-7 record under Jim Caldwell, "Wasn't good enough". Patricia proceeded to coach the Lions to a 13-29-1 record over the course of two and a half seasons, a much worse record than 9-7. Patricia's defense, his area of expertise, ranked 18th, 26th, and 32nd, sealing any chance Detroit had of playoff contention. Matt Patricia learned the valuable lesson that other Belichick assistants have learned: No matter how much of a football genius you are, you can't implement "The Patriot Way", on a team that doesn't believe in your vision.

Bobby Petrino: 2007 Falcons

While single-season head coaching stints may seem common today, a head coach losing their job in year 1 was a massive ordeal in 2007. The news of Michael Vick's dog fighting operation emerged during training camp, causing him to miss the entire 2007 season. First-year head coach Bobby Petrino was left with Joey Harrington, Byron Leftwich, and Chris Redman starting as quarterback . Atlanta finished at the bottom of the NFC South that season, with a 3-10 record under Petrino. Petrino resigned from the Falcons' head coach position to coach Arkansas, less than 24 hours after promising Falcons owner Arthur Blank that he would stay in Atlanta. Bobby Petrino's departure from the Falcons ranks as the most abrupt in NFL history . 

Ray Perkins: 1987-90 Buccaneers

Ray Perkins is yet another renowned college head coach who failed to contend in the National Football League. In fact, Perkins was given two attempts at being an NFL head coach, but his second was far more disastrous. Ray Perkins's head coaching gig in Tampa Bay began with trading away Steve Young; a decision that Perkins's Bucs never recovered from. Perkins, an offensive-minded head coach, coached one of the worst quarterbacking seasons in NFL history with the 25-year-old Vinny Testaverde under center. Testaverde threw 13 touchdowns to 35 interceptions, with a 47.6 completion percentage; a stat line that could not occur in today's NFL. In addition, Ray Perkins refused to draft a new quarterback in the first round, despite his current QB never throwing more touchdowns than picks in a season.

Rich Kotite: 1995-96 Jets

Rich Kotite had a large wealth of NFL coaching experience prior to landing his second head coaching stint, but Kotite's tenure with the Jets was his last NFL coaching job. The Jets fired Pete Carroll after a 6-10 record and proceeded to win just four games in two seasons under their new head coach. The Jets gave Rich Kotite personnel control in addition to coaching, which backfired tremendously. Kotite infamously handled the 1995 draft by picking tight end Kyle Brady over the future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Brandon Sapp. The Jets fans in attendance were not thrilled, to say the least. Rich Kotite's questionable head coaching and personnel decisions left the Jets with the No. 1 overall pick in back-to-back seasons.