NFC South Rankings: Coaching Staffs

We are drawing nearer to the end of a summer series comparing different aspects of the teams within the NFC South. After looking at each of the position group rooms:  quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive lines, defensive lines, linebackers, cornerbacks safeties, and specialists we now look at the coaching staffs in the division to try and get a feel for which group can get the most out of their rosters through scheme, culture, discipline and motivation.

Admittedly, this may be the most subjective rankings of the entire series as there is so much that goes into a coaching staff’s abilities, with much of it done away from the prying eyes of media and fans alike. And in the interest of transparency, my focus will be on the coordinators of the three major phases of the game (or the head coach if he has an outsized influence in a particular one of those three phases)

With those disclaimers out of the way, let’s look at the NFC South coaching rankings.

Carolina Panthers

Despite being unceremoniously dismissed from the Colts mid-season last year, Frank Reich easily has the most accomplished head coaching track record in the division. He is the only head coach with a career winning record (40-33-1). Reich is also an accomplished offensive mind as part of the team that ran the 2017 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. That team ranked seventh in yards and 3rd in points scored. Following that year Reich took over the Colts where his teams ranked fifth, 16th, ninth and ninth in points scored from 2018-2021 before the wheels fell off in 2022. 

Reich was able to accomplish all of this in Indianapolis despite having a new quarterback each year including such superstars as Jacoby Brissett, the ghost of Phillip Rivers and the ghost of the ghost of Carson Wentz. Reich has shown to be a master of adapting his offense to the talent he has as he transitioned away from a quick spread game to a more RPO-heavy team when he moved from having Rivers to Wentz.

Reich is heavily involved in the offense and has handled play-calling as the head coach previously. He has hired Thomas Brown to be his offensive coordinator and Brown will handle installs for the team. He comes from the McVay coaching tree, having spent three years there coaching running backs and tight ends while ascending to the position of assistant head coach.

Ejiro Evero enters his second year as a defensive coordinator and his first with the Panthers. He led the 2022 Denver Broncos defense to a solid showing of seventh place in EPA/play.

Best EPA/Play among #NFL defensive teams in 2022 and lowest missed tackle rate. #ForeverNE pic.twitter.com/9A8oeG0C67

— SportSource Analytics (@SportSourceA) May 24, 2023

Evero and his unit essentially kept Denver in almost every game in 2022 despite a lackluster offense. This became a bit of a running joke throughout the Twittersphere last season. The combination of Reich and Evero is a formidable one within the NFC South.

Rounding out the Panthers coordinators is Chris Tabor. Reich retained Tabor after he had a successful 2022 season. Tabor helped kicker Eddy Pineiro to his best season since entering the league and Tabor’s fingerprints had positive effects on just about every facet of the special teams’ game leading to the team being ranked tied for sixth by Pro Football Focus.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons have struggled thus far under head coach Arthur Smith. But at 14-20 he still has a better head coaching record than every other counterpart in the division, save Reich. And Smith has his bona fides as an offensive coach. In his two years as coordinator in Tennessee his offenses ranked 12th and second in yards and 10th and fourth in points. In his second year as head coach in Atlanta he was able to move their offense to 15th in points and 3rd in rushing yards. Dave Ragone is Smith’s offensive coordinator, assisting him with implementing Smith’s version of the wide zone offense.

On defense, Smith has recruited Ryan Neilsen who was the Saints defensive coordinator in 2022. Neilsen led a strong unit that finished 10th in yards allowed and fifth in points allowed last year. Plus, there is this nugget.

The Saints defense in the 2nd half of last season:

-2nd in DVOA
-1st in yds/play
-1st in opp passer rating
-4th in EPA/play pic.twitter.com/YPyYYADWOT

— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) June 15, 2023

With many of the additions the Falcons have made to their roster on the defensive side of the ball, Neilsen is poised to be a breakout coordinator in 2023. Rounding out the Falcons coordinators is Marquise Williams. Williams has led one of the best special teams’ units in football and helped kicker Younghoo Koo earn a Pro Bowl.

New Orleans Saints

The last two spots in the NFC South coaching rankings were a close battle. Ultimately, I have the Saints edging the Bucs out for third by the slimmest of margins. Head coach Dennis Allen is an uninspiring option in my opinion. I have criticized his decision-making in the past similarly to that of Bowles. Allen’s 7-10 record in 2022 represents a high-water mark for his career, as he went 8-28 during his 2-plus year stint as the head coach with the (then) Oakland Raiders.

Still, Allen is a defensive savant. The rankings I cited for Neilsen last year as defensive coordinator for the Saints have a lot to do with Allen’s influence. Since 2019 the Saints defense has ranked 11th or better in yards allowed and Top 13 in points allowed. That includes Top 10 finishes in both categories each of the last three years.

Working the offensive side of the ball is offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. Carmichael has been the offensive coordinator for the Saints since 2009 but really had his biggest opportunity to put his stamp on the offense last year following the retirement of former head coach Sean Payton. With no Drew Brees and no Payton, Carmichael orchestrated an offense that finished 19th in yards and 22nd in points. It is fair to wonder if he is more of an average-to-solid coordinator given those results.

Darren Rizzi is one of the best special teams coordinators in the NFL. His units have consistently ranked in the top-10 of PFF’s grading system year over year. Since Rizzi took over the position in 2019 the Saints have ranked 5th, 8th, 1st and tied for 6th by their grading systems.

Rizzi’s presence is really what gave the Saints the edge over the Bucs for the 3rd spot in the NFC South coaching rankings.

Tampa Bay Bucs

The Bucs coaching staff has question marks. And those question marks cause them to rank last in the NFC South. Head coach Todd Bowles has a better head coaching record than his counterpart in New Orleans. But he still has only one winning season as the head guy and a .405 career winning percentage.

And like Allen, Bowles has some serious defensive chops. The Bucs have had strong defenses in each of his four seasons in Tampa Bay, with the 2020 unit proving to be one of the league’s best. The concerns surrounding Bowles are whether he can allow a coordinator to optimize the offense or whether his defensive approach to the game will hinder the other side of the ball. And there are serious questions whether Bowles can embrace in-game analytical decision-making to enhance his team’s opportunities to win.

Offensive coordinator Dave Canales has gotten off to a hot start with the Bucs fans and media. His work with Russell Wilson and Geno Smith led both to being among the best quarterbacks in the NFL at different points in the last 10 years. But let’s take a step back and acknowledge that he is a first-time coordinator who has never called plays at a significant level of football. There is no guarantee he will be successful, although his answers to questions regarding offensive philosophy are certainly promising.

Kieth Armstrong continues to work as the Bucs special teams coordinator, and many continue to wonder why. The Bucs have had historically bad special teams units under his leadership. Per PFF, the Bucs have finished 29th, 27th, 30th and 29th in the NFL over his four years with the team.

The NFC South features three head coaches who may be on the hot seat this year in Smith, Allen and Bowles. All three trail Reich by a considerable margin in NFC South head coaching resumes. But all four feature a strategist with a creative mind on one side of the ball. And that should lead to some fun battles in the NFC South division this year.