- The NFC West is loaded at many positions, including head coach: The Rams‘ Sean McVay, 49ers‘ Kyle Shanahan and Seahawks‘ Mike Macdonald all occupy three of the top-four spots on the rankings.
- DeMeco Ryans can’t be discredited: The Texans leader has won a playoff game in each of his first three seasons while creating a sustainable defensive juggernaut.
- Jim Harbaugh just continues to win: Dating back to his last five seasons, Harbaugh has gone a sparkling 59-15, including 22-12 with the Chargers.
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Across the NFL landscape, there are a number of ways to measure a franchise’s capabilities — including star power, recent track record and ownership competence. Deeply interwoven in that fabric is a team’s head coach.
Although head coaches aren’t the players executing on the field or wholeheartedly overseeing roster construction, their power remains transformative. From installing league-shifting schematics to finding ways to overcome injuries, a resonant coach is one of the best tools any organization can wield.
Weighing a mixture of collective body of work, success over the last few years and play-calling abilities, below are pro football’s 10 best guides entering 2026.
1. Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams
The poster child for hiring a wunderkind head coach, McVay has established himself as the clear top leader in football. The Rams head man has compiled a 92-57 record over nine seasons at the helm, including two trips to the Super Bowl — and a win coming in 2021.
What makes McVay unparalleled is his ability to blend game-planning with team success. Calling the offensive shots, McVay has propelled Los Angeles to three top-six finishes in EPA per play over the last five years. Most impressively, McVay has displayed an aptitude to evolve — such as going from more of a wide zone scheme to ushering in Matthew Stafford’s gunslinging mentality in 2021 to pioneering more of a 13-personnel approach in 2025.
In McVay’s nine years in LA, the Rams have netted a gaudy seven top-10 finishes in overall PFF grade. Plus, McVay’s coaching tree spans both conferences and continues to sprout despite him being only 40. Now, the league’s best will get to work with another loaded squad — one which just landed Myles Garrett.
2. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs
The 2025 season wasn’t Reid’s best, as the Chiefs finished 6-11 and placed 20th in overall PFF grade. However, his larger resume is basically unmatched in the current NFL.
Reid’s 13 years in Kansas City have featured a dynastic run in which he’s gone 149-64 — the most wins in the league — with three Super Bowl titles and two other trips to the big game. The 68-year-old has spearheaded the NFL’s most efficient offense by EPA per play and success rate since 2018, developing stars like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill in the process. Although Reid has less involvement in the Chiefs’ defense, he’s aided the franchise continue to thrive by locating new studs like Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson and Leo Chenal.
Talent has come and gone during Reid’s extensive tenure, but the Chiefs have mostly continued to dominate. The grizzled vet will look to bounce back in 2026 with a revamped roster, now featuring Kenneth Walker III and Mansoor Delane.
3. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
Shanahan has remained one of football’s preeminent offensive minds while continuing to cultivate stars and overcome major injuries. Combine all of that, and you’re left with one of the top leaders in the sport.
Shanahan’s career 82-67 record looks more pedestrian than his counterparts on this list, partially due to a slow start. But since 2019, the 49ers tie for the fifth-most wins of any organization and have netted five top-10 finishes in overall PFF grade.
Shanahan’s quarterback-friendly offenses have remained both innovative and successful, with San Francisco ranking fifth in EPA per play and scoring drive rate over the last six years. Perhaps most impressive about Shanahan is that he’s made the playoffs five times while the likes of Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Christian McCaffrey and Brock Purdy have all been sidelined for major chunks of a season.
The 49ers coach may have pulled off his best work yet in 2025, going 12-5 and reaching the divisional round despite a beleaguered defense that graded as the league’s second-worst. The only thing that’s eluded Shanahan is a title, but there’s very little else to criticize.
4. Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks
Since taking over as Seattle’s head coach in 2024, Macdonald has continued to ascend. In just his second season at the helm, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl and were the second-best squad by overall PFF grade, powered by dominant forces on both sides of the ball.
Macdonald is rightfully hailed as a defensive wizard, and his team’s play reflects that. Over the last two years, the Seahawks are fifth in EPA per play and have surrendered the second-fewest explosive gains. Macdonald has played with fair amounts of established talent, but he’s also maximized players like Nick Emmanwori, Ernest Jones and Boye Mafe.
On offense, Macdonald should also be praised for swapping offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak for Ryan Grubb entering his second season. That foresight, paired with signing Sam Darnold, allowed Seattle to improve to 11th in EPA per play.
Still only 38, Macdonald has the makings to be one of the league’s most inimitable coaches for a very long time.
NFL’s Highest-Graded Teams in 2025
5. Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
Unlike his esteemed peers, Campbell may not operate best as a play-caller. But his high-end decision making and culture cultivation are some of the foremost in the NFL.
In 2021, Campbell inherited a Lions franchise that had made three playoff appearances in 21 seasons. Campbell, though, wasn’t fazed: After two slower years, he compiled a 27-7 record from 2023-24, including a trip to the NFC Championship Game. Even though last year was a disappointment, Campbell’s bunch still went 9-8 with the third-best overall PFF mark.
Behind some bold picks from general manager Brad Holmes, the Lions have fostered one of football’s best young cores with Penei Sewell, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Aidan Hutchinson. Campbell has paired that talent with a league-leading 0.309 EPA per play and 59 conversions on fourth down over the last three campaigns. Such aggressiveness and immense player skill continues to make the Lions dangerous in both 2026 and the immediate future.
6. Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
Taking over for a franchise legend in Mike McCarthy might be imposing for some, but not LaFleur. In his seven seasons with Green Bay, LaFleur has posted a tremendous 76-40-1 clip, including making six trips to the playoffs.
LaFleur’s background as an offensive mastermind has clearly manifested with the Packers. In his tenure, Green Bay ranks third in EPA per play and touchdown drive rate. Whether developing Jordan Love into a star or finding ways to win with backup Malik Willis, LaFleur has kept the team’s offense in football’s upper echelon by remaining creative schematically.
It’s true that LaFleur hasn’t realized amazing playoff success of late, losing his last three contests and securing his last victory during the 2023 season after starting with consecutive conference title game berths. In particular, last year’s blown lead to the Bears in a wild-card round defeat spurred job security talks. Those seemed a little brash for a consensus good coach, but clearing that late January hurdle would vault LaFleur into a higher stratosphere — and he should have the talent to make a strong attempt again this season.
7. DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans
Since Ryans has assumed his role in Houston, all the Texans have done is win at a high clip. Ryans has accrued a 32-19 mark in three years, and perhaps the most impressive part is that he’s prevailed in a playoff game every season as well.
Hailed as a defensive guru, Ryans has assembled one of the sport’s deepest and most feared units year over year. Since 2023, Houston is second in EPA per play, success rate and scoring drive rate. The Texans have acquired a litany of stars at every level — from Will Anderson Jr. to Danielle Hunter to Derek Stingley to Kamari Lassiter and more — while playing with relentlessness, discipline and ferocity.
Ryans hasn’t yet quite solved the offensive equation, especially along the offensive line, but that arguably makes his accomplishments that much more stark. The 41-year-old is indisputably one of the brighter young coaches in the sport and has more left in the tank despite already setting the bar high.
8. Sean Payton, Denver Broncos
After a decorated 15-year tenure in New Orleans that featured a Super Bowl title, Payton has maintained his winning ways in Denver. In three years out west, Payton has also compiled a 32-19 record and has augmented his win total in every campaign, culminating in a 14-3 mark in 2025.
Operating as the Broncos’ effective offensive leader, Payton shoulders a considerable amount of play-calling responsibility. However, Denver has placed 17th, 17th and 20th in the last three respective seasons in offensive EPA per play, and balance hasn’t quite been established with the run and pass. Nevertheless, Payton deserves credit for assembling the sport’s highest-graded offensive line and helping Bo Nix continue to grow.
On the other side of the ball, Payton plays a less active role than defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. Yet Payton’s ability to retain Joseph, the mind behind the fourth-ranked unit in EPA per play since 2023, is also very valuable in and of itself.
Payton has a bit more left to chew in getting back to the Super Bowl, especially after the Broncos lost an ugly AFC championship last season. If his offense — now fielding receiver Jaylen Waddle — can improve and Denver can rely less on fourth-quarter magic, then Payton will reach even rarer air.
9. Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots
Vrabel has put together an up-and-down career, but the highs have been very fruitful. Across seven career seasons with the Titans and Patriots, Vrabel has secured a winning record five times — and three of those years featured 11 or more victories.
While Vrabel isn’t an innate play-caller, which does hinder his ceiling on this list, he’s a steady culture-builder across organizations. Vrabel has had a knack for harnessing talent, allowing players like Drake Maye, Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown and Jaylinn Hawkins to flourish. Likewise, Vrabel has benefitted from savvy free-agent additions like Milton Williams, Morgan Moses and Carlton Davis.
It’s fair to question the sustainability of last year’s Patriots, who finished as league runners-up but earned the fourth-best overall PFF grade and face questions going into 2026. Vrabel will need to prove that the 2025 season wasn’t a fluke, but even turning around New England so drastically in his first year embodies his overall steadiness.
10. Jim Harbaugh, Los Angeles Chargers
The last spot on this list was contentious, with a few names vying for recognition. But at the end of the day, Harbaugh’s collective resume, coupled with what he’s done in Los Angeles, were too tough to omit.
Harbaugh has been a professional football coach for six seasons, and he’s never finished below 8-8 in any of them. Indeed, those five winning campaigns have all seen at least 11 victories, including reaching that mark in each of his first two years with the Chargers.
Harbaugh’s two Charger teams have been very flawed offensively, ranking 25th and 18th in touchdown drive rate. In spite of a porous offensive line, limited ground game and questionable play sequencing, he’s still found a way to eke out wins behind heroics from Justin Herbert and a vaunted defense. While ex-defensive coordinator Jesse Minter (rightfully) received most recognition in that span, Harbaugh also deserves credit for coaching names like Teair Tart, Donte Jackson, Elijah Molden and Poona Ford into legitimately impactful contributors.
Returning a boatload of talent on both sides of the ball and adding Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator has Harbaugh set up for another big season in 2026. Winning a playoff game with the Chargers is the next task, but a 59-15 record over the last five years (dating back to his time at Michigan) makes Harbaugh one of football’s finest leaders.