NFL Playoffs head coach rankings for 2026, from No. 1 to No. 14

It goes without saying that coaching is a huge part of a team’s success in a season, but never is that more prevalent than the NFL Playoffs. There’s a substantial difference between looking weeks ahead to build a successive strategy, and sinking every ounce of energy into one playoff opponent to find an edge. No matter how talented the players are on the field, everything can collapse in the postseason if coaching isn’t up to snuff — similarly we’ve seen deeply flawed teams manage to make incredible playoff runs off the strength of their coaching.

With Wild Card weekend upon us, it’s time to rank all 14 head coaches who are in the postseason.

No. 1: Kyle Shanahan — San Francisco 49ers

As much as people bemoan Shanny’s inability to win a Super Bowl, there’s no doubting his profound skill when it comes to strategy and mitigating adversity. This season he helped turn the 49ers into one of football’s best teams, while being without almost every superstar on the roster, including needing to play Mac Jones at quarterback for half the season.

The Shanahan system might not always work against top defenses, but he remains one of the NFL’s most brilliant minds in coaching circles.

No. 2: Sean McVay — Los Angeles Rams

It’s rare that a young coach can have such a profound impact on the NFL than everyone is trying to copy him, while building his own coaching tree before the age of 50. Thats the case with the 39-year-old McVay, who is seen as the pioneer of the NFL’s new wave. Motion heavy receiver movement, stacked formations, all wrinkles designed to throw off defenses pre-snap and cause chaos.

Outside of these strategic elements is a flexible coach who is able to change the focus of a game on a dime, routinely routing plays through his hot hands — rather than forcing preconceived notions on a game. It’s for this reason Davante Adams had so much red zone success in 2025, while Puka Nacua became the glue to extend drives. When it comes to the playoffs this flexibility is invaluable, and it’s why the Rams are always a factor.

No. 3: Sean Payton — Denver Broncos

Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Sean Payton is the NFL equivalent of a cheat code. His unreal ability to diagnose opponents and attack them using his system is unmatched. It’s a testament to how good Payton is at adjusting his plans that the Broncos are one of the best fourth quarter teams in the NFL this season.

If a game is close, then Payton will find a crack in your defense and exploit it. This season that’s especially terrifying considering the defense Denver brings to the table.

No. 4: Mike Macdonald — Seattle Seahawks

One of the newest NFL head coaches is also shaping up to be one of the brightest individuals to watch in football. Mike Macdonald’s unbelievable impact on defense shined through this season by transforming the Seahawks into one of the scariest units in football, while also watching as the Ravens crumbled to pieces without him.

Overwhelming aggression is the name of the game, with Macdonald managing to attack from various angles through the blitz, while making sure his secondary isn’t compromised. We’ve yet to see how he can handle the rigors of the playoffs, but it’s growing apparent that the Seattle coach is one of the brightest young talents in coaching.

No. 5: Ben Johnson — Chicago Bears

It was for good reason that Ben Johnson topped every team’s wish list at head coach during the 2025 cycle. The offensive architect behind the Lions rise, Johnson takes old school football concepts and modernizes them to create hybrid systems that preach offensive efficiency and marries that with big play potential.

The dramatic turnaround the Bears have had in 2025 is testament to that skill. Like Macdonald we don’t really know how he can handle a playoff run, though we do have some evidence from his time with the Lions that it won’t be too much for him to manage. Don’t count out the Bears, and that’s solely because of Ben Johnson.

No. 6: Mike Tomlin — Pittsburgh Steelers

The inevitability of the Steelers can be chalked up to the longest tenured head coach in the game. The Steelers might not have the best personnel to win a championship, but Pittsburgh will always have a chance as long as Tomlin is on the sideline.

Perhaps the biggest strength he brings to the table is how the team mirror his football culture. The Steelers are always hard-nosed, willing to grind out close games, and thrive when football gets sloppy. There’s a constant quietude to Tomlin’s style which makes him the ultimate steadying force in football when a team risks getting overwhelmed by the pressure of the playoffs.

No. 7: Mike Vrabel — New England Patriots

Mike Vrabel could very well be much higher on this list, but these playoffs are simply stacked at head coach. What Vrabel has done in one season with the Patriots is nothing short of remarkable, transforming the team from one of the worst in football, to a regular season juggernaut.

It remains to be seen if the Pats are paper tigers when it comes to the playoffs, but if they lose it will be a product of the team being inexperienced, not because Vrabel did anything to hold them back. Another hard-nosed, old school “football guy,” Vrabel’s attention to the trenches and putting an emphasis on technique has New England on a roll.

No. 8: DeMeco Ryans — Houston Texans

The Texans are far from having a roster capable of winning a championship, but they certainly have the coach. DeMeco Ryans has been everything the Texans hoped for since hiring him, bringing a no-frills, technique based approach to defense that simply demands that every player wins their one-on-one battles.

The curious thing about this approach is that it becomes very flexible it in the playoffs. There’s no convoluted scheming, nothing too difficult for players to execute on — just dominate the guy across from you, and move on. While it might be a couple more years of working on the offensive line and running game before Houston really makes noise, they’re in a playoff position because of Ryans’ coaching.

No. 9: Sean McDermott — Buffalo Bills

The biggest knock on Sean McDermott is that he’s an excellent regular season coach who hasn’t been able to put it all together in the playoffs. When all the pieces are in place we’ve seen that McDermott can be a great coach, but when injuries are factored in, and wrinkles start to emerge he sometimes fails to be a great adjustor and too often gets caught in the weeds.

No. 10: Nick Sirianni — Philadelphia Eagles

It feels wrong to have a Super Bowl winning coach this low, but there’s plenty of criticism to go around when it comes to Nick Sirianni. Far too often he’s overly emotional, which clouds the needed logic to win football games — and there’s a very high degree of “fairweather coaching” to his ethos. When the Eagles are thriving, he’s on Cloud 9, but when things fall apart there’s a tendency to play the blame game and check out.

No. 11: Jim Harbaugh — Los Angeles Chargers

There’s no questioning that Jim Harbaugh is a good football coach, but there’s an intractability here that can be worrying. Harbaugh believes in his theories about football to a fault, and oftentimes his team struggles to adapt because he’d sooner bang his head against a brick wall strategically, then change up the plan.

No. 12: Liam Coen — Jacksonville Jaguars

It would be very easy to put Coen higher on this list, but we just don’t have a lot to go off right now. There’s no doubt he is exceptionally good at lifting offensive players, but not to the same degree as other coaches on this list. We’re also yet to see how he can perform under the pressure of the playoffs, and in many ways the Jaguars feel like the paper tigers of the playoffs this year. It’s more of a “wait and see” than a condemnation to be put this low.

No. 13: Matt LaFleur — Green Bay Packers

There’s nothing wrong with Matt LaFleur, nor is there much special about him. One of his big strengths is being an even-keeled head coach, which at times can become a detriment in the playoffs when you need to take some risks and make some tough choices, knowing they might not pan out.

On far too many occasions we’ve seen LaFleur become risk-averse to the point of it becoming a problem. He’ll need to dig deeper for the Packers to find playoff success.

No. 14: Dave Canales — Carolina Panthers

Canales is a young coach who is a fantastic motivator, but his strategic decisions leave a lot to be desired. The Panthers inconsistency is largely a product of play calling, a duty that Canales has given himself — and this often manifests itself with odd moments of passivity, punctuated by aggressive play calling. One moment he’ll be calling two screen passes in a row, the next he’ll go for it on 4th and 8, putting everything in Bryce Young’s hands. It still feels like Canales is trying to find his rhythm in the NFL, which is why he falls to the bottom of the list this year.