Top 5 coaches in NFL history with most losses
Let's take a look at top 5 head coaches with most losses in NFL history of more than 6 decades.
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Bill Belichick (Image via SI)
NFL is one of the most popular sporting leagues in the entire world. The league has a history of more than six decades and has seen plenty of great players, leaders, and some legendary moments. One of the most important assets for a football team’s success is its head coach.
Throughout the history of the National Football League, there have been plenty of great head coaches who have guided their teams to Super Bowl championships during their tenure.
From Tom Landry to Bill Belichick, the sport of football has seen talented head coaches and leaders that prepared their teams for battle every week. However, sometimes even the great ones end up losing the game.
Losing is just a part of football. Every head coaches lose a handful number of games despite their preparation and hard work. In this article, we’ll take a look at the top 5 NFL head coaches with the most losses in the regular season in the history of the league. Some of the names in the list might shock many people since they are mostly known for winning multiple Super Bowl rings.
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5. Bill Belichick (298-152-0)
Bill Belichick is one of the most famous head coaches in the history of the NFL. The New England Patriots icon is known for leading the Pats to six Super Bowl rings and helping the sixth-round prospect, Tom Brady, to become the greatest football player of all time.
However, when a coach spends more than two decades in the league, he tends to lose a handful of games. Belichick has a career win-loss record of (298-152) in the regular season. During Belichick’s 5-year stint as the Cleveland Browns head coach in his early days, the renowned head coach had a sub-.500 winning percentage with a win-loss record of 36-44.
However, Bill Belichick found his groove in New England where he has a win-loss record of 262-108 with a whopping .708 winning percentage. Belichick continues to be the general manager and the head coach of the New England-based football franchise, but he is struggling a lot in recent years without the 15-time Pro Bowl QB Tom Brady.
He hasn’t registered a single playoff win in the last 3 seasons. Furthermore, he also could end up becoming the head coach with the most losses in a couple of years, as he is just 14 losses away from breaking that unwanted record.
4. Don Shula (328-156-6)
The Pro Football Hall of Famer Don Shula is one of the most legendary head coaches in the league’s history. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame back in 1997 because of his remarkable coaching career that spanned nearly two decades.
Although he started his coaching career with the Baltimore Ravens in 1963 and led them to an NFL championship victory in 1968, Shula is mostly known for his work as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 1970-82.
He led the Dolphins to two Super Bowl victories and was the head coach of the Dolphins’ perfect season (14-0) back in 1972. However, even Shula suffered a handful of losses in his long career. Shula comes 4th in the list of NFL head coaches with the most losses with 156 losses. He has a career win-loss-tie record of 328-156-6.
3. Tom Landry (250-162-6)
Yes, another Hall of Famer head coach. The Dallas Cowboys legend Tom Landry holds the record for the most season spent as a head coach of a single team in NFL history. He spent 29 years as the head coach of the Cowboys.
Landry’s career as a head coach had a poor start. He didn’t have a winning season with the Cowboys until his 7th season. Most coaches in the modern game would’ve got sacked by that period. Landry is third on the list of most losses by an NFL coach with 162 defeats to his name. He has a regular season win-loss-tie record of 250-162-6.
Nonetheless, once he got over the losing period in the early stages of his career, Landry led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl rings and five NFC Championship victories. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1990.
2. Jeff Fisher (173-165-1)
Unlike the previous head coaches on this list, Jeff Fisher is not known for winning Super Bowls. He spent more than 22 years in the league and has made it to the Super Bowl only one time in his career.
Fisher spent 17 years as the head coach of the Houston Oilers (which later moved to Tennessee and then changed their name to the Tennessee Titans) and led them to one Super Bowl appearance.
The former Titans’ head coach is tied with Dan Reeves for the most losses by a head coach in NFL history with 165 losses. Fisher last coached in the NFL back in 2016. He was fired from the head coaching position of the Los Angeles Rams in midseason following a string of losing seasons. Fisher has a total win-loss-tie record of 173-165-1 in the regular season.
1. Dan Reeves (190-165-2)
The Denver Broncos legend Dan Reeves worked as the head coach in the NFL for 27 years with the Broncos, New York Giants, and the Atlanta Falcons. During his tenure as an NFL head coach, Reeves made it to the Super Bowl 4 times but failed to win even one.
Reeves is tied No.1 in the list of the NFL head coaches with the most losses. He has had 165 losses during his 27-year-long career. His career win-loss-tie record in the NFL is 190-165-2 in the regular season.
He is one of two eligible head coaches with more than 200 wins in the NFL (including playoffs), who hasn’t been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame yet.
FAQs
The Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick has the most Super Bowl wins in the NFL with 6.
Dan Reeves and Jeff Fisher are the two head coaches who have suffered the most losses in NFL history, with 165 losses each.
Dan Reeves, who had a remarkable 27-year-long career as an NFL head coach, has not been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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Aravind Raj
(2075 Articles Published)