Seven NFL Coaches with the best second-chance tenures in NFL History

Find out which coaches we believe had the best second-chance tenures in NFL history below.

7. Marv Levy

After the 1982 strike cut the season short, the Chiefs fired Levy. In Buffalo, he was more on time. When Levy took over the Bills in the middle of the 1986 season, the USFL was ending and Jim Kelly was going to play for the NFL team that had his rights. In 1985 and 1986, the Bills had only two and four wins, respectively.

From then until the mid-1990s, the two of them led the team to a unique level of consistency. Yes, the Bills lost the Super Bowl four times in a row. Only two teams have ever played three games in a row. Buffalo’s K-Gun offense dominated the AFC for many years, and Levy’s seven seasons with 10 or more wins made it possible for him to get into Canton after he retired in 1998.

6. Tom Coughlin

Not only did Coughlin change the Giants, but the changes he made to the way he coached led to two of the best playoff runs in NFL history. In Jacksonville, Coughlin was always angry, and in 2004, he took that act to New York. A little bit of calming down helped players get along better, and the Giants shocked the sports world by beating the bet on nfl games online odds in the playoffs and winning Super Bowl XLII.

The Giants’ eight wins in the winters of 2008 and 2012, when they beat some of the best teams of this era, are more important than Coughlin’s regular-season mark of 102-90. After a 4-12 season in 2003, Coughlin changed a team with a long history.

5. Pete Carroll

Carroll’s first job after leaving the Jets was to replace Bill Parcells in New England, where he did a decent job (two playoff appearances in three years). His third move changed the direction of the Seahawks. Since Carroll joined the team in 2010, they are 108-63-1. He and John Schneider’s early drafts helped make the 2013 Seahawks the best team of the 2010s.

The Legion of Boom secondary helped the Seahawks become the first team in the modern NFL to lead in score defense for four straight seasons. The Seahawks are now led by quarterback Russell Wilson, and even though they lost most of their Super Bowl core, they still make the playoffs every year.

4. Andy Reid

Eight years into his second job, Reid’s status has grown a lot thanks to his work with the Chiefs. The former Eagles coach is now a Hall of Famer, and he turned a team that had been bad for a long time into the best team in the NFL. In 2012, the Chiefs were 2-14, but in 2013, they were 11-5. During his time in Kansas City, Reid has changed from a West Coast Offense-based coach to a flexible offensive master.

For all that Patrick Mahomes has done for Reid, the 22-year-old coach in charge has helped the MVP a lot. Next season, Reid will move into the top five in terms of total wins, and he may do so with two Super Bowl rings.

3. Mike Shanahan

Shanahan had two great times as an assistant for the Broncos. In the middle was a bad stop for the Raiders HC. John Elway’s career was changed by the job he got on his second try, and it helped a team reach the top. Shanahan put in a tough zone-blocking scheme, and after Terrell Davis gave Elway a long-awaited ground weapon, that running attack produced six 1,000-yard rushers over the next 12 seasons.

The Broncos beat the Packers in 1997, beat the Falcons (and Shanahan’s old boss Dan Reeves) the next year with a better team, and made the playoffs four times after Elway left. And Washington’s attack had a great season because RG3 was brought back to life.

2. Don Shula

The Colts paid for letting the coach with the most wins ever leave in 1970. After the split, the Colts got a first-round pick, but for the Dolphins, everything changed. Shula took a team that had only won three games and turned it into a success.

For the next five years, Miami made the playoffs and won two Super Bowls. Shula’s 17-0 team in 1972 was even better than the team he led in 1973, and he also took David Woodley’s team to the Super Bowl (XVII) between Bob Griese and Dan Marino’s careers. Shula had one of the best teaching careers in sports history. In the 1970s, he had the best running game in the NFL. In the 1980s, he had the best passing game.

1. Bill Belichick

After being fired by the Browns (or was it the Ravens?) in 1996, Belichick has put a huge gap between himself and his peers in the 20 years since he got a second chance. Belichick moved to the Patriots in 2000 instead of taking over for Bill Parcells with the Jets.

He is the only head coach to have won the Super Bowl more than four times. Even though Tom Brady deserves credit for the six Lombardis, Belichick gave the legendary quarterback a strong defense almost every year. From 2001 to 2019, the Patriots’ 16 (!) top-10 defenses helped Brady win more rings while his competitors’ totals stayed the same. Belichick is the third-most successful coach in NFL history, which is a huge edge.