NFL QBs as NFL Head Coaches
Doug Pederson is the Eagles head coach. He’s also a former NFL quarterback. We’ve heard about and seen coordinators and qb coaches go on to have success as NFL head coaches, but what about former NFL quarterbacks?
We can take a quick look at this thanks to the fine folks over at Pro Football Daily, they combined a solid list back in 2014. Let’s start with the Hall of Fame QB who became NFL head coaches:
QUARTERBACK, PLAYED FOR* COACHED W-L-T PCT Sammy Baugh, Redskins 1960-61 N.Y Titans, ’64 Oilers 18-24-0 .429 Bob Waterfield, Rams 1960-62 Rams 9-24-1 .279 Norm Van Brocklin, Rams 1961-66 Vikings, ’68-74 Falcons 66-100-7 .402 Otto Graham, Browns 1966-68 Redskins 17-22-3 .440 Bart Starr, Packers 1975-83 Packers 52-76-3 .408
The good news for the Eagles is that Doug Pederson wasn’t close to a Hall of Fame QB. That HOF bunch has one playoff appearance among them. The bad news is that of all the other former QBs who became head coaches, there’s only one Lombardi trophy among them.
| QUARTERBACK, PLAYED FOR* | COACHED | W-L-T | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Harbaugh, Bears | 2011-14 49ers | 40-15-1 | .723 |
| John Rauch, N.Y. Bulldogs | 1966-68 Raiders, ’69-70 Bills | 40-28-2 | .586 |
| Frankie Albert, 49ers | 1956-58 49ers | 19-16-1 | .542 |
| Jason Garrett, Cowboys | 2010-15 Cowboys | 45-43-0 | .511 |
| Tom Flores, Raiders | 1979-87 Raiders, ’92-94 Seahawks | 97-87-0 | .527 |
| Allie Sherman, Eagles | 1961-68 Giants | 57-51-4 | .527 |
| Ted Marchibroda, Steelers | 1975-79/’92-95 Colts,’96-98 Ravens | 87-98-1 | .470 |
| Gary Kubiak, Broncos | 2006-15 Texans | 73-68-0 | .518 |
| Sam Wyche, Bengals | 1984-91 Bengals, ’92-95 Bucs | 84-107-0 | .440 |
| Harry Gilmer, Redskins | 1965-66 Lions | 10-16-2 | .393 |
| June Jones, Falcons | 1994-96 Falcons, ’98 Chargers | 22-36-0 | .379 |
| Steve Spurrier, 49ers | 2002-03 Redskins | 12-20-0 | .375 |
| Jim Zorn, Seahawks | 2008-09 Redskins | 12-20-0 | .375 |
| Kay Stephenson, Bills | 1983-85 Bills | 10-26-0 | .278 |
| Frank Filchock, Redskins | 1960-61 Broncos | 7-20-1 | .268 |
Harbaugh and Wyche came close to winning a Super Bowl. All in all, it’s a least impressive list. Twenty former QBs who became head coaches. 1 Super Bowl Championship among them all. Yikes. It happens to be Tom Flores as the Raiders head coach against the Eagles, of course.
Going into this, I assumed the QBs would be decent head coaches figuring they’d have an understanding of the game far more in-depth than other position players. They aren’t.
The odds are against Pederson. Only 5% of former QB have won Super Bowls. I’m a gambling man and those are odds I wouldn’t take. Is it causation or correlation? I don’t know, but it’s something to ponder or chat about whether you’re snowed in or at the local watering hole. On the bright side, six of them had winning records. That’s 30%!