ESPN experts say Bill Belichick is the best coach in the NFL

ESPN polled 30 NFL experts to rank the coaches in the NFL by tiers and there was a clear winner: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick who took home 28 votes in the first tier.

There were five tiers and the experts were told to give each coach a rating of 1-5. Belichick’s average rating was a 1.07. Close behind Belichick was Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll with a 1.23 average and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton with a 1.30 average. Carroll collected 23 first tier votes and Payton 22 and they were far ahead from the next coach on the list who only received 12 first tier votes and that was Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.

Other coaches in the top 10 were Giants coach Tom Coughlin, Packers coach Mike McCarthy, Steelers Mike Tomlin, 49ers Jim Harbaugh (who came one slot ahead of his brother), Ravens coach John Harbaugh and Broncos coach John Fox.

The worst coach ranked by the experts was Raiders head coach Dennis Allen who is entering his third year with the team. The rest of the bottom five are Browns coach Mike Pettine, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, Dolphins coach Joe Philbin and Bills coach Doug Marrone.

It’s not hard to see why Belichick ranked so high. Three championships and 11 consecutive seasons with double-digit victories set Belichick apart. He’s been the NFL Coach of the Year three times and is 218–114–0 in his career.

Behind Belichick is Seahawks coach Pete Carroll who has only been an NFL coach with the Seahawks since 2010 but has taken a team that was 5-11 in 2009 to a Super Bowl winning powerhouse team in 2013. Carroll deserves all the praise he gets and has proven to be one of the best NFL coaches because of what he was able to do in Seattle in such a short time. Belichick better watch out, because Pete Carroll is coming for that number one spot.