Jason Garrett and the 5 Most Overrated NFL Head Coaches

A Look at the NFL's Most Overrated Head Coaches

Being a coach in the NFL is an extremely tough job. Nobody can deny that coaches face a ton of pressure each week, and it's certainly easy for fans to be armchair coaches every Sunday. But facts and facts, and numbers don't lie. Some coaches just simply aren't that good.

The ultimate measure of success for NFL head coaches is just the same as the players - winning championships. Rings, or lack thereof, weigh almost as heavily on the guys calling the plays, as the guys that are running them.

Often times, great players mask overrated coaches, and talent just simply overrides the play-calling. But eventually the marginally talented coach will be exposed, and he'll be shown the door. It's very rare when we see elite coaches and players together over long periods of time. It just doesn't happen much anymore.

In today's era, the culture is very much 'win now' and 'what have you done for me lately.' Head coaches used to get years to prove themselves and to implement their systems. Tom Landry, who's considered one of the greatest coaches of all-time, didn't record a winning season until his seventh year in the league. Yeah, things have changed.

Let's take a look at the five most overrated head coaches going into the 2013 NFL season:

Jason Garrett

As you gathered from the title of this piece, Jason Garrett is a wee bit overrated. He's obviously just Jerry's boy. Jones sees something in this guy, that the rest of us don't. What has Garrett done during his three years as the Cowboys' head coach? Not much of anything, really. In his two full seasons, Garrett has posted a pair of 8-8 records. Now, the supposed offensive guru, has had his play-calling privileges revoked. I'll be shocked if this guy is back in 2014, except for the fact that we're talking about the Cowboys and Jerry Jones...

Rex Ryan

Rex Ryan came in hot four years ago. He led his Jets to back-to-back AFC championship games, only to lose both times. But over the past two seasons, things have come unraveled for Ryan. The Jets were a complete train wreck in 2012, and most people agree that Ryan was lucky to get his job back. If he doesn't get New York back on track in 2013, it's curtains for Rexy.

Gary Kubiak

Kubiak has been the head coach of the Texans for seven years now. You have to give him credit for helping the franchise get it's current state. It wasn't easy, but now the Texans are legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the AFC. However, I can't help but think Houston would be better off with a higher profile head coach. The reality is that Kubiak is only 59-53 during his tenure with team, and the Texans have never even played in a conference title game.

Jim Schwartz

Yes, it's easy to pick on the Detroit Lions' head coach. But if you take one look at Schwartz's coaching statistics, you'll see why he's clearly overrated. During his four years in Detroit, Schwartz has posted a measly 22-42 record. He's one more mediocre season away from losing him job, and his coaching seat is extremely hot as the Lions roll into 2013.

Pete Carroll

Lots of fans love Pete Carroll. I get it, he's made the transition from college, and had a little success in the NFL. Good for him. But Carroll is an overrated head coach. After seven seasons as a pro head coach, he's just 58-54. But what about the job he's done with the Seahawks!? During his three years in Seattle, he's only posted a winning record once. One winning season, and at the end of that season (divisional round of the playoffs last January), he called a timeout late in the game that may have cost his team a chance to advance.