Super Bowl Coaches

by AC Viking

Where do Super Bowl coaches come from, in terms of position from their playing days?

QBs have a small lead over Receivers and OLs.

The Super Bowl has had 47 different coaches on the winning and losing side. All but one played football in college or the NFL. Bill Belichick played lacrosse in college (but started watching game film as a kid, where his dad was an Asst Coach at the US Naval Academy).

[Note: The only other NFL coach with whom I’m familiar who didn’t play football for 4 years in both high school and college, let alone at all in the NFL, is former Detroit Lions and — coincidentally — US Naval Academy HC Rick Forzano. he lost the sight in one eye because of an injury in a HS football game. After graduating from Kent State, he started up the coaching ladder as a HS asst coach.]

Here’re the positions of those 46 coaches (some had more than one) — only one of whom was a HOF player, Forrest Gregg:

QB: Jon Rauch, Weeb Ewbank, Tom Flores [NFL], Sam Wyche [NFL], Bobby Ross, Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren, Dick Vermeil, Jim Fassel, Jon Gruden, Bill Callahan, Tony Dungy (but a DB in the NFL) [NFL], Sean Payton [NFL – 1987 scab], Jim Harbaugh [NFL]

RB: Dan Reeves (QB in college) [NFL], Marv Levy, Tom Coughlin

E: Hank Stram (also a PK!), Bud Grant [NFL], George Allen, Bill Walsh (QB in JUCO), Mike Ditka [NFL], Raymond Berry [NFL], Brian Billick, Mike Martz, Mike Tomlin, Ken Whisenhunt [NFL], Mike McCarthy

OL: Vince Lombardi, Don McCaffery, Chuck Noll [NFL], John Madden, Red Miller, Ray Malavasi, Forrest Gregg [NFL], Joe Gibbs (also played some TE, LB), George Seifert, Andy Reid, Barry Switzer (also some LB)

DL: Jimmy Johnson

LB: Bill Parcells, Bill Cowher [NFL], Lovie Smith (one season at DB)

DB: Don Shula [NFL], Tom Landry [NFL], Jeff Fisher [NFL], John Fox, Jim Caldwell, John Harbaugh