(Audacy) The Lions enter matchup against the Steelers on Sunday as the only winless team in football. At 0-8, they've scored the fourth-fewest points and have allowed the second-most. The last time they took the field was their worst effort of the season, as they were absolutely shellacked by the not-that-great Eagles by the score of 44-6.
You might thinking coaching is a problem, but that hasn't been the main problem at least during games. Lions coach Dan Campbell hasn't been the worst coach in the NFL based on the team's play-calling and in-game decision-making, according to EdjSports' rankings. He's actually not even in the bottom five, coming in at No. 25, above a few names you may have heard of: the Patriots' Bill Belichick and the Steelers' Mike Tomlin, to name a couple.
We'll get into the way in which these rankings are created, but let's first take a look at the full list at the halfway-ish point of the 17-game regular season.
1. Brandon Staley, Chargers
2. Mike McCarthy, Cowboys
3. Kliff Kingsbury, Cardinals
4. Sean Payton, Saints
5. Frank Reich, Colts
6. John Harbaugh, Ravens
7. Matt LaFleur, Packers
8. Sean McDermott, Bills
9. Jon Gruden/Rich Bisaccia, Raiders
10. Sean McVay, Rams
11. Kyle Shanahan, 49ers
12. Nick Sirianni, Eagles
13. Bruce Arians, Buccaneers
14. Kevin Stefanski, Browns
15. Mike Vrabel, Titans
16. Ron Rivera, Washington
17. Urban Meyer, Jaguars
18. Zac Taylor, Bengals
19. Mike Zimmer, Vikings
20. Matt Nagy, Bears
21. Vic Fangio, Broncos
22. Brian Flores, Dolphins
23. Andy Reid, Chiefs
24. Pete Carroll, Seahawks
25. Dan Campbell, Lions
26. Bill Belichick, Patriots
27. Matt Rhule, Panthers
28. Mike Tomlin, Steelers
29. Arthur Smith, Falcons
30. David Culley, Texans
31. Joe Judge, Giants
32. Robert Saleh, Jets
The rankings were formed by calculating a weighted average of two different metrics: Offensive Play Calling Index Ranking and EPI Ranking. Each is explained in full detail on the website, for those who are more curious, but essentially they're wildly thorough and complex algorithms that normalize and neutralize each coach to get evaluated on the same scale. It seems as though the batch of rankings above stressed fourth-down decision-making more heavily than overall play-calling. The initial computer model was created by Indiana University astrophysicist Chuck Bower and world backgammon champion Frank Frigo, so we're going to take their word for it and trust that these analytics are powerful indications of a coach's success on the football field.
It makes sense, then, that several coaches near the top of these rankings at the halfway point in the season have led their teams to such success. Staley has been lauded for his gutsy fourth-down play calling week in and week out, pushing his team to a 5-3 record and a first-place spot in the AFC West. He ranks first in the Offensive Play Calling Index Ranking while, perhpas surprisingly, Belichick ranks last. Some other notes:
— For all the flak Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has received, especially after playing quarterback Dak Prescott at a seemingly meaningless juncture of a blowout loss against the Broncos, he ranks highly on the list. Decisions like that one probably aren't accounted for in the formulas, so he could get docked a few points here for his "horrendous" decision that could've resulted in disaster.
— The Raiders' Rich Bisaccia has more than held his own after taking over for Jon Gruden, picking up wins over the Broncos and the Eagles before a rough loss to the Giants last week. Still, stepping into such a tumultuous situation, which has since become even more horrible after the Henry Ruggs accident, is really difficult, and he deserves a lot of credit.
— I'm guessing that flower-based speeches don't play into the rankings, as the Eagles' Nick Sirianni landed in the top 12 at the halfway point. He has often been the primary point of blame when the Eagles have struggled.
— The Browns' Kevin Stefanski was the Coach of the Year Award winner in 2020 and is hovering around the middle of the list. It's not too hard to see why. It's been a season full of ups and downs in Cleveland, though perhaps the decision to move on from receiver Odell Beckham will improve team chemistry and lead to a stronger second half.
— The Jaguars' Urban Meyer, the Vikings' Mike Zimmer and the Bears' Matt Nagy don't rank all that badly for three coaches who could be seen as reasonable hot seat candidates. Still, a lot of the issues in those situations have to do with more than play-calling, which wouldn't be taken into account by the model.
— The Chiefs' Andy Reid, the Seahawks' Pete Carroll, Belichick and Tomlin are probably used to seeing their names a lot higher on rankings of the best coaches, but that's not the case this time.
— Sorry, New York fans.
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