Where Does Todd Haley Rank Among Head Coaches?

This is a good analysis Lyle and I appreciate the amount of time and effort you put into this. I can't argue too much with your rankings but if I had to nitpick I would probably rank Gailey a little higher as a head coach than you would especially if you take into consideration his tenure at Georgia Tech. I also think that guys like Carroll, Del Rio and Sparano are a little better than you seem to give them credit for. In particular, I feel that Carroll is doing an excellent job with the Seahawks and I expect that team improve dramatically under his guidance. As far as Haley goes, you're right, I think he is good in some aspects and still suspect in others. Big picture, I believe he is improving but definitely has room for more improvement which I believe he is capable of. The coming season will probably be the biggest challenge Haley ever faces as a head coach. It should be a compelling story to see how it all unfolds. One thing is for sure, contrary to the opinion of some (Lyle perhaps), you can count on me to root for and cheer on his success but also curse and take him to task if he screws up.

Interesting, but maybe not very useful. One thing that jumps out is the correlation between who has a quarterback and who wins post season games. I don't think that's a genius discovery. Instead of basing the evaluation on playoff record, lets look at the things a coack can really effect. He'll ultimately be judged by his win/loss record, but I think there are really about ten things that show a coach to be effective? * Does he get the best effort from the players - playing hard, with focus and passion, for 60 minutes * Do the players play with good technique * Does he put the players in schemes that utilize their abilities * Are the players disciplined in playing their assignments within the scheme * Is there a good offensive/defensive game plan for each opponent * Does he evaluate players well and make good personell decisions * Does he develop players * Does he provide an atmosphere that's conducive to team cohesion * Do free agent players elect to stay with the team if the offer is similar from another team *Is the game managed well on Sunday (play calling, time managment, etc.) Others would surely come up with a different list, but how would you score Haley on those things compared to the other coaches? Notice there's no mention of satisfying media, being hard to work for, being egotistical, or other personal atmospherics. If the coach does a great job in those ten areas, I don't see how you could not call him and excellent coach regardless of whether he's been to a superbowl. Wadoya think?

if the cheifs go 9-7 this year, i'm gonna have haleys baby

I think the results of your analysis are a bit skewed. I agree with your assessment though. From a pure statistical stand point Haley's 2 years is too small of a sample size to meet a "goodness of fit" test. To compare apples to oranges you would have weight the different variables to offset the difference in sample size , especially when looking at winning percentages. Might be better off looking at % of wins after first 2 seasons along with strength of schedule factored in.

As far as game-planning, adjustments, etc. (despite 4th down decisions) you have him ranked perfect. As far as motivating players to bring their "A" game, I might even put him above guys like Fox and Whisenhunt. If he makes the playoffs with next years schedule, he's in the top 10. BTW, its "berths" not "births". Picturing these guys having babies now, kinda gross...

A fair assessment. No arguments from me. If I had to nitpick I would say that Haley is a better coach than Wisenhunt. Haleys offense was what got them a super bowl appearance and they were terrible this year. Add the fact that we stomped them to the mix and I'd give Haley the edge.

This is a good analysis Lyle and I appreciate the amount of time and effort you put into this. I can't argue too much with your rankings but if I had to nitpick I would probably rank Gailey a little higher as a head coach than you would especially if you take into consideration his tenure at Georgia Tech. I also think that guys like Carroll, Del Rio and Sparano are a little better than you seem to give them credit for. In particular, I feel that Carroll is doing an excellent job with the Seahawks and I expect that team improve dramatically under his guidance.

As far as Haley goes, you're right, I think he is good in some aspects and still suspect in others. Big picture, I believe he is improving but definitely has room for more improvement which I believe he is capable of.

The coming season will probably be the biggest challenge Haley ever faces as a head coach. It should be a compelling story to see how it all unfolds. One thing is for sure, contrary to the opinion of some (Lyle perhaps), you can count on me to root for and cheer on his success but also curse and take him to task if he screws up.

Interesting, but maybe not very useful. One thing that jumps out is the correlation between who has a quarterback and who wins post season games. I don't think that's a genius discovery.

Instead of basing the evaluation on playoff record, lets look at the things a coack can really effect. He'll ultimately be judged by his win/loss record, but I think there are really about ten things that show a coach to be effective?

* Does he get the best effort from the players - playing hard, with focus and passion, for 60 minutes
* Do the players play with good technique
* Does he put the players in schemes that utilize their abilities
* Are the players disciplined in playing their assignments within the scheme
* Is there a good offensive/defensive game plan for each opponent
* Does he evaluate players well and make good personell decisions
* Does he develop players
* Does he provide an atmosphere that's conducive to team cohesion
* Do free agent players elect to stay with the team if the offer is similar from another team
*Is the game managed well on Sunday (play calling, time managment, etc.)

Others would surely come up with a different list, but how would you score Haley on those things compared to the other coaches? Notice there's no mention of satisfying media, being hard to work for, being egotistical, or other personal atmospherics. If the coach does a great job in those ten areas, I don't see how you could not call him and excellent coach regardless of whether he's been to a superbowl. Wadoya think?

if the cheifs go 9-7 this year, i'm gonna have haleys baby

I think the results of your analysis are a bit skewed. I agree with your assessment though.

From a pure statistical stand point Haley's 2 years is too small of a sample size to meet a "goodness of fit" test. To compare apples to oranges you would have weight the different variables to offset the difference in sample size , especially when looking at winning percentages. Might be better off looking at % of wins after first 2 seasons along with strength of schedule factored in.

As far as game-planning, adjustments, etc. (despite 4th down decisions) you have him ranked perfect. As far as motivating players to bring their "A" game, I might even put him above guys like Fox and Whisenhunt. If he makes the playoffs with next years schedule, he's in the top 10. BTW, its "berths" not "births". Picturing these guys having babies now, kinda gross...

A fair assessment. No arguments from me. If I had to nitpick I would say that Haley is a better coach than Wisenhunt. Haleys offense was what got them a super bowl appearance and they were terrible this year. Add the fact that we stomped them to the mix and I'd give Haley the edge.