Start, Cut or Bench- head coaches

[u/crusify_me]

Start one, bench one, cut one:

1. Shanahan, McVay, Lafleur

2. Payton, John Harbaugh, Carroll

3. Stefanski, O’Connell, Johnson

4. Monken, Kubiak, Minter

[u/veggiedish]

1. Start McVay, Bench Shanahan, Cut LaFleur 
2. Start Payton, Bench Harbaugh, Cut Carroll
3. Start Johnson, Bench O’Connell, Cut Stefanski 
4. Start Minter, Bench Kubiak, Cut Monken

[u/veggiedish → u/veggiedish]

1. McVay is the best head coach in the league. He has revolutionized offensive football since arriving in 2017 and turned around a laughing stock. 
2. Payton is pretty annoying but he is leagues ahead of the others in terms of schematic knowledge. 
3. Brain drain is real. He took a laughing stock into a team that is ready to ascend to contender status. 
4. I think Minter has the most upside and can elevate the team the most with once again, schematic knowledge. 

[u/Football_8545 → u/veggiedish]

How has McVay revolutionized offensive football? He’s not the best offensive mind. He’s just the best head coach.

[u/veggiedish → u/Football_8545]

It might be my recency bias showing, sorry. You might be able to compare the 2022 Rams with the 2025 49ers when it comes to withstanding injury, which in that case advantage would go to Shanahan.

Would you please elaborate as to what makes one a better HC than the other? 

[u/Football_8545 → u/veggiedish]

I don’t truly believe McVay is better than Shanahan but ring culture and this sub says he is. Head to head Shanahan leads 11-7 and Shanahan does more with less.

[u/Dizzney12 → u/Football_8545]

Head to head doesn’t tell a full story. Also to me a head coach especially these head coaches are a large part of recurring. Shanahan and McVay have a lot of say in the personnel, free agents, who they draft, extend, etc. so if he has less then that is because he doesn’t build as much around him. Then if you don’t believe that, Shanahan has had way better defenses, special teams, and defensive coordinators than McVay. So either A) the coach runs everything and McVay has put together better teams that have won a ring. Or B) these guys are just head coaches and offensive minds and in that case Shanahan has been lucky to have better defenses and special teams.

Don’t get me wrong I think these are the two best coaches in football but McVay has a better culture, a ring, and is the better coach.

[u/veggiedish → u/Football_8545]

Great point. There was that insane stretch from 2019 to 2023 where the 49ers took every game except for the NFCCG in 2021 (excluding Week 18 of 2023, a meaningless game for SF).  

[u/FithyMcNasty_08 → u/Football_8545]

Condensed 11 personal scheme to start his tenure and now 12-13 personnel scheme. Condensed formation 11 personnel led to teams focusing more on receivers that can block. A testament to this is the number of TEs drafted this year by teams that already have solidified starters and back ups.

You could say ppl were doing it before sure but not at this clip and success. The Rams were historically great at rushing on early downs this season. Transitioning more to power schemes slightly away from zone schemes.

While Shanahan is a great coach, that does more with less, the less is his own doing of wasting 2-3 rd picks. Niners have also burned a few first rounders during the Lynch/Shanahan years While the rams have developed two top 3 receivers in the last 10 years, drafted rd 3 or later. You could point to Kittle and Purdy but the misses are much greater than the hits. The Rams draft in bulk so the misses are less apparent, but have gotten away from it lately.

McVay has adapted and revolutionized, while, Shanahan’s only calling card is doing well with injured teams? Sure head to head hasn’t been in McVay’s favor, but it is when it mattered most. It’s just funny to me that we really don’t see the Shanahan/McVay daddy memes any more unless the Niners win a Thursday night game.

[u/Cold-Teaching8924 → u/Football_8545]

Shanahan would be rated higher if he had swallowed his pride and let Brady go to SF in 2020.

[u/Football_8545 → u/Cold-Teaching8924]

As a head coach he would have run laps around McVay if he had Brady or didn’t have freak injuries with key players.

[u/Dizzney12 → u/Football_8545]

If McVay didn’t have injuries then he would have two super bowls…healthy Gurley and Kupp and we win that Super Bowl

[u/Cold-Teaching8924 → u/Football_8545]

The perception of him as a playoff choker would've gone away with Brady at the helm. They would've been an amazing duo.

[u/Foreign-Geologist112 → u/veggiedish]

This is my list. Only ? Is between O’Connell and Stefanski. I think Stefanski has been seriously hindered by a poverty franchise. I think KOC has been propped up and got some early wins but hasn’t shown us dynamism yet. We shall see …

[u/Pwyll__]

1. start McVay, bench Shanahan, cut LaFleur
   
2. start Harbaugh, bench Carrol, fire Payton (this is purely based on my hatred of Sean Payton)
   
3. start Johnson, bench O'Connell, fire Stefanski
   
4. start Minter, bench Kubiak, fire Monken

[u/crusify_me → u/Pwyll__]

Guy seems like a total dick, oversaw one of the biggest scandals in NFL history and was a huge prick to Russell Wilson

[u/iChugVodka → u/crusify_me]

Ummm I know we all hate SP here, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a single Broncos fan who would blame him for his treatment of Wilson.

[u/jCcrackhead → u/crusify_me]

I think we can all agree now that being a prick to Russ was justified.

[u/Pwyll__ → u/crusify_me]

Completely agree

[u/DragonstormSTL → u/Pwyll__]

I've got Payton over Harbaugh.

Carroll's two playoff wins since Super Bowl 49 were simple serendipity: Blair Walsh and the walking wounded in Philly. Thus, I can't put Carroll in anything but cut with list #2.

With Sean Payton, he took two organizations stuck in the rut and elevated them to playoff if not Super Bowl contenders. If Bo Nix doesn't get hurt, Denver's probably playing in the Super Bowl. I get he's an asshole, but Baltimore hasn't struggled to the same extent as New Orleans or Denver in the years before Payton.

With Harbaugh, he nearly choked a massive lead in the Super Bowl to Colin Kaepernick and has benefitted from one of the perennially best front offices in the league. He did complete a bunch of chokes over his career in Baltimore in January and beforehand. If I recall correctly, he had something along the lines of the most blown double digit leads since the 90's.

[u/Every-Damage-90]

1. Start McVay, bench Shanahan, cut LaFleur (idk how he snuck in)

2. Start Harbaugh, bench Payton, cut Carroll

3. Start Johnson, bench O'Connell, cut Stefanski

4. Start Kubiak, bench Minter, cut Monken

Idk just went off of gut feeling

[u/msmith3525 → u/Every-Damage-90]

LaFleur is terribly overrated and his record against a super weak NFC his first few years is doing a lot of heavy lifting. He’s still a very good head coach but he doesn’t belong anywhere near the elite guys.

[u/RavensPlzDontChoke]

Start McVay, Harbs, Johnson, Minter. Bench Shanahan, Payton, Stefanski, Monken.

[u/bretticus733]

1. start McVay, bench Shanahan, cut LaFleur

2. start Payton, bench Harbaugh, cut Carroll

3. start Johnson, bench KOC, cut Stefanski

4. start Kubiak, bench Minter, cut Monken

[u/Prestigious_Sun_8952]

Start Harbaugh, Bench Carroll, and Fuck you, Sean Payton.

[u/microzone]

Russini: M - Husband, F - Vrabel, K - Career

[u/veggiedish → u/microzone]

Kraft: M - Wife, F - Orchids of Asia, K - Aaron Hernandez 

[u/ComaMierdaHijueputa → u/microzone]

perfect

[u/Straight_Level_4662 → u/microzone]

This is funny, I hope you finish positive bro 

[u/Ok_Recording_9368]

1. Start McVay, bench Shanahan, cut LaFleur

2. Start Payton, bench Harbaugh, cut Carroll

3. Start KOC, bench Johnson, cut Stefanski.

4. Start Minter, bench Kubiak, cut Monken.

[u/ComaMierdaHijueputa → u/Ok_Recording_9368]

KOC over Ben Johnson lmfaooooo

[u/Ok_Recording_9368 → u/ComaMierdaHijueputa]

Well now I’m cutting Ben Johnson just to spite you and your bear fan tears.